So often in the gadget business, you know something without actually “knowing.” For example, we’ve known Windows Mobile 7 was coming for quite a while, though it is only now being confirmed. Likewise, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer making some noise at Mobile World Congress in regards to Windows Phone (potentially Windows Mobile 7) was mentioned in passing at CES (and a couple other times since then); but now it’s officially official.

According to Microsoft’s News Center, Steve Ballmer will be hosting a press conference to discuss Windows Phone at MWC. Slated for Feb. 15 -- that's next Monday -- the press conference will be streaming live and viewable from Microsoft’s Windows Phone page. After the conclusion of the press conference, an on demand version will be made available.

With as rampant as the speculation has become over WM7 and what it will or will not include, we’re not going to read much into the fact that this is only a press conference instead of a full-blown keynote. We’ll be there Monday to watch it go down.

We’ve known (unofficially) for some time now that Microsoft has been working on various follow-ups to Windows Mobile 6.5. ROMs based off of 6.5.x builds of Windows Mobile have been floating around XDA and other similar sites for months, but we hadn’t seen anything official from Microsoft (or even semi-official) ... until now.

MSDN (the Microsoft Developer Network) Web site is where developers go for documentation on various APIs and methods for creating applications for Microsoft products. The documentation for the Widget Engine in Windows Mobile 6.5 makes reference to the changes that we’ve seen with the softkeys and menus in 6.5.x ROMs. The quote states: “Beginning with the Windows Mobile 6.5.3 release, touchable tiles replace soft keys. For developers, the change from soft keys to touchable tiles is automatic starting with Windows Mobile 6.5.3. All of the following applies to touchable tiles and to soft keys.”

This may not seem like much of a mention, but the timing of this discovery may be significant. With Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer scheduled for the opening Keynote at CES next week, might we get some details on where Windows Mobile is headed? We’ll be there to keep you posted.

By now it's hardly a secret that we're expecting some sort of Zune integration in Windows Mobile 7. Microsoft has been fairly coy about it, though nobody's really been buying that.

Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer (that's him on the right) dropped word today during The Engadget Show that Zune will be coming to the next version of Windows Mobile.

For Zune he says Windows Mobile is going to get integration in the next release -- which is a comforting thought, if perhaps a bit late.

So there you have it. Good riddance, Windows Media Player.

Some notes out of a "Breakfast with Ballmer" (in Boston no less, for you lovers of all things alliterative) showed an interesting exchange between the Microsoft CEO and a former Lotus executive.

As recounted by correspondent Scott Kirsner on Boston.com:

The one sparky interchange -- no surprise -- seems to have been initiated by angel investor (and former Lotus exec) John Landry, who said it seemed to him that Microsoft is still very much focused on desktop computing, and considers all other devices to be peripherals to the PC. Landry waved his iPhone and said he does 80 percent of his work on that device. Ballmer responded by saying that Microsoft was aware that it has to do much better with Windows Mobile 7, its forthcoming mobile operating system (the release of which has been pushed back into 2010). "We know we have to kill on that one," a meeting attendee recalled Ballmer saying. (I've got a call in to Landry, to get his version of the discussion about the iPhone.)

Twitter entrepreneur Laura Fitton also noted that very few people are developing Twitter apps for Windows Mobile. Ballmer responded by saying Microsoft realizes that the company is engaged in a long campaign to get more developers writing apps for the Windows Mobile OS.

Hmmmmm. Tens of thousands of apps out there, but nobody's developing for Windows Mobile? "Very few" Twitter apps? We've got a couple hundred apps in the Windows Marketplace for Mobile already, and we're expecting tons more next month in Phase II. Anybody else smell trouble here?

Everyone is hurting this year and even the head-honchos at Microsoft have received a small cut in pay as a result. That would Ballmer & Liddell and the rock stars Bach-Elop-Turner Overdrive.

Sure the numbers are all over the place: base salary went up slightly while cash incentive payments went down and lets face it, Ballmer is far from poor as a result.

Still, as the article points out some of the base salary was set before the economic downturn and more importantly, Microsoft has a considerably low base salary for all their executives when compared to some other industries, ahem. Instead, their real income is through stock options and therefore tied directly to company performance, which we think makes sense and all.

We're just glad we guess that Microsoft seems relatively down to earth in terms of executive compensation.  There, we said something nice.  Now can someone please take care of our ridiculous college loans?  Thanks!

[Source: Seattle Times]

Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer just had a chat with BusinessWeek, and All Things Digital's Peter Kafka was a fly on the wall for the event. He paraphrased the chat, which we'll boil down even further here.

On smartphones: Expects the market to grow to 70 or 80 percent the next few years. "So what will people want? Good experience built in, without downloading stuff. [Eds note: You're allowed to chuckle here] You want good price range." Sweet spot is $150 to $200, but they want to "make Windows phones up and down the price scale."

