Windows Mobile 7 phones coming in Q1 2009?

Windows Mobile 7 may be closer than many think.

According to a report from at least one major handset maker, Microsoft is planning to make available the final bits of its next mobile operating-system release in time for them to start selling Windows Mobile 7 phones in the first quarter of 2009. If true, that would seem to imply that Microsoft will release the final Windows Mobile 7 by the end of 2008, in order to give phone makers time to test and preload.

As is the case with Windows 7, Windows Mobile 7 is a forbidden topic. Microsoft won’t talk about planned features, beta dates or how/when/if Windows Mobile phones will become more head-to-head competitors with the iPhone.

(I am wondering whether Microsoft might finally share some Windows Mobile 7 info at its Worldwide Partner Conference in early July, given that Andy Lees, the newly appointed Senior VP of Microsoft’s Mobile Communications business is on the keynote line-up. If Microsoft really is going to deliver the final Windows Mobile 7 bits later this year, one would think it needs to be evangelizing about it now.)

There have been a few leaks about what Microsoft is planning for Windows Mobile 7 and Windows Mobile 8. Not too surprisingly, multi-touch and gesture-recognition support are on the docket. The user interface for Windows Mobile phones is slated to get an overhaul, making it more consumer friendly. And, at some point, consumer-focused services beyond Windows Live — things like music and photo-management, will find their way onto Windows Mobile devices via Microsoft’s Project Pink and Danger acquisition.

Until now, the only target date for Windows Mobile 7 I had seen leak was “some time in 2009.” But the Phone Report earlier this week quoted an official with HTC saying the company planned to deliver a Windows Mobile 7 phone in Q1 2009, and an Android-based HTC phone in Q4 2008, by the way.

From recent executive remarks, it sounds like Microsoft is trying to get Windows and Windows Mobile to be more in sync. Might this mean with Windows Mobile 8 — which Microsoft has told certain folks will be built from scratch — Microsoft might make Windows Mobile a “real” version of Windows, with the same core as Windows client?

HP should be shipping the iPAQ 900 series Mobile Messenger soon

There is definitely not a lack of choice in new mobile phones this year with the Apple iPhone 3G, HTC Touch Diamond, Samsung OMNIA, Nokia E71, BlackBerry Bold, and more being announced/leaked and shown all over the internet. It was last September when HP announced new Windows Mobile devices and thanks to a post at jkOnTheRun I found out that HP’s new HP iPAQ 900 Series Business Messenger announcement made yesterday.

The iPAQ 910 is shown on the HP site as coming soon and is expected to start shipping at the end of June for an undisclosed price. Specifications include a Marvell PXA270 processor running at 416MHz with Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional, 128MB RAM, 256MB ROM, 2.46 inch 320×240 touch screen, 3 megapixel camera, 802.11 b/g WiFi, Bluetooth 2.0 with EDR, tri-band UMTS/HSDPA, quad-band GSM, integrated GPS receiver, integrated QWERTY keyboard, and huge 1940 mAh battery. It also looks like it has a Pearl-like center trackball for navigation.

I used to only buy HP Pocket PC devices and the specs on this one may actually bring me back to HP again as it looks to have everything I could ask for in a single device. It may sell as an unlocked device too since there were no carrier announcements and HP has done that in the past with their devices.

I am very interested in testing this out to see if HP is back in the game again and I have high hopes for the device. My only concern is the processor, but I am willing to give it a chance and see how it performs. It is going to be very tough to figure out what device to get with all of these great units hitting the street this summer and fall.


Matthew Miller is an avid mobile device enthusiast who works during the day as a professional naval architect in Seattle.

Samsung announces the OMNIA Windows Mobile device with 5 megapixel camera

It is great to see so many new and innovative Windows Mobile devices being announced and launched from the likes of HTC, Sony Ericsson, and now Samsung. Samsung announced the Samsung OMNIA (SGH-i900) on Monday and my buddy, Arne Hess, already had a chance to put his hands on an early protype and provides some more photos, including photos with the HTC Touch Diamond and Sony Ericsson XPERIA X1.

The Samsung OMNIA is a Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional (touch screen) device with a xx MHz processor, 8GB or 16GB flash drive plus an additional microSD expansion slot, 3.2 inch WXVGA (240×400) display, 5 megapixel camera (top of the line for Windows Mobile), FM radio with RDS, integrated GPS receiver, quad-band GSM and HSDPA support, Bluetooth 2.0, WiFi, TV out capability, and a 1440 mAh battery. The device has haptic feedback on the display so you feel a vibration when the display is touched.

