Despite the finger-friendly changes and UI tweaks that MS released in Windows Mobile 6.5, it failed to be the game changing new OS that many of us were hoping for in order to compete with the new platforms.
That hopeful ground-breaking UI overhaul that is arguably desperately needed, apparently is still reserved for WM7.0, which is slated to come out in the third quarter of 2010 (about 1 year after the official launch of 6.5).
Which means, in other words, that WM6.5 is simply here to hold us over until the totally new 7 is completely ready for launch.
But wait- what’s this? Windows Mobile 6.5.1? Is there another iteration of Windows Mobile coming out between 6.5 and 7?
The Windows Mobile hackers extraordinaire over at XDA-Developers and ppcgeeks seem to have gotten their hands on a new version of Windows Mobile 6.5 that includes some rather odd interface changes.
Dubbing it 6.5.1, it removes all the clickable buttons from the top bar, and shrinks it in favor of a larger bottom bar that houses everything.
That is, now the Start button, X/ok button, left & right softkeys as well as the on-screen keyboard toggle switch are all on the same bottom area.
Some WM enthusiasts are hailing this to be a fantastic UI update, making everything far easier to click with your thumb. To me, however, this seemed like the opposite… clustering everything together into one place would seem counter-intuitive. The general logic here should be that larger and more spread out buttons would be easier to hit without accidentally pressing another one.
Add to that the buttons don’t seem very polished with the UI, and the questionable naming of a three digit number (Just adding a .1? Shouldn’t it be 6.6? or 6.75?), and I had some serious doubts about whether or not this was legitimate.
Thankfully, I had a rare opportunity to speak with a Microsoft representative recently, while visiting a Windows Phone booth at a tech showcase event. When I asked him about 6.5.1, he seemed taken aback… but he managed to answer many of my questions, although politely asked not to print his name.
So, without further ado, here’s the inside scoop!
(Click to read on…)
Is Windows 6.5.1 Real?
Yes and no. The leaked new UI is from Microsoft, however the name 6.5.1 is a fabricated one from the forums, most likely. The new UI was not designed necessarily to be the next version of Windows Mobile, however a proposed solution to the problem of using Windows Mobile on a capacitive touch screen.
To explain: Capacitive touch (like that which is found on the iPhone) is much more responsive to your finger and requires less effort to use than the traditional resistive touch found on Windows Mobile devices. That is why it is popular on many new touch screen platforms. However, that comes with a cost… Capacitive is far less accurate. If you’ve ever wondered why Apple left out handwriting recognition from the iPhone (despite even the original Palm Pilot or Apple’s own Newton supporting this), this is often cited as the biggest reason. You don’t get that single-pixel tapping accuracy that a resistive touch offers. Apple’s UI more than makes up for it, however, by designing the OS with that limitation in mind.
Windows Mobile, meanwhile is a UI designed to be able to tap with nearly pixel accuracy. As it stands, the top bar and bottom bar of WM6.5 aren’t tall enough to be able to have clickable buttons without a resistive display.
But what about the Touch HD 2? Aren’t there already capacitive WM phones?
True, the new HTC HD2 (a beautiful phone, I might add), is capacitive and running 6.5. However, in order to pull that off, HTC had to go off and develop countless new UI changes of their own and throw in a new TouchFlo (sense-ui) to make it all work.
With new devices being proposed with capacitive screens, MS realizes there is a problem and is stepping up to the task.
Since the top and bottom bars are crucial to navigate the OS, MS decided to try out enlarging the bottom bar, and throwing everything down there while making the top smaller and unclickable (although some leaked builds have a scrollable set of settings icons that come down when you click near there).
The end result may not be as pretty (yet- remember this is still a work in progress and leaked from their labs), but it proves that native capacitive support is possible.
So, what will the new UI be called?
Well, the rep admitted to me that it won’t be called 6.5.1, however it may not be called anything. That is, it may not necessarily be “upgrade”, but rather an alternative version of WM for different types of displays.
I will admit, after playing with the leaked UI on an older Touch Pro (with a smallish 2.8″ display), it doesn’t feel like it was meant for older displays, and some may find it a great big step backwards.
So there you have it, folks. Not an official response from Microsoft, but information from someone on the inside.
