For those who want to use Windows Marketplace for Mobile now and have an older device (Windows Mobile 6.0/6.1) or Windows Mobile 6.5 with the store not already on the in ROM, drellisdee over at PPC Geeks has managed to pull out the .CAB for the rest of us:

I made it from 23053 skymarket. Its for WWE only and only for devices that have a bootlauncher (IE no apache.) Let me know if it doesn't work on stock roms as its not signed as I'm not sure if signature is required but it will run on cooked roms with full kernel trust enabled.

Luckily my cooked WM6.5 ROM for the Snap did not have the store built in and so far it seems to be running just fine, as can be seen above. Basically the .CAB installs the link, which then hops to the store via your browser to download the latest store software.

So how's it working for you? Take the poll and let us know in comments! And remember that we're not officially expecting the Marketplace for older devices until next month.  Grab the file here at PPC Geeks.

We're still pretty sure Microsoft is planning its own app store, but we really don't have more more than that. But Pocketnow's noticed a "coming soon" site at client.marketplace.windowsmobile.com that, low and behold, appears to be formatted for a mobile browser. And it also looks like the Skymarket name may have given way to "Marketplace," which probably is a good thing.

In all likelihood this will just be a download site for a standalone application, but that's speculation on our part. Either way, it looks like things are moving ahead.

We've struggled in the past to figure out the logic behind Microsoft's naming conventions. And about a year a go we thought things were going to get better.

More recently, we learned of the upcoming cloud services – Skybox, Skyline and Skymarket. See the pattern?

But an Engadget tipster may have thrown a bit of a wrench into that small sliver of sanity. Getskybox.com has made an appearance, though you can't actually sign up yet. (And you may be met by a certificate error. Just plow through that.) And there the service gets a new name: Microsoft My Phone. Run file facepalm.exe now.

You can, however, go to the "More info" page, where we learn the following:

• The service will be for Windows Mobile 6 (and up) phones.
• You'll get 200 megabytes of storage space. Interesting, because the Live Mesh beta currently gives you 5 gigabytes.
• The service will be free "at this time."
• You'll download an app to your phone. (The install link on the page doesn't work at the time of this writing.)
• Back up your contacts, calendar, photos and other info to the MS cloud.
• Access your contacts and calendar online.
• Share photos.

Obviously we're not privy to all of the app's settings yet, but it looks like the default will be to sync your data once a day, between 11 p.m. and 5 a.m. Hope that's customizable.

So, for now, we're going to try not to be distracted by what could turn out to be another abomination of a branding scheme and instead focus on the services. And ponder how much of this may be built in to Windows Mobile 7, or, hopefully, 6.5.

Update: Yeah, the site was down for a while. It's back up now, sans log-in links. lol.

Aside from all the new phones we're sure to see in a couple weeks at Mobile World Congress, we're totally geeked out over what Microsoft is expected to announce.

Of course there's Windows Mobile 6.5 We've seen the leaks. But it's Skybox, Skyline and Skymarket that have the longer-term implications. ZDNet's Mary Jo Foley shares some thoughts of what we might find in Skybox, with help from some unnamed sources. The bullet points on the upcoming cloud hub that will manage much of your user data and information:

• Skybox 1.0 will go into beta this month. The beta will be free, and ad-supported.
• Skybox 1.5 will come in the summer and see a free service and premium paid service.
• Skybox 1.5 will be available on Windows Mobile 6.1, 6.5 and a few non-WinMo phones.
• Skybox 2.0 is the big cheese. There will be integration with Windows Live Services. You'll manage your phone, ringtones, apps, music, video, backgrounds – all from the cloud.

This is starting to get very exciting. And we'll be on the floor in Barcelona Feb. 16-19 to bring you all the goodness.

Read: What’s Microsoft hiding in its Skybox in the cloud?

If you haven't yet read Dieter's excellent "Smartphone Round Robin: HTC Fuze, Windows Mobile, and Choice" post yet, do so now. It's required reading for the following:

Believe it or not, Microsoft hasn't forgotten that for all of the hardcore work we do with Windows Mobile, it's still the little things that count (and about which we most often gripe).

Andy Lees, senior VP for Microsoft's mobile side, recently sat down with The New York Times for a heart-to-heart.

“Everyone who is a business person is also a human being,” he said. “We want also to do human things like photos, music, communications, IM, texting and social networking.”

We also get a glimpse of things to come, most likely with the birth of SkyMarket/Box/Line, and undoubtedly with Windows Mobile 7 (and Windows 7). And the word Lees is using to describe how everything's going to work: "Automagically."

“What should happen,” he said, “is when you take a picture it should automagically arrive on your PC and be in the cloud. I should be able to fix the red eye on the PC and have it automagically go back and fix the red eye everywhere else.”

Lees also goes on to say that a most of the services Microsoft will be offering should be free. “I don’t think anyone is going to make money on synchronizing data,” he said. “It is simply what people will come to expect.” Huzzah!

NYT: Can Windows Mobile Get The Magic Back?

Some news is appearing (thanks to the Web site Neowin) ahead of Mobile World Congress next month in Barcelona, namely in the form of mobile cloud services that should take on Apple's MobileMe service.

First up is SkyMarket, which was discovered last fall thanks to a couple of job postings. And as we learned then, this is still expected to be Microsoft's mobile app store.

The bigger news comes in the form of SkyBox — think of it as "one cloud to rule them all." You'd get automatic backup and restore services, cloud syncing with your contacts, calendars, pictures and the like. Nothing groundbreaking there, except that it's Microsoft offering all of this in a tidy little package, and we'd expect it to be pretty slick.

What is pretty interesting is that Microsoft would offer SkyBox on devices that don't run Windows Mobile. (Hello, Android?) The SkyMarket app store, however, would still be limited to WinMo devices, which makes sense.

Finally there's SkyLine, the business version of SkyBox.

Neowin also says that Windows Mobile 6.5 should be officially unveiled at MWC.

No word on pricing or release dates yet, but we should have plenty to look forward to in Barcelona.

Via Engadget