MWC 2009: Microsoft unveils new OS, Names and Services

 

Mobile World Congress 2009

 

 

Microsoft looks to better its competitor in the mobile device arena with various exciting new releases in 2009’s Mobile World Congress. These new products and services aim to take its users together with Microsoft’s cloud-ward approach alongside improved user-experience.

So first off, instead of Windows Mobile phone or Windows Mobile device, Microsoft has decided to uniformly address them (devices developed with Windows Mobile OS) as the Windows Phone. We have seen this coming as it has been a popularized rumor. Steve Ballmer, Microsoft’s CEO has this to say about the new Windows Phones

Windows® phones bring together the best of the Web, the PC and the phone so you can connect instantly to the experiences you care about, no matter where you are. We’re working with partners across the industry to deliver a new generation of Windows® phones that break down the barriers between people, information and applications and provide great end-to-end experiences that span your entire life, at work and at home.

Alongside with the name change is the newly unveiled Windows Mobile 6.5 with the anticipated new dashboard-like design with improved touch-screen interface that should add ‘smooth’ and ‘cool’ into the descriptions of Windows Phones.

Next up is the free password protected web-based service, My Phone service. It looks to provide automatic syncing and backup of personal information such as contacts, appointments, text messages and other information. I especially enjoy this part of the description of Microsoft’s new My Phone service:

“…making it simple to preserve content that, in the past, would have lived and died on the phone.”

Lastly, Microsoft’s very own Marketplace will be a central hub for Windows Phones’ mobile applications. With over 20,000 applications in the library, all you need is your Windows Live ID and you will be able to access the Marketplace, which provides simple security and compatibility check from Microsoft.

More information regarding Microsoft’s Windows Mobile at the Mobile World Congress 2009 can be found here.