Partially drowned in the flood of news coverage surrounding yesterday’s release of Windows 7 was the information that Microsoft will rebrand its Windows Mobile cellular operating system as Windows Phone.

The idea behind the rebranding, according to the Inquirer tech news website, is to make the experience of using a cell phone more like the experience of using a Windows-based personal computer. Enterprise users, which make up the bulk of Windows Mobile’s customer base, could see improvements in ease of use and broader functionality.

Microsoft recently released Windows Mobile 6.5 – to lukewarm reviews – and will release Windows Mobile 7 sometime next year, according to the Inquirer. The full rebranding, presumably, will take place sometime after that.

Some experts, including Bob Tedeschi of the New York Times, assert that Windows Mobile lags behind other modern smartphone operating systems in user-friendliness and that its devices will remain confined to the enterprise market unless the technology is drastically changed. However, Tedeschi says, it is not without useful functions, such as the anti-theft My Phone service.

Related Posts - ordered by relevance

1. Windows 7 release could prove a headache for enterprise cell phone management October 22nd, 2009  
2. Rumors fly around possible Windows phone launch at Mobile World Congress February 1st, 2010  
3. Windows Mobile 6.5 released for Samsung, LG and HTC cell phones October 8th, 2009  
4. Windows Mobile 6.5 coming out October 6 September 1st, 2009  
5. Experts differ on utility of Windows Phone 7 as enterprise mobility platform February 22nd, 2010  

This entry was posted by Mobility Management News Desk on Friday, October 23rd, 2009 at 7:49 pm and is filed under Managing Mobile Devices News, Understanding Mobility Management News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a comment, or trackback from your own site.

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