The first Windows Cellular six.five phones aren;t expected to become offered until this fall, however it seems like that isn;t stopping Microsoft from “launching” the next version of its mobile operating system on May 11.May 11 is the opening day of Microsoft;s TechEd 2009 conference in Los Angeles. From an April six post to the Windows Cellular Team blog:“Stephanie Ferguson, GM (General Manager) of Business Experiences at Microsoft’s Cellular Communications Business is going to deliver the kick off launch presentation of Windows Mobile 6.five on Monday, May 11th at 1:00PM – 2:15PM. This Tech Ed 2009 session focuses on one of the biggest launches in the history of Windows Cellular – Windows Mobile 6.five. It is targeted at both IT Professionals and Developers, with a cool demo and an outline of great stuff to come. Be sure to join us as we are giving away 5 Samsung Blackjack II’s!”There are a handful of other Windows Cellular 6.5 sessions about the TechEd docket, including one on developing apps that use touch and gestures. From the description of a session entitled “Make Some Magic! Shake, Flip and Flick Your Application for Windows Cellular 6.five!“:“The world of mobility has evolved. While keypads, stylus, and keyboards are all good and fine for device input, newer input methods have been popularized in recent years,
Office Professional 2010, such as accelerometers, touch screen gestures, capacitive touch screens,
Microsoft Office 2007, light sensors, and such. More than just gadgets and gimmicks, these next-generation input methods allow you,
Office 2010 Professional Plus, the cellular developer,
Windows 7, to offer the best interface possible to your users around the road, enhancing their device experience. This session explores various input methods out there on some of the latest Windows Mobile six.1 and six.five devices and how to programmatically leverage them using managed APIs from Microsoft .NET Compact Framework-based applications. Topics covered include working with the Windows Mobile Unified Sensor API to access hardware sensors, controlling device cameras using the Windows Cellular SDK, capturing stylus and finger gestures on touch screens, detecting ambient light, making your device vibrate and sound-off, and more.”Whether Microsoft considers May 11 the official launch,
Windows 7 Download, the “business launch,” or the official release to manufacturing date, it seems Windows Cellular 6.five is pretty much complete. Now onto Windows Cellular 7….Update: I just went back and looked at the MSDN blog post. All references to the word “launch” have been removed from that post. It now says:“Stephanie Ferguson, GM of Business Experiences at Microsoft’s Mobile Communications Business is going to deliver the kick off presentation of Windows Mobile six.5 on Monday, May 11th at 1:00PM – 2:15PM. This Tech Ed 2009 session focuses on Windows Mobile 6.5 and is targeted at both IT Professionals and Developers, with a cool demo and an outline of great stuff to come. Be sure to join us as we are giving away 5 Samsung Blackjack II’s!”