Microsoft: WinMo 6.5 to outdo iPhone in web browsing

Microsoft's Robbie Bach, president of the entertainment and devices division, admitted that the Windows Mobile platform has faced a struggling year, as the platform lost market share.

"We have to do a better job executing and operating our business," Bach said, including an improvement in integrating the Windows Mobile software with phone hardware.

Bach also pointed to the new Windows Mobile 6.5 operating system as a way to bolster Microsoft's position.

"You will have a very rich browsing experience on [Windows Mobile] 6.5 devices," Bach told analysts during a recent financial briefing, according to ZDNet. "It will give you access to more websites than you will be able to get to on an iPhone that will work actively and work well. It really is a much better experience." WinMo 6.5 is slated for release this fall in conjunction with the introduction of Microsoft's Windows Marketplace for Mobile application storefront.

Bach did not address the status of Windows Mobile 7 and was vague on how Microsoft plans to improve its position in the mobile ecosystem.

Bach said, "The fundamentals of our strategy are based on the idea of choice and selection," reports ZDNet. "It is our view that one model, one type of phone is not going to build volume into that critical mass that we think we need to make the business successful. We have people who are going to want Qwerty keyboard, touch keyboard, big screen, people who want small screens. People who will make trade offs on battery life to do media. So it is our view we need to work closely with Samsung, LG, HP, HTC, Sony Ericsson and others to build a broad selection of phones with different price points and different functionality."

For more:
- read this ZDNet article
- see this Techworld article

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