Windows Mobile 6.5.3 (not kidding)

That's right. Instead of calling this version Windows Mobile 6.6 or 6.7, it's 6.5.3. Don't you just love it? We've gone from:

• Windows Mobile 6
• Windows Mobile 6.1
• Windows Mobile 6.5
• Windows Mobile 6.5.3

Do you see a pattern?

Windows Mobile 6.5.3 will offer more touch-friendly features and will also allow users to leverage a capacitive touch screen (if you device has a capacitive screen). Plus, support for multi-touch gestures will be included. Let's hope that also includes "pinch to zoom." Most of the older smartphones use a resistive touch screen plus a stylus. I think the days of the toothpick stylus are gone. As smartphones use resistive touch screens and rely on finger-touch, we won't be using stylus pens anymore. 

The first Windows smartphone running 6.5.3 will be the Sony Ericsson Aspen.  You can expect to see larger buttons, a modified user interface, a magnify feature, an improved version of Internet Explorer, and several other new features.

Windows Mobile 6.5 build 23022 on video

Interested in seeing the latest build of Windows Mobile 6.5? Watch this video to see how touch-friendly this operating system is becoming. Soon, the stylus pen will be a thing of the past.

It still makes me laugh when I think about the evolution of this OS. First, we had Windows Mobile 6. Then, we saw 6.1 (very minor updates). Now, we're all getting excited about Windows Mobile 6.5. I wonder if we'll see a 6.7 or 6.8 before Windows Mobile 7 gets released.