It's really beginning to sound a lot like WM7 is going to break compatability in a major way. Perhaps this is why they are taking a two platform strategy. For those who don't want the aggravation can continue on with WM6.5, and for those who want to can jump to WM7.
Regardless it is all developing too slowly and is becoming rather confusing.
As for the interim upgrade between 6.5 and 7 I and hundreds of others have been running it on our Diamonds and other devices for a couple of weeks. It moves the close (not close) button to the bottom left and makes many screens and menus much bigger and easier to use. Why this could not have been included in the RTM version of 6.5 I have no idea. It just muddies the waters even further by making it a later upgrade. It's all like Microsoft has increased their staff in the "Let's Piss Them Off Department"
Dave