Microsoft: WinMo 6.5 will trump iPhone on web browsing

While admitting it has been a "challenging year" for the Windows Mobile platform, Microsoft's entertainment and devices division president Robbie Bach promises the forthcoming Windows Mobile 6.5 operating system will herald a turning point in the software giant's mobile fortunes. "You will have a very rich browsing experience on [Windows Mobile] 6.5 devices," Bach told analysts during a recent financial briefing, according to ZDNet. ‘It will give you access to more websites than you will be able to get to on an iPhone that will work actively and work well. It really is a much better experience." WinMo 6.5 is slated for release this fall in conjunction with the introduction of Microsoft's Windows Marketplace for Mobile [1] application storefront.

Bach did not address the status of Windows Mobile 7, and remained vague on how Microsoft plans to improve its position in the mobile ecosystem. "The fundamentals of our strategy are based on the idea of choice and selection," he said. "It is our view that one model, one type of phone is not going to build volume into that critical mass that we think we need to make the business successful. We have people who are going to want Qwerty keyboard, touch keyboard, big screen, people who want small screens. People who will make tradeoffs on battery life to do media. So it is our view we need to work closely with Samsung, LG, HP, HTC, Sony Ericcson and others to build a broad selection of phones with different price points and different functionality."

For more on Bach's comments:
- read this ZDNet article [2]

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