windows mobile

Just a reminder that you still have time to put your name in the drawing for one of ten copies of Vito Technologies Communications Suite.  Just head on over to this discussion going on in our forums and tell us where you think the future holds for Windows Mobile. 

Posts made before 5:00 p.m. EST on Wednesday, July 29, 2009 will be eligible for the drawing.  Winners will be notified as soon as possible by e-mail and a braggin' rights post.

You do have to be registered to post in the forums, which is an painless process that starts here.  Thanks to Vito Technologies for sponsoring this software giveaway.

There's been a good amount of speculation over what exactly will go into Microsoft's upcoming retail stores — and, rightfully, there's been a bit of laughter over the reported strategy of not actually selling anything. Then there's the report that Microsoft plans to set up shop right next to Apple stores in a few cities.

Gizmodo just scored a leak from the design company that reportedly is bringing all this together:

Essentially, Microsoft is taking the best elements from the Apple Store, Sony Style and other "flagship" stores. The main focuses are going to be Windows 7, Xbox, PCTV (Windows Media Center) Surface and Windows Mobile, revolving around this concept customer they call "Emily," who's basically a younger version of your mom, since they make all the buying decisions.

And, above, we see the concept for the Windows phones display. Nothing earth-shattering there. We're all used to seeing phones lined up like that in carrier stores. (And try not to read too much into the original Dash being shows as the Dash 3, m'kay?)

Hit up the Giz post for all the other deets. Including having birthday parties at the store.

Yeah, you'll need Silverlight to watch. And get ready for some Windows Mobile news, folks.

Every so often we see headlines exclaiming "Cell manufacturer abandons Windows Mobile for (insert cool new OS here)!" HTC has no such pretensions, despite all the attention being paid to Android this year.

HTC France exec Frederic Tassy spells it out in an interview with Mobinaute:

"For HTC 2009 is the year-off system Android. By the end of the year, we remain a strong player in this market. For other brands, there will be I think a lot of bluff with products that are likely to be delayed. We will always be more flagship products on Windows Mobile. Our best selling smartphone in Europe is also the HTC Touch HD Windows Mobile. "

So fear not, WinMo fans. HTC isn't going anywhere on us.

wmpoweruser via Android Central

WMExperts reader Anthony loved his Windows phone. And, truth be told, he still has love for the platform. So when he jumped ship to BlackBerry, he just had to let us know why.

So after the break, a round robin from Anthony, just a regular guy.

A reader asked over at the report of Microsoft's Quarterly Report what number of phones worldwide use the various mobile operating systems. Well as fate may have it, the answer fell in out laps this morning.

Electronista.com is reporting on an AdMob March 2009 report that shows how each OS stacks up worldwide and in the United States.

According to the report, in the U.S. Apple has approximately 50 percent of traffic where RIM gets 22 percent. Windows Mobile has 11 percent in its home arena, and both Android and Palm lay claim to 6 percent. Hiptop represents 4 percent while Symbian earns just a single percentage point. Worldwide, Apple drops to 38 percent, RIM is at 11 percent, Symbian 37 percent, Palm and Android are at 3 percent, Hiptop at 2 percent and Windows Mobile comes in with 6 percent.

The one caveat on these reports, they are based on AdMob's advertising requests and not necessarily sales figures. AdMob is a mobile advertising marketplace, offering solutions for discovery, branding and monetization on the mobile web. So while this bodes well for Apple in the U.S., the report is based on ad sales as opposed to unit sales.

I am sure that the sales figures will be slightly different.  Microsoft reportedly selling 20 million units worldwide in 2008 and Apple claims 37 million units sold.  The one problem with Apples sales figures is that it combines the iPhone and iTouch; a trend that is becoming more popular with Apple.  I wonder if Microsoft includes PDA's that run Windows Mobile in their stats?

When the iPhone 3.0 software was announced, there was a lot of hullabaloo about its use in the medical community for things like checking blood pressure. That's old news. Here in the Windows Mobile world we're stepping up to ultrasound and, pretty soon, may be performing entire surgeries on an HTC Touch Pro 2. (OK, we made that last part up.) How cool is that?

Researchers at Washington University in St. Louis turned a mild-mannered Windows phone into a mobile medical imager, thanks in part to a $100,000 grant from Microsoft. In return, they've come up with a device intended for use in developing countries that have cellular service but where using a full-blown imaging system would be too costly or not practical. So, using a standard USB connection, they've come up with a way to watch food as it passes through your digestive system, and, you know, tell whether it's a boy or a girl, or if that all-important artery is blocked – important stuff like that.

Read the whole story over at Crunchgear

Update: Our man Malatesta informs that this is all brought to you by TreoCentral favorite bsnguy, who also brought us the very cool Treo 800w-USB host info.

Come one, come all as we join Microsoft's Robbie Bach, president of the Entertainment & Devices Division, who will "discuss his thought-provoking response to the question, 'What does "Mobile Life" mean to you?' " Other than that? We've got no idea what's in store.

So check in after the break for a live stream (fair warning, you're going to need Silverlight) of Bach's talk, and tune your favorite twitter client to @wmexperts as our own Dieter Bohn liveTweets the event.

(Note: Microsoft's saying 10 a.m. Pacific, CTIA and Dieter are saying 9 a.m. Pacific - likely it's the case that 10 Pacific is when Bach will take the stage). In any case, you should be glued to WMExperts regardless!)

Update: Miss it live? It's all after the break in its embedded glory, along with Dieter's tweeted thoughts.

We had a little fun with our friends at The iPhone Blog last week after the iPhone 3.0 software was announced. Certainly it's a red-letter day in TiPB nation.

But now that we've had our fun, let's a take a serious look at how the iPhone 3.0 software compares to Windows Mobile present — and future, in Windows Mobile 6.5. Join us as we break down Rene's excellent 3.0 walkthrough.