The photos of it look impressive and it has a real iPhone-like look to the UI, but with the power of Windows Mobile behind it. Samsung calls its new interface, TouchWiz, that allows you to customize and personalize their “widgets” on your device. It is interesting to read that it has out-of-the box multicode support for DivX, Xvid, and other video formats so multimedia fans may love this device with the large high resolution display.

It will be available in Southeast Asia starting next week and in Europe in July. There was no announcement of a U.S. release so this may be one to look for from a U.S. importer. Again, like the HTC Touch Diamond I think it is great to see manufacturers pushing the limits and taking Windows Mobile to the next level.

Matthew Miller is an avid mobile device enthusiast who works during the day as a professional naval architect in Seattle.

Time for LiMo and Android to stop talking

Ed Burnette has a great piece out today in Dev Connection about Google’s choice of Apache as the main license for its Android phone.

Some pieces will use Eclipse, some GPL V.2, and there will likely be some proprietary bits as well, he writes. That’s nice.

The LiMo folks have also been a-twitter since Verizon decided to join its camp rather than hang out with the Googlers. (The most recently-delivered LiMo phone, the Purple Magic (right) from Purple Labs, looked like a Razr with a penguin on it. Blech.)

But, as a fan of both systems, I would like to kindly ask both sets of developers to close their mouths for a while and get to work.

Press releases, alliances, and application possibilities won’t win this market. It’s designs that will win this market. If neither group can create something as compelling as an iPhone interface, neither will go anywhere.

It’s the proprietary iPhone which has changed the mobile game, demonstrating that with the proper interface people actually will go for mobile data in a big way.

What LiMo and Android are designing, now, is not a mobile phone, but a handheld Internet client. The winner will be the one who makes it most attractive to move the most data back-and-forth on a mobile network.

But as of now, neither group is really in the game. I have yet to see anything compelling from either group beyond press releases.

No more press releases, please. No more FUD. Send me a phone when it’s ready, and I’ll decide whether it’s worthy. By “I” and “me” I mean the marketplace.

Dana Blankenhorn has been a business journalist for 30 years, a tech freelancer since 1983.

If AMD is David and Intel is Goliath, What is VIA? Cinderella?

Kowal, a native of Canada now living in Taiwan where VIA is headquartered, is touring the US to talk about the latest addition to VIA’s processor lineup — the C7-M. The "M" stands for mobile and, according to VIA, this processor is, watt-for-watt, the most powerful processor on the market (although it could be true, I can’t verify this since no systems are shipping yet). What’s so special about the C7-M? It’s a 2 GHz x86-compatible processor that, according to Kowal, not only takes only 20 watts of power (Intel’s latest Pentium M takes 27 and AMD’s most advanced Turion, which is 64-bit capable, takes 25) but also has a built-in security co-processor that can perform AES encryption on data being transmitted across the network or stored locally on the hard drive in real time.

During the interview, Kowal and David Berlind covered a lot of ground. Everything from whether or not VIA has any business mixing it up with AMD and Intel (answer: Yes) to whether the company has a 64-bit capable processor in the works (answer: Yes) to why the security coprocessor isn’t Trusted Platform Module-compliant (answer: listen to the interview) to whether we’ll ever see a $100 PC (answer: probably not). We also talked about the embedded market, where VIA is scoring design wins and who, if anybody, has contracted with VIA for a boatload of C7-Ms. Here are some highlights from the interview:

Kowal on why VIA can find its way in the battle between Intel and AMD when Transmeta couldn’t:

There is a big battle going on – always between Intel and AMD. But our previous processor – the C3 – was very successful in some areas of the market. We’re very strong in the embedded space. We developed the mini-ITX form factor which did very well and is based on our C3 processor. Our core design values around the C7 and the previous C3 are all about low power and low thermals that can enable a lot of very cool designs. Much like Transmeta. Via also has the strong backing behind it of the platform base of chipsets and the strong partnerships with the foundries. So we come from a much stronger base level and that’s why we’ll be able to succeed.

Kowal on why VIA’s technology means we’ll see fanless (ultra quiet) notebook computers:

I think with C7-M and later we’ll have some ultra low voltage parts, yes, fanless is very possible. In fact, we expect most of the early design wins will have a minimal of cooling…. It depends on the manufacturer. If there is a fan, it’s going to be pretty small and not making much noise. They’re using our ultra cool processors [that have] a tiny die size and a tiny transistor count. So, therefore, they put out very little heat.

Kowal on whether or not capacity or yield will be a problem for the new mobile processors:

Manufacturing is done in IBM’s Fishkill fab in New York. We’re happy with how things are looking right now and don’t see any capacity problems.