Windows Mobile 6 unveiled
Soooo, as things go in the tech world, this news wasn't supposed to hit the wires 'til Sunday afternoon at the 3GSM World Congress. But stories get leaked, people get all up in other people's business, and frankly, nobody can keep a secret these days. And Microsoft is certainly learning that today--but truth be told, this wasn't a well-kept secret from the get-go. The big announcement here is the (un)official unveiling of Windows Mobile 6. Codenamed Crossbow, it's the new mobile operating system from Microsoft that succeeds Windows Mobile 5.
There will be three editions again, but they've been renamed as Classic (formerly known as Pocket PC Edition), Standard (Smartphone Edition), and Professional (Pocket PC Phone Edition). Aside from nomenclature, what else is new? Well, we'll have a more in-depth look (with a slide show) of WM6 for you soon, but in the meantime, here's a quick list of highlights:
Ability to view e-mail in original HTML format
Enhanced Mobile Office Suite allows for viewing and editing documents
Windows Vista synchronization
Windows Live for Mobile: services include mail, messenger, search, and contacts
Calendar Ribbon for easily viewing your day or week's schedule
Nine new one-click e-mail shortcuts, including Reply-all, Moving messages to subfolder, and Delete
Call history associated with Contacts
"One-click easy" Internet Sharing option for using a smart phone as a laptop modem
Information Rights Management
Easier VoIP integration (more for the device manufacturers and carriers)
The best news, of course? The new OS means there will be a number of new devices coming out, so prepare yourself. We may see some announced at 3GSM early next week, so stay tuned.
Note: This story originally appeared in Crave.CNET.com.
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