On "touch" and the iPhone: "Windows Mobile 6.5 has touch on it. The way Apple does touch drives cost. The way they do it on the iPhone is not an inexpensive component. We’ll do it in a way that you can afford to do it on most phones."

[That could very well be the best reason why we haven't seen capacitive-touch Windows phones yet. It just costs too darn much. And by "best" we mean huh?]

On the upcoming retail stores: "It is a challenge today for our partners, who do the most innovative designs, to get them to market. Because it’s too high risk for the Best Buys of the world. So we need an outlet to champion that innovation. Showcase devices that are hard to get stocked in traditional electronics retailer."

Hit up the full Q&A for more on Microsoft and cloud services, whether the Ballmer family indulges in any Apple gadgets, and what life's like without Bill Gates at work every day.

 File under: Awkward! At the CIO summit yesterday, Steve Ballmer got an uncomfortable question from the audience that, well, has been on a lot of people's minds:

"With platforms like the Google phone and iPhone coming out, it’s really tough to continue to stand behind Windows Mobile when our employees are bringing these consumer devices into our environments,” the questioner explained. “And in your presentation you put Windows Mobile right in the center there, but it was a phone that doesn’t work in America and an operating system that you haven’t released. I’m wondering what your commitment is to continuing to get newer versions of the operating system in our hands so that we don’t have to fight this battle on the ground.”

Ballmer's response was basically "we're getting to it" and he pointed out that, yes, Windows Mobile sold more units than the iPhone did last year.  As WinMo fans, it might have been nice to have Ballmer point out some of the platform's advantages over the iPhone -- but we have to grant that many of these advantages are more likely to appeal to the nerd / IT manager than they are to the consumer.  Setting cross-platform sniping aside, the most interesting part of Ballmer's response to us was this little nugget:

“We have a significant release coming this year,” he said. “Not the full release we wanted to have this year but we have a significant release coming this year with Windows Mobile 6.5"

Emphasis ours above -- apparently Microsoft "wanted" to have Windows Mobile 7 ready to rock this year.  It's not exactly a surprise, sure, but it's still nice to hear from the horse's mouth.  Ballmer says that they've put a team in place that will be able to "accelerate" development for Windows Mobile to deliver the "things people want on the highest-end phones."

Anybody out there in a WinMo shop, facing a user insurrection asking for competing platforms?

TechFlash via Digital Daily

Say it ain't so Joe! ...er, Steve. You know, Steve Ballmer, Microsoft's CEO.

Remember when he said, referring to the iPhone's 2G launch, "There's no chance that the iPhone is going to get any significant market share. No chance."? Yet almost two years later the iPhone is one of, if not, the best selling smartphone around. In an interview with Financial Times (registration required), Ballmer acknowledged the edge companies such as Apple and Google have gained in important parts of the consumer business having "clear market momentum".

While Ballmer may be conceding that Microsoft may be down, they're certainly not out. While Palm isn't making it easier with the well-received introduction of the Palm Pre, Ballmer doesn't strike me as someone who will go quietly. With the announcement of Windows 7, partnerships with Dell and Verizon to increase the distribution of Windows Live Search and the anticipated announcement of Windows Mobile 6.5 next month at the Mobile World Congress, Microsoft may begin to pick up steam in the mobile market.

Plus, just when we thought Windows Mobile Standard was on its last breath with the retirement of the Motorola Q line a new spark is seen in the HTC S743. Ballmer's acknowledgment that Apple is closing in on a lead in the market isn't a sign of defeat but maybe a call to arms. Hopefully, next month's World Mobile Congress will be for Microsoft what the 2009 CES was for Palm.

[via: theiphoneblog.com]

We're live at the Steve Ballmer Keynote for CES 2009. What to expect? Could be anything, we're just hoping for more than Bill Gates' standard "kitchen of the future" fare.

You know what to do: click through!

Update: We're all finished up, click through to read our live blog archive and -- even better -- see images from the keynote!

Read the rest of this entry »

Wasn’t it last year that Microsoft said it had no intentions of developing hardware for Windows Mobile?? Wasn’t that re-affirmed back in September that Microsoft is not in the handset game. Apparently, Scott Rockfeld’s statement that Microsoft has “no plans to build our own phone” was re-evaluated and we are learning that Microsoft may be developing hardware after all.

Electronista is reporting that Microsoft is in the latter stages of developing a Windows Mobile device along with Nvidia. This new device will be fitted with the new NVIDIA Tegra processor. The 700mhz processor that will give the phone 720p video playback and advanced 3D visuals capabilities that aren’t present on any current Windows Mobile device.

Indications are that Microsoft will introduce this new phone at the February 2009 Mobile World Congress. No word on a product name or any other particulars about the phone (any taker’s that it’ll be called ZUNE?). Could we see this new device be Microsoft’s flagship for Windows Mobile 6.5? Could this be the re-incarnation of the Sidekick? This news leaves open a wide assortment of possibilities and we will be watching closely to see what other surprises Microsoft has in store for the Windows Mobile community.