Microsoft Upgrades Windows Mobile To Version 6

At 3GSM, Microsoft unveiled Windows Mobile 6, the newest version of its mobile software platform. An update to the new platform is in the works for the Palm Treo 750. Read more to see photos of the Treo 750 running Windows Mobile 6 along with a video preview of the new operating system.

Microsoft Upgrades Windows Mobile To Version 6

Treo 750 To Get Update

At 3GSM, Microsoft unveiled Windows Mobile 6, the newest version of its mobile software platform. By improving usability and adding support for Microsoft Office features previously available only on PCs, Microsoft Windows Mobile 6 delivers to the small screen a familiar and rich experience that meets the needs of work and life while on the go, all with a single device. According to Pieter Knook, senior vice president of Microsofts Mobile and Embedded Devices Division, an update to the new platform is in the works for the Palm Treo 750. Palm also plans to ship a Windows Mobile 6 device this year. No word on whether this is an entirely new Treo or simply an upgraded Treo 750. The new OS adds support for 320x320 resolution, allowing for Palm to release a Windows Mobile based Treo with a high resolution screen similar its Palm OS counterpart. Previously, Palm was limited Palm had been limited to 240x240. As noted in our Treo 750 review, "The drop-off for the Treo 750 occurs when view photos, video or even web browsing. Images that were vivid and sharp on the Palm Treo 700p looked drab on the new Treo 750."

Peiter Knook, VP of Microsoft's Mobile and Embedded Devices introduces Windows Mobile 6

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Photos of Treo 750 Running Windows Mobile 6

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Video Preview of Windows Mobile 6

New Naming Conventions With Introduction of Windows Mobile 6

Along with the new operating system, Microsoft has also changed the often confusing naming found with previous versions of Windows Mobile. Gone is Pocket PC Phone Edition, Smartphone and Pocket PC. In it's place are three new flavors:

• Windows Mobile Professional: Touch-screen version that will be used on the Treo family of smartphones. This version was formerly known as Pocket PC Phone Edition
• Windows Mobile Standard: Non-touch screen version that will be used on smartphones including the Motorola Q, T-Mobile Dash and Blackjack. Known previously as Windows Mobile Smartphone.
• Windows Mobile Classic: Pocket PC's without phone capability will now run Windows Mobile Classic. With most PDA's integrated with phones, this will be the least encountered version of the OS.

Windows Mobile 6 delivers the ability to view e-mails in their original rich HTML format with live links to Web and SharePoint sites, which means text and images are displayed as they would be on a PC, and are available from a corporate e-mail server such as Exchange Server 2007, from Web-based accounts such as Windows Live Hotmail or from a myriad of other popular service providers. Windows Mobile 6 also includes Windows Live for Windows Mobile, which provides customers with a rich set of Windows Live services. For example, now through Windows Live Messenger, people can chat with more than one person at one time, express themselves through animated figures, quickly send a file or image, or record and send voice notes.

The newest version of the platform offers the most genuine Microsoft Office system experience in the mobile versions of Office Outlook, Office Word, Office Excel and Office PowerPoint by bringing capabilities once available only on the PC versions of these products to the small screen. This allows users to neatly view, navigate and edit Word documents and Excel spreadsheets in their original formatting, without affecting tables, images or text, and to view PowerPoint presentations on their device.

All Windows Mobile 6 powered devices include Direct Push Technology for up-to-date e-mail delivery and automatic synchronization of Outlook calendars, tasks and contacts through Microsoft Exchange Server. Windows Mobile 6 also offers a set of important device security and management features that include the capability to remotely wipe all data from a device should it be lost or stolen, helping ensure that confidential information remains that way.

Information Management Made Easier

Users of the Microsoft Office system on the PC of which there are nearly 400 million worldwide will feel right at home with the new mobile versions of Outlook, Word, Excel and PowerPoint available for Windows Mobile 6 powered devices. Windows Mobile 6 addresses extensive user feedback and makes information management easier and more convenient through the following improvements:

• Better-looking e-mail. Users view e-mail the way it was intended with its original pictures, tables and formatting, whether from a corporate e-mail server such as Exchange Server 2007, Web-based accounts such as Windows Live Hotmail or Yahoo! Mail, or a wide range of other service providers.
• Ease of viewing and editing of Office system documents. The new Office Mobile suite, built for all Windows Mobile powered devices, gives users a truly familiar and powerful experience with rich viewing and editing capabilities, without having to worry about the deletion of critical formatting and images.
• E-mail management and setup with fewer clicks. Nine new one-click options have been added, including Reply All, setting a flag, moving a message to a subfolder, and, of course, Delete. Users can set an automatic out-of-office reply while on the road when using a Windows Mobile 6 powered device and Exchange Server 2007.
• Synchronization with Windows Vista. Windows Vista and the Windows Mobile Device Center take the guesswork out of managing a device and swapping music, pictures, movies and Outlook information between PC and the device.
• Smart calendar bar. This innovative new feature gives users the ability to understand at a glance the day or week ahead and quickly determine open time on their schedules. With Exchange Server 2007, they can see who is attending a meeting and forward or reply to meeting requests.
• Web search, e-mail, instant messaging (IM) and blogging all together. Windows Live for Windows Mobile will provide customers with a rich set of services including Windows Live Hotmail, Windows Live Messenger, Live Search and Windows Live Spaces, uniquely designed to work with Windows Mobile software. Users can also find all their contacts in one unified list and see presence information on their Windows Live Messenger contacts.
• Contacts with context. Call history is now placed where it belongs, in each individual contact card, so people spend less time searching and more time communicating.

The Best Platform for Business

Windows Mobile efficiently works with existing Microsoft business technology investments and offers users a familiar software experience, making it the smartest mobile solution for businesses to deploy:

• Security options. The platform offers a variety of security options, giving IT departments ways to help secure a device, including new Exchange Server policies and certificate options, storage card encryption, and continued support for remote and local device wipe.
• Protected content. Organizations using Information Rights Management (IRM) technology to help control the viewing, storing and printing of confidential information on PCs can now extend those capabilities to Windows Mobile 6 powered devices, a feature not available on any other mobile phone platform.
• Line-of-business applications. Powerful, new mobile versions of the Microsoft .NET Compact Framework and Microsoft SQL Server are built into Windows Mobile 6, making it even easier to create and access sales tools, inventory tracking and many other applications from a Windows Mobile 6 powered smartphone.
• Internet sharing. A new built-in application makes using a Windows Mobile 6 powered smartphone as a laptops high-speed modem one-click easy with either a Bluetooth wireless or cable connection.
• Communication alternatives. Windows Mobile 6 makes it easier for operators and device-makers to integrate a voice over Internet protocol (VoIP) solution into devices they are building. British Telecom in Europe, as well as HP, will be among the first to provide smartphones with new VoIP offerings for their business customers.

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