Microsoft: Hardware Start logo button not a prerequisite for WM6.5 upgrade

by Damian Koh |
One of the things that current Windows Mobile 6.1 smartphone users won't be getting is an upgrade to Windows Mobile 6.5. This is due to a requirement for a hardware Start logo button on the device which will help users identify it as a Windows phone at a glance. At least that was what we understood when Microsoft announced its latest version of the mobile operating system at the Barcelona-based Mobile World Congress in February.

It turns out that WM6.1 users are still eligible for an upgrade to WM6.5 if device manufacturers decide to release it to the existing devices. That's exactly the case for the LG GM730 that was launched at the infocomm tradeshow in Singapore, CommunicAsia, this afternoon. According to LG, the GM730 will get an upgrade to WM6.5 when the software becomes available in the latter half of the year. The GM730 doesn't have a hardware Start logo button, period.

We're not sure if it's a change in stand by Microsoft, but it appears that for devices without a physical Start button, it must have an onscreen one instead. What this means for current WM6.1 users is that there's a chance they will get the WM6.5 upgrade. What's left to know is whether the device manufacturer will make the upgrade available.

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