Microsoft: First 'Windows Phones' arriving next month

Microsoft is hoping that a new crop of phones this autumn will help the company in its quest to stay relevant in the mobile phone market.

The software maker said on Tuesday that the first phones running Windows Mobile 6.5 will launch worldwide on 6 October.

The new crop of phones will also be the first that Microsoft will sell under the "Windows Phone" brand, an effort to tap into the marketing power of its flagship desktop operating system.

With Windows Mobile 6.5, Microsoft is hoping to convince users that its phones are not just good for doing work. Much of Microsoft's phone focus in recent times has been on improving the operating system's consumer features in an effort to regain ground lost to rivals.

Stephanie Ferguson, general manager in the Windows Mobile unit, said: "We know people want a phone for their whole life. They just frankly want to do more. That's why we've shifted."

Although it includes features such as improved web browsing and conversation threaded email, as well as a new Windows Marketplace app store, Windows Mobile 6.5 is seen largely as an interim upgrade of the operating system.

HTC's Touch Pro2 is among the new phones expected to ship with Windows Mobile 6.5 (photo credit: Microsoft)

Microsoft has come under criticism for the rather slow pace at which its software has evolved in the face of competition from the iPhone, BlackBerry, Android and Palm Pre.

For her part, Ferguson said she believes Windows Mobile 6.5 is a significant step forward, although she declined to predict whether Microsoft will gain share in the wake of its release.

The 6 October launch ties in with a "consumer open house" event that Microsoft Entertainment and Devices President Robbie Bach is hosting that day in New York City.

One of the big pushes with the new release is the Windows Marketplace app store. Although Microsoft has long offered tens of thousands of applications, they have been hard to find and download, something Marketplace is designed to address. While the Marketplace will launch with Windows Mobile 6.5, Ferguson declined to say how many programs have been submitted or approved thus far.

Ferguson did say that among the programs will be Netflix, Facebook, and a variety of games.

Microsoft will also formally launch its free My Phone service, which has been in beta. In addition to backing up contacts, calendar, text messages, photos, and other data, the service will also have a "Find My Phone" feature, similar to a paid iPhone service that helps users locate a lost iPhone.

Find My Phone can be used to remotely send a message to a phone and cause it to ring, even if it is set to vibrate. If that still doesn't locate it, users can look up on a map where the phone last synchronised to the service. Users can also remotely lock the phone and send a message to it urging whoever has it to call a specific number. If that doesn't work, users can also remotely wipe the device.

The software maker has said little of its plans for Windows Mobile beyond the current release, although the software maker has been working for more than two years now on a more substantial overhaul of the operating system as well as a collection of new consumer-oriented mobile services. The operating system upgrade, Windows Mobile 7, was originally expected early this year and has hit several delays. It's now not expected until sometime next year.

Microsoft is expected to work closely with a smaller number of hardware makers, who will be among the first to adopt the new products when they debut next year.

Original article: Windows Mobile 6.5 phones coming Oct. 6 from CNET News.com