Pocket PC Central News Center

Some on the Web are billing a recent quote from Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer concerning porting Zune software to future Windows Mobile devices as a grand revelation – but it’s been known since early January that Microsoft was planning (at the very least) to bring a Zune-type media player to Windows Mobile 7, the next version of the company’s mobile platform.

As you can see from this screenshot, Windows Mobile 7’s media player has a Zune icon, presumably to connect to the Zune store to purchase and download tracks.  The screenshot was part of a package of captures released on a Microsoft-related blog in January.

It is unclear how much Zune will shape future version of Windows Mobile; its entire interface could be changed to reflect Zune, or a Zune-inspired player could simply replace the current Windows Media Player Mobile.  I would welcome each of these changes.

Given the evolution of the Zune software (the Zune players’ UI and the Windows Zune application) over the past year, adding it to Windows Mobile it would certainly prove a great improvement over the miserable Windows Media Player Mobile, which remains largely unchanged for years and is about as limited as mobile media software can be.

I don’t expect a Zune-phone, but there will be a greater marriage  of Zune and Windows Mobile in the future.  Exciting stuff.

Microsoft is expected to announce its new Cloud-based OS later this month.  This ‘Windows Cloud’ OS (or whatever it comes to be called) could mean big things for Windows Mobile, depending on how it evolves.

The mobile market is moving quickly toward Cloud-based syncing, as seen by Apple’s MobileMe and Android’s Google-dependant wireless syncing.  We hope to see Microsoft move similarly, but without the hitches and lurches of MobileMe or the Google service dependency (at least at first) of Android.

Microsoft could build a new Cloud-based ActiveSync whose connections are entirely wireless, with syncing between Live services, Windows, Outlook and Windows Mobile devices, all without USB cables. The potential of this type of technology is incredible, and will affect data syncing, software distribution, online storage, mobile control, web-based applications and more.

We’ll keep you updated on the evolution of Windows Cloud over the coming months.  An official announcement is expected later this month.

I’ve been using the new Palm Treo 800w for a few days, and I wanted to share my impressions of the device before I post my full review sometime next week.

The Treo 800w is fast – its TI CPU (to my surprise), makes quick work of applications and files, the EVDO connection is more than adequate for most web tasks (particularly on Opera Mobile 9.5), and file transfers are zippy over USB 2.0 or Wi-Fi.  Next, the screen.  The Treo 800w has a square display with an unusual but beautiful 320×320 resolution.  This display offers some compatibility issues with third-party Windows Mobile software, but it looks great.  Lastly, there’s Treo thumb QWERTY keyboard, which is one of the best out there.

After my last ho-hum experience with the WinMo Treo, the Treo 750, I’m very impressed by the 800w.  The 800w isn’t for everyone, but if you’re a Treo fan and a Sprint customer, I recommend you swing by your local store and have a look.  More next week.

WindowsForDevices has posted an interesting article comparing the number of iPhones and Windows Mobile devices sold in Q1 2008, and the numbers prove Windows Mobile the winner by a mile. Windows Mobile, with approximately 4.5 million units sold in Q1, clearly beat the iPhone, which sold 1.7 million. In fact, WinMo sales grew by a larger number in Q1 2008 over 2007’s first quarter (selling about 1.8 million more units) than the total number of iPhones sold between January and March ‘08. 

This is certainly interesting, given the relentless iPhone hype we’ve seen since the handheld was announced in early 2007.  Of course, one must consider that all major wireless service providers have at least one Windows Mobile offering, while the iPhone has been limited to a dedicated carrier wherever it’s sold.  And there are other considerations which have benefited WinMo including third-party software support, Exchange syncing, hardware keyboards, lower prices, etc. 

But most of these advantages have been rendered obsolete with this morning’s release of the iPhone 3G, and Apple is moving quickly to address each disadvantage of its hatchling phone when compared to Windows Mobile, RIM and Palm.  Windows Mobile still has advantages over the iPhone, but they aren’t significant enough to save Windows Mobile on a large scale.  Microsoft must deliver wide, sweeping changes to the way the OS looks, works and interoperates with the Cloud in order to survive the iPhone.

Microsoft can breathe a sigh of relief for now, but it had better not last long.  Windows Mobile 7, it’s game time.

EDITORIAL: With Apple, Google and RIM making swift and sweeping moves in the world of handheld operating systems, Windows Mobile 6 - you know, Windows Mobile 5 / 2003 / 2002 with a slight makeover - is becoming a dated platform in many respects; we’re still a country mile from Palm OS territory, but it’s time for a major overhaul.

I’ve decided to focus my first in a multi-part editorial on the syncing possibilities of Windows Mobile and what improvements need to be added for Windows Mobile 7, which is due out next year.

Keep reading…