Windows Mobile 7: coming late 2009?

We've been hearing about Windows Mobile 7 for quite some time now, heck, we've even seen a few leaked screenshots. Despite these facts, the next step for Windows Mobile (not counting 6.1, of course) has always seemed a bit far off and that point was underlined this past week when a few journalists were lucky enough to get their hands on the new OS at a Microsoft MVP event. In a blog post that has since been redacted (apparently some folks mistook informed speculation for fact), PocketNow detailed its experience with WinMo7, which is said to "basically [address] everything wrong with WM6 today." The problem, however, is that based on target release dates, we might not see the new OS until "mid to late 2009." That gives Apple, RIM, Palm and Symbian yet another year to make inroads into the enterprise market while Microsoft sits on the sidelines. This really can't be helped, however: unlike the closed ecosystem that is the iPhone, Windows Mobile relies on a vast network of OEM, carrier and developer partners, who will need months to test, embed and develop for the new OS before it can go out the door. That is, unless, Microsoft leveraged a recent purchase in order to produce its own native mobile hardware... but that, of course, is just wild speculation.

For more on Windows Mobile 7:
- see this Gizmodo article