Windows Mobile 6.5 is Officially Released

Posted on 06 October 2009 by


Last week Wayne and I had the opportunity to sit in on an NDA workshop discussing the new and updated features of Windows Mobile 6.5. Wayne got hung up and couldn’t attend (pesky day job getting in the way, again!), but I was able to sit in an hear a bit about 6.5 and Marketplace, Microsoft’s new software store for Windows Phones.

Those of you who read our GearChat back in February will recognize many of the new 6.5 screens, and yes – the Zune-like interface is still present.

Designer-Theme_Ron-Arad_Today-Screen_lowres

Gone is the obvious honeycomb styling of the launcher; well, I partially take that back. The honeycombs are still there, but their delineation has been eliminated. I think it looks much better.

Default-Start-Screen_medres

I’m throwing up a gallery of screenshots that were included in the press info pack Wayne and I both received; since we were each sent an AT&T HTC Pure on two-week loan (essentially an HTC Touch Diamond2 like the one Mitchell reviewed in August, but slightly redesigned and upgraded to WM 6.5) which arrived mid-day Monday (Oct 5th), we’ll have comments on the device as well as the upgraded operating system in the next few days.

Was 6.5 worth the wait? It certainly looks like an improvement on the surface, but we both have reservations about how many levels down the “touch-friendly” features will extend. If 6.5 is basically just a finger-friendly shell over what has been largely a stylus-based operating system up until a generation or so ago, then the core experience may not be anything like what consumers coming from other touch based phones are expecting.

Wayne brought up an interesting thought today; he sees Windows Mobile 6.5 as a “better Android,” but is that necessarily a compliment? I guess he’ll be deciding that over the next few days. I’ve been using the iPhone 3GS for the last month, so the comparisons I’ll be making between the Pure and the latest iPhone incarnation will be unavoidable.

I can tell you this, and it is an odd thing for me to say when I have been such a fan of HTC’s Touch Flo 3D on all other Windows Mobile 6 devices: on the Pure, the first thing I did was turn it off (which automatically enabled Windows Default), because I wanted to give the new Windows Phone Today Screen a chance. So far, I really like the Zune-like interface.

In the next week or so, we should each have a list of five things we really like about 6.5 as well as five things we would like to see improved. In the meantime, here is a gallery of screenshots – some of which I honestly don’t think do the upgraded OS any justice. We’ll have to take some of our own to remedy that.

I should mention Windows Marketplace before I close for the night, which has one thing going for it that blows away the Apple App Store:

Windows® Marketplace offers a full refund within 24 hours of purchase, if you’re not satisfied — no questions asked.

Granted, the pickings are going to probably be pretty slim up front, but if they can get a solid application catalog in place…








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- who has written 1699 posts on Gear Diary.

I started Gear Diary on September 30, 2006, and my goal was that this not be an easily labeled site. We all have gear that we use daily – some of it electronic and some of it organic. I think it is fascinating to explore the equipment that makes our lives easier, more entertaining, more productive, and more manageable. My hope is that Gear Diary visitors will find this site to be a comfortable and friendly place to discuss interesting topics – and not only those that are tech related, as well as a location to discover various types of gear – whatever that term may end up implying – that they never knew existed. My specialty is in-depth reviews written in a layman’s terms, because everyone can understand technology, sometimes it just takes a little translating. +Judie Stanford

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  • http://twitter.com/navidrockni/status/4650730471 navidrockni

    Windows Mobile 6.5 is Officially Released http://tinyurl.com/y8nlysu from @iNewsApp

  • http://www.s-consult.com/index.php Wayne Schulz

    Much of what I love about this new version may be more to do with the HTC Pure (a pretty good deal at $149 in retail which I suspect means much cheaper at sources like Amazon).

    HTC replaces the opening Zune like interface with their own Touch Flo which is very slick.

    I see Windows Mobile as the best fit for corporate types without any desire to load their phone with music or some of the offbeat apps.

  • http://www.geardiary.com Carly Z

    That is a very pretty UI…much better than the old today screen.

  • http://www.mobilitysite.com breley

    I’ve been using a custom WM 6.5 ROM since early summer and have been very pleased with the OS. I’m still torn between which GUI I prefer…TF3D or SPB Mobile Shell 3.5 (currently on my phone). The improved finger-friendliness of 6.5 has been a real boon for me. Ok, and it looks a bit prettier too.

  • http://www.geardiary.com Michael Anderson

    Interesting … from some of the things I’ve seen – the major changes are ‘eye candy’, which no one will see because the major handset makers have moved ahead of 6.5 because of how lethargic with updating the WM OS over the last few years. And the core of the OS is really the same as what has been powering WiMo for the last 3+ years …

  • http://www.geardiary.com Judie Lipsett

    @Michael – Exactly. I am not seeing much to celebrate at the moment. :-/

  • http://twitter.com/etoolguy/status/4655654963 etoolguy

    Windows Mobile 6.5 is Officially Released http://bit.ly/sDDSV

  • http://www.raveephoto.com Augie

    I might try it out on my Mogul. I still have not figured out if Sprint will allow any new PDA phones on the old SERO 500 plan.