Microsoft unwrapped its rumored Windows Phone 7 software at the Mobile World Congress to rave reviews this week.
But as Datamation reveals, the software giant has a significant investment and plans to keep the 6.x series of mobile software going.
Several analysts see Microsoft
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s announcement of Windows Phone 7 Series this week at the Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Barcelona, Spain, as a watershed event that very well could put the software giant back in the mobile operating system game.
However, the notable absence of much talk by Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) executives at the announcement about the current Windows Mobile 6.5, which just began shipping on new handsets in October, is perplexing to some.
The initial response, though, was overwhelmingly positive towards 7 Series, Microsoft’s competitor to the iPhone and Android, due out in time for this fall’s holiday sales.
“We expected Microsoft to do something dramatic. And although the new OS, Windows Phone 7 Series won’t be available until late 2010, it looks like they have exceeded expectations,” Jack Gold, founder and principal analyst at J.Gold Associates, said in a commentary.
Other pundits and analysts weighed in similarly.
“Windows Phone 7 Series looks very promising but I wonder how they’re going to keep supporting the enterprise,” Philippe Winthrop, until recently director of the global wireless practice at Strategy Analytics, told InternetNews.com.