My impressions of Windows Mobile 6.5

Microsoft hasn't officially released Windows Mobile 6.5 yet, but we all know that it's coming out fairly soon. New phones running Windows Mobile 6.1 have an "Upgradable to Windows Mobile 6.5" sticker that suggests that they will get a free upgrade to Windows Mobile 6.5. It's analogous to purchasing a PC running Vista if you know you can get a free upgrade to Windows 7.

The sad thing about Windows Mobile 6.5 is that it really isn't a huge improvement from Windows Mobile 6.1. Also, I struggle to see why it's taking so long to release 6.5. If we look at some history, we see that Microsoft released:

• Windows Mobile 5.0
• then skipped to Windows Mobile 6.0
• then they released an update called 6.1
• and now we're waiting on yet another update called 6.5

Seems a bit absurd that they would have 3 different versions of Windows Mobile 6 (6.0, 6.1, and 6.5). Windows Mobile 6.5 makes some improvements (scrolling, icons, larger menu text, etc.), but it really isn't optimized for touch-based input/navigation/use. The amazing thing is that I continue to be a loyal Windows Mobile user hoping that Microsoft will come out with an OS that really is optimized for smartphones.