 Not
officially announced yet, Microsoft unveiled more information about it's new
Windows Mobile operating system, so far code-named "Crossbow" and soon to be
known as Windows Mobile 6. On next Monday, during the 3GSM World Congress in
Barcelona, Microsoft will officially announce Windows Mobile 6, the newest
version of its mobile phone software platform. By improving usability and adding
new features previously only available on PCs, Windows Mobile 6 delivers a
familiar and rich experience to the small screen that meets the needs of work
and life while on the go, all with a single device. Windows Mobile 6 devices
begin shipping worldwide by second quarter 2007 and it's sure, that we can
expect some new devices, being announced next week as well.
 
Beside the new, fresh Vista-like glossy look, Windows Mobile 6 also delivers
new functionalities and enhances existing one. For instance 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 like they would be on a PC,
available from a corporate E-Mail server such as Exchange Server 2007, Web-based
accounts such as Windows Live or a myriad of other popular service providers.
Windows Mobile 6 will also includes Windows Live for Windows Mobile (see
the::unwired's preview here), 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
experience in the mobile versions of Outlook, Word, Excel and PowerPoint by
bringing capabilities once only available on the PC to the small screen,
allowing users to view, navigate and edit documents in the original formatting,
without affecting tables, images or text.
All Windows Mobile 6 devices include the previously introduced Direct Push
Technology for always up-to-date E-Mail delivery and automatic synchronization
of Outlook calendars and contacts through Microsoft Exchange Server.
Windows Mobile 6 also offers a set of important device security and management
features including the ability to remotely wipe all data from a device should it
be lost or stolen, ensuring that confidential
information remains that way.
Users of Microsoft Office 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 built for all Windows Mobile 6 smartphones. Windows
Mobile 6 addresses extensive user feedback and incorporates enhancements from
the new Microsoft Office Mobile, making information management easier and more
convenient.
Some of the highlights are:
- Better looking E-Mail – 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 Mail, or a wide range of other service providers.
- Read and edit Office documents – The new Office Mobile suite,
built for all Windows Mobile devices, gives users a truly familiar and
powerful experience with rich viewing and editing capabilities, without
deleting critical formatting and images like many competitive offerings.
- Set-up and manage E-Mail 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. Even set an automatic
"out-of-office" reply while on the road through integration with Exchange
Server 2007.
- Windows Vista synchronization – Windows Vista and the special
Windows Mobile Device Center to take the guess work out of managing a device
and swapping music, pictures, movies and Outlook information between PC and
device.
- Calendar ribbon – 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 and with Exchange Server 2007, they
can see who is attending a meeting and forward or reply to meeting requests.
- Web search, E-Mail, IM and blogging all together – Windows Live
for Windows Mobile will provide customers with a rich set of services
including Windows Live Mail, 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.
Windows Mobile efficiently integrates 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 the choice of how best to secure a device,
from 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 control the viewing, storing and printing of
confidential information on PCs can now extend those same rights to Windows
Mobile 6 devices, a feature not available on any other mobile phone
platform.
- Line-of-business applications – Powerful, new mobile versions of
the .NET Compact Framework and SQL Server are built into Windows Mobile 6
make it even easier to create and access sales tools, inventory tracking,
and many other applications from a smartphone.
- Internet Sharing – A new built-in application makes using a
smartphone as a high-speed modem for a laptop "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 VoIP solution into a device
they're building.
So as I said, that's just the highlights from Windows Mobile 6 but nothing
official has been announced by now.
Cheers ~ Arne
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