Microsoft promised to deliver Windows Mobile 6, the latest version of its operating system for handhelds and smartphones, by midyear--and tomorrow it makes good on its promise. Windows Mobile 6 makes its official debut Friday as a free upgrade for T-Mobile's svelte Dash PDA-phone hybrid.
Dash owners will be able to download the new version of the OS from T-Mobile's web site, and new Dashes with Windows Mobile 6 preinstalled will be available starting in June, the carrier says.
In case you don't remember, here's what the Dash looks like head on:
And here's a side view:
The new version of Windows Mobile--previously code-named Crossbow--isn't so much a major redesign as it is a face lift that fine-tunes the platform's e-mail capabilities, makes using a smartphone as a Bluetooth modem easier, and adds support for some Windows Live and Windows Mobile Office features. (Here's my coverage of the initial Windows Mobile 6 announcement in February, on the eve of 3GSM.)
But the Windows Mobile 6 upgrade addresses a significant shortcoming I cited in my initial review of the Dash last fall: Because the device ran Windows Mobile 5 for Windows Smartphones, it had no support for Microsoft's productivity apps--even though it has a QWERTY keyboard that you might expect to use editing Word docs, Excel spreadsheets, and PowerPoint presentations.
Windows Mobile 6 doesn't differentiate between smartphones and PDAs in that way; rather, it comes in one flavor for devices with touchscreens and one for devices without touchscreens, regardless of whether they have a QWERTY keyboard. And both versions include at least limited support for Word, Excel and PowerPoint.
I liked the Dash's design when it came out and I still do; I really like its Wi-Fi support. With the Windows Mobile 6 upgrade, it's now even more appealing as a serious business tool. But with RIM's announcement, also today, of the Curve 8300--a slick new BlackBerry with some consumer chops--the battle of the QWERTY-keyboard handhelds is definitely heating up.