The bottom line: 6.5.1 is not necessarily a taste of a new version of the OS, but rather a telling sign that new devices with fresh types of hardware are in the works before we get hit with Windows Mobile 7.
November 25th, 2009 at 10:18 pm
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November 25th, 2009 at 10:25 pm
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November 26th, 2009 at 11:18 am
[...] Genau diese erklrte nmlich ein Microsoft Mitarbeiter in einem Interview mit dem Technikblog mopocket.com (Englisch). Nach dem Release des HTC HD2s rechne man, um mit der Konkurrenz gleichzuziehen, mit [...]
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November 26th, 2009 at 6:22 pm
Hi, am rather enjoying the leaked builds on the net, they look much better than wm6.5, which i find disappointing. It’s interesting that you mentioned capasitive displays, because I have a diamond 2 and would like to know if this so called wm6.5.1 will get an official release for diamond 2? I really hope it does because this is what wm6.5 should have been. If it doesn’t get this upgrade then I may leave Windows Mobile because I can’t buy a new phone every few months for minor updates. I mean android offer updates to older hardware rather than releasing them on new phones only.
November 26th, 2009 at 6:24 pm
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November 26th, 2009 at 9:52 pm
[...] 分类: 智能手机 很显然，WM6.5系统已经在市面上开卖，不过，人们依然挂念的是WM7，就如同VISTA系统的时候，人们挂念WIN7一样，不过微软正在努力让WIN6.5变的更好，这次泄露出来的截图，你可以看到一些变化，包括顶部的菜单移到底部，并且是更加易点的按钮，有的人已经提前刷到这个ROM了，这些变化是为了能够让其在电容屏下表现的更为平滑易用而设计的，微软承认这些变化来自官方改进，但是没有告诉我们更多消息，我们希望WM6.5系统的改进能够为WM7.0带来更多的经验。 继续阅读全文 微软WindowsMobile 6.5第二版界面泄露引用来源 | 此文章网址 | 转寄此文章 | 回应 [...]
November 26th, 2009 at 11:40 pm
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November 27th, 2009 at 7:15 am
I am currently using a ROM with a newer leaked build (28004 / WM6.5.3) on my HTC Touch Pro 2 and can state that with a resistive screen of decent proportion, the new UI is massively better and easier to use without a stylus.
November 27th, 2009 at 7:36 am
[...] what other features this new version of Windows Mobile will come with. On the good side, however, mopocket has confirmed with a Microsoft representative that the company is indeed working on a new UI for [...]
November 27th, 2009 at 8:52 am
[...] on a couple months ago is soon to go live, but in what capacity no one knows. However, Mordy at mopocket was able to pin down a “nameless” Microsoft rep and got some [...]
November 27th, 2009 at 10:08 am
[...] what other features this new version of Windows Mobile will come with. On the good side, however, mopocket has confirmed with a Microsoft representative that the company is indeed working on a new UI for [...]
November 27th, 2009 at 12:02 pm
[...] Fuente: Mopocket [...]
November 28th, 2009 at 2:01 am
[...] changes that are expected in the much needed Windows Mobile update [...]
November 28th, 2009 at 7:15 am
[...] of Windows Mobile, demonstrating the changes made. An interview with an unnamed source over at mopocket has revealed a bit more information about the upcoming update. Differences between the main types [...]
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[...] la gente de Mopocket indican que Microsoft incorporará iconos de mayor tamaño en la parte inferior de la pantalla, que [...]
November 29th, 2009 at 1:32 am
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November 29th, 2009 at 10:31 am
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November 30th, 2009 at 3:12 am
[...] we welcome back MOpocket which after a long hiatus is back and sharing with us the inside scoop on Windows Mobile 6.5.1. Of special interest to Windows Mobile followers is the answer to the question: Is WM 6.5.1 real? [...]
December 3rd, 2009 at 5:22 am
[...] Fuente: Mopocket [...]
December 4th, 2009 at 11:10 am
i have the newest 6.5.x build running on my tmobile wing without any problems
January 13th, 2010 at 11:29 pm
[...] off what they claim to be Windows Mobile 6.5.3. If you recall, I recently had an opportunity to talk with an MS rep at a local event, and got some interesting information about what the new leaked builds are or [...]