Hasta La Gadget!

Say, for a moment, that you’re Microsoft and you’re on the cusp of releasing a version of the much-maligned Windows Mobile 6.5 that actually made it touch-friendly for once — but like all WinMo versions before it, you’re relying on carriers and manufacturers to wage an inexcusably slow, arbitrary, incomplete upgrade campaign. Wouldn’t you think that quietly burying its launch amongst a sea of more interesting (and less controversial) products might be a good idea? Indeed, that appears to be the angle Microsoft is taking at CES by discreetly showing off a Toshiba TG01 and Pharos Traveller loaded with the long-rumored 6.5.3 with “tiles” along the bottom and finger-friendly adjustments throughout the UI. As far as we can tell, this truly is what 6.5 should’ve been — in our quick look, we’re finally comfortable not having a stylus handy, even on a resistive display. It’s still not pretty, but this is a case where function is at least earning its money trying to trump form.

Microsoft Windows Mobile 6.5.3 shown off very, very quietly originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 09 Jan 2010 12:56:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We’d heard some rumblings, but apparently Robbie Bach let the cat out of the bag at an analyst briefing this week, stating that we should expect a showing of Windows Mobile 7 at the Mobile World Congress show in Spain, which begins on February 15th. He also added that the OS (which he’s played with, surprisingly) will “set the bar forward not in (just) an evolutionary way,” and that Microsoft is going to be “more engaged” with OEMs in its “go to market approach.” We love a good buzzword or three, but the hope here is that Microsoft has learned its lesson from iPhone and Android and is ready to compete in the next-gen smartphone game in a big way — a WinMo 7 showing just four months after the release of Windows Mobile 6.5 certainly smacks of that.

[Thanks, Matthias]

Windows Mobile 7 coming to MWC in February, not just ‘evolutionary’ originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 08 Jan 2010 11:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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In his latest routine forum visit, Meizu CEO Jack Wong dropped a couple of teasers about what’s coming up in his fancy Zhuhai-based factory. First is that the M8 3G will need at least another six months to brew, which is slightly off the March release date we last heard. Initial versions will pack W-CDMA (aka, UMTS) and China’s own TD-SCDMA radios, then maybe a CDMA version whenever Jack’s ready to pay “premium license fees” to enter the “narrow international market [of EV-DO].” Next up is word that apparently the infamous Windows CE-based M8 may get a dose of Windows Phone apps in a future firmware update, courtesy of “a project that Microsoft is working on.” Sure, it all sounds great, but given Meizu’s record of underestimating the complexities of manufacturing mobile phones, we’ll believe it when we see it.

Meizu CEO: M8 3G launch pushed, original M8 getting Windows Phone apps (maybe) originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 04 Jan 2010 11:41:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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And what do we have here? HTC’s Russian contingent has been rather forthcoming with its Windows Mobile 7 plans this morning, which will please HD2 owners but disappoint many others. The good news is that HTC’s flagship WinMo handset is assured of getting Microsoft’s finest when it comes out, but the bad news is that the rest of the line will remain stuck at version 6.5 or below. Here’s the tweet in the Queen’s own tongue:

For Diamond 2 firmware is not planned. Of the existing communicators on the market, only the HD2 firmware to get WM7.

Keep in mind it’s still possible, though not altogether probable, that this statement refers only to the Russian market. In either case, if you were holding out hope for your Touch Pro 2 or Snap to keep updating all the way to 7, it seems the odds are now officially stacked against you.

HTC Russia says HD2 will get Windows Mobile 7 upgrade, but other ‘communicators’ won’t originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 30 Dec 2009 10:52:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Samsung’s WinMo 6.5-packin’ Omnia II has been available to Verizon Wireless customers (or at least those unaffected by the Droid) for a few weeks now, but strangely, we’ve yet to see a proper dissection of this here smartphone until today. That said, we’re sure the patience you’ve put into this will pay off after heading past the break, where all of the itty-bitty internals are shown in stunning detail for your entertainment / education. As a good gal we once knew would say: “Ain’t that the berries!”

[Thanks, Costas]

Continue reading Samsung’s Omnia II gets the video tear down you’ve all been longing for

Samsung’s Omnia II gets the video tear down you’ve all been longing for originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 22 Dec 2009 08:19:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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