[Twain]

I think Rocco's comment is right on the money. Anyone who is irritated by his statement is living in a world of hope, dreams and wishful thinking and is ignoring the history of Windows Mobile updates, upgrades, etc. My first hint that a release of devices with Windows Mobile 7 will be around the corner, is when I see a Windows Mobile 7 SDK. Ask yourself, what is usual span of time between the appearance of a new SDK (even in beta form) and the appearance of new devices based on that OS? Hmm?

[Twain]

I think Rocco's comment is right on the money. Anyone who is irritated by his statement is living in a world of hope, dreams and wishful thinking and is ignoring the history of Windows Mobile updates, upgrades, etc. My first hint that a release of devices with Windows Mobile 7 will be around the corner, is when I see a Windows Mobile 7 SDK. Ask yourself, what is usual span of time between the appearance of a new SDK (even in beta form) and the appearance of new devices based on that OS? Hmm?

[Pony99CA]

Originally Posted by Twain

I think Rocco's comment is right on the money. Anyone who is irritated by his statement is living in a world of hope, dreams and wishful thinking and is ignoring the history of Windows Mobile updates, upgrades, etc. My first hint that a release of devices with Windows Mobile 7 will be around the corner, is when I see a Windows Mobile 7 SDK.

I think that you missed the point. Various sites and people taking the "How can you be upset about a delay when nothing has been announced yet?" side are basically pretending the WM 7 doesn't exist yet. I think that's what's upsetting people.

However, Microsoft has mentioned it, Microsoft internal documents showing an early version were leaked and an OEM discussed when devices would be available containing it. I know it exists, you know it exists, so why pretend that the schedule doesn't matter?

Just because it hasn't been announced or you haven't seen an SDK doesn't mean that Microsoft didn't have an internal schedule or that an SDK isn't available at least internally yet. So the release could well have slipped.

In addition, worries about the supposed slippage are only compounded by the release (or near release) of the iPhone 3g, BlackBerry Bold/Storm/Kickflip and T-Mobile G1. It's not so much about when WM 7 devices will actually be available, it's that Microsoft doesn't appear to have the necessary sense of urgency.

Steve

[Twain]

Pony99CA,

I guess I'm just not buying into the hype.

As a consumer of Windows Mobile devices, I used to wait breathlessly for each and every version of Windows Mobile from the very first "Pegasus" version up to the time that Microsoft introduced the Smartphone format and a new proliferation of screen sizes, resolutions and the merged "pocket pc" and "smartphone" menubar. On the other hand, as a part-time software developer focused on vertical applications, it has become almost too difficult to write and maintain Windows Mobile software with all of the user interface changes that accompany each new version of the operating system. Undoubtedly, WM7 will introduce new UI features guaranteed to break existing applications.

The fact that people may have seen leaked, early versions of WM7, are aware of OEMs that touted timetables for WM7 devices and still, Microsoft has not released WM7 should not make people "upset". I interpret all of this to indicate that prior to the iPhone or Android, Microsoft was on their typical release cycle for another boring, new iteration for WM. It's entirely possible that the iPhone and Android caused Microsoft to reexamine their plans and suddenly realize that Apple and Google were going to eat their lunch and leave them irrelevant if they didn't hit WM7 "out of the park". It's also possible that with the changing of the guard, i.e. Bill Gates leaving, that the new leadership decided to chart a different more bold course for Windows Mobile, which necessitated altering their original schedule.

Either way, I'm content to simply wait and see what Microsoft delivers. We'll know soon enough if Microsoft is serious about staying relevant in an increasingly crowded, more competitive mobile device field.

[Pony99CA]

Originally Posted by Twain

It's entirely possible that the iPhone and Android caused Microsoft to reexamine their plans and suddenly realize that Apple and Google were going to eat their lunch and leave them irrelevant if they didn't hit WM7 "out of the park".

That's exactly what I think happened. As I've stated elsewhere, I recall hearing about Photon (WM 7) back when WM 6 still wasn't available. There was no talk of a WM 6.1, though.

I think that after the iPhone came out, Microsoft rethought WM 7 and released WM 6.1 to get a few important features out. Maybe I'm wrong, and WM 6.1 was on their release schedule all along, but that's how I've seen things.

Steve