One of the big expectations ahead of the Mobile World Congress was that Microsoft was set to announce Windows Mobile 6.1 at the conference. The upgraded operating system has been seen in leaked pictures and videos for a number of months now. A copy of the OS itself even made its way onto the Internet earlier this month.
Microsoft’s Mobile World Congress press conference focused on its announcement of Sony Ericsson joining the Windows Mobile camp and the acquisition of Danger Inc. There was no mention of Windows Mobile 6.1. With the conference wrapping up tomorrow, an announcement is now looking unlikely.
According to Brighthand, the hardware manufacturers are feeling the impact. Most are at the Mobile World Congress to show off new and upcoming devices and many of those will run Windows Mobile 6.1. In some cases, their demonstrations are now being hampered. For example, Sony Ericsson representatives cannot show more than the new XPERIA panel interface as the XPERIA X1 given that it runs Windows Mobile 6.1. And HTC announced that its new Enhanced HTC Advantage (X7510) will run a future version of Windows Mobile.
It’s not clear whether Microsoft ever planned on announcing Windows Mobile 6.1 at the Congress or if the rumours and leaks fueled the expectation. The question remains though: When will Microsoft announce Windows Mobile 6.1?