What derailed the Windows Mobile 7 train?
While many industry observers obsessed this week over a report that claimed Microsoft will offer two different Windows Mobile versions to phone makers in the coming year, they glossed over the real news. If Digitimes's August 19 story is correct …
Context & Ripple Effects
The arc here runs back to December 2007, when Gizmodo's diagnosis of what was wrong with Windows Mobile cast versions 7 and 8 as the fixes; by February 2009, an Engadget editorial concluded interim release Windows Mobile 6.5 misses the mark, leaving 7 carrying the platform's redemption weight.
Into that gap, Digitimes reported on August 19 — still unconfirmed — that Microsoft will offer two different Windows Mobile versions to phone makers in the coming year. This piece argues the industry obsessed over the version-split detail and glossed over the real news: something derailed the Windows Mobile 7 effort itself. The stakes were raised two weeks earlier by Digital Daily's reporting that the iPhone was undermining Microsoft in the enterprise.
First-order effects
- If the Digitimes report proves accurate, phone makers must plan hardware and driver work against two divergent Windows Mobile roadmaps next year before Microsoft has confirmed either specification.
- A derailed WM7 leaves criticized Windows Mobile 6.5 as the shipping product longer than planned, precisely as Apple presses into the enterprise accounts Microsoft counted on.
Second-order effects
- OEMs forced to hedge between two Microsoft versions have added incentive to shift device lineups toward Android, thinning Windows Mobile's hardware pipeline.
- Enterprise buyers already weighing iPhone against Windows Mobile get a further reason to defer refresh cycles until Microsoft clarifies its platform direction.
Third-order effects
- A two-version strategy fragments an aging codebase; if WM7 cannot carry existing WinMo applications forward, Microsoft faces the far costlier path of a clean-break rebuild rather than an incremental upgrade.
- Supply-chain leaks like Digitimes' are filling the disclosure vacuum around an unannounced platform, meaning competitors and partners now set expectations off rumors Microsoft has not confirmed.
The trend: Smartphone platforms are shifting from incremental OS upgrades toward ground-up rebuilds, with leaked supplier roadmaps setting market expectations faster than the platform owners themselves.