News.blog: Windows Mobile update due on 1 April

Microsoft is getting ready to take the wraps off the latest version of Windows Mobile, according to a report out on Tuesday.

Pocket Lint is claiming that Microsoft will release Windows Mobile 6.1 next Tuesday, which happens to be the day that Microsoft's Robbie Bach, head of the Windows Mobile team, is planning to give a keynote address at the CTIA Wireless conference in Las Vegas. Purely a coincidence, I'm sure, although it will be April Fool's Day.

Windows Mobile 6.1 will be the first major update to ship since version 6.0 made its debut last year. Screenshots that leaked out earlier this year hinted that 6.1 would use a sleeker interface, cutting down on some of the clutter in the 6.0 version.

The sixth version came with some incremental improvements to Windows Mobile 5.0. But next year, Microsoft is expected to take a nod from Apple's OS X and release a touchscreen-oriented user interface as part of Windows Mobile 7.

I'll be at CTIA next week for Bach's keynote address along with several colleagues, as we check out the latest from Microsoft's smart phone group. At the moment, Windows Mobile phones are quite popular, but there's not a single company in this industry that isn't re-examining its future road map after watching the debut of the iPhone.