One burning question about Windows Marketplace for Mobile has been whether you will be able to purchase an app and use it on more than one phone. Granted, most people don't have a desk drawer full of Windows phones, but it's not unheard of to have a few in a household.

Computerworld reports via a Tech-Ed session that phones will have to be registered with the Marketplace, via Microsoft's Live ID system. But doing so will allow you to install an up on as many as five phones with a single purchase.

This is far from unheard of. You can purchase and load apps onto as many iPhones and iPod Touches as you want, provided that they're all under the same iTunes account. No biggie.

Even for Windows Mobile, it's not that huge a step. Most apps – not all – employ only a basic protection scheme. They're either limited in function under a "trial" basis or time out after a specified amount of time. (Kinoma Play is the first exception that comes to mind. It reports home to the mothership if you load it onto another phone.) But in most cases you can load the same app on a number of phones, provided you have the registration code.

The Marketplace will change that, which should please developers. And provided the authorizing of multiple phones is smooth and seamless, we're all for it. Devs deserve to be paid for their work.

Probably one of the larger complaints about Windows Mobile is how it's lacking a bit of the shiny. In other words, the user interface could use a little sexing up. In this session from Tech-Ed, Andy Wigley and Andrej Radinger talk a little about what developers can do to spruce things up.

Actually, we're being coy. The name of this video is "Can Windows Mobile UIs Look as Good as the iPhone? Yes, They Can!" And the description:

True, the standard controls in the Visual Studio Toolbox look a bit 'Windows 95-ish', but armed with some fairly simple programming techniques, a little knowledge of how controls get painted on the screen and the skills of a decent graphic artist, Windows Mobile developers can create applications that look great--and enjoy the far superior productivity that developing with the .NET Compact Framework gives you.

Interesting stuff. Give it a look-see here.

Here's another video out of Microsoft's Tech-Ed conference in Los Angeles. It's just a 12-minute run-through of Windows Mobile 6.5. We see the lock screen, today screen, home screen, Office and My Phone. Nothing you haven't already seen before, just fresher. And some of the "finger-friendly" menus are still the same ol' thing, just a little bigger. (And can we get rid of radio buttons already?)

Check out the whole video here.

And speaking of Windows Mobile 6.5, the WM Dev Team on Twitter posted the following:

For the record, Windows Mobile 6.5 is DONE... complete... looks really good IOHO and every bit functional. ping us if u want to know more.

Here's what we want to know: Can we have it already?!?!?!? We kid, we kid. But not really.

Looks like Ars Technica has done a nice summary of the TechEd 2009 and depending on your thoughts and feelings about the new UI layout in WM6.5, you may find this admission from Senior Project Manager Loke Uei Tan either remarkable for the talent or shocking due to the obvious time constraints, which resulted in an uninspiring UI layout:

The reason why we couldn't complete the interface on Windows Mobile 6.5 is because of time. We only spend what, eight months, nine months, to build 6.5 from ground up and it's actually an amazing engineering feat. But, in order to do that, we had to do some prioritization and we had to cut certain features. Eventually, we will make sure that the UI capabilities are carried out throughout the whole platform.

This pretty much confirms what we already knew: WM6.5 was not really suppose to happen, that in effect it was a stop-gap till WM7 gets released.  Just how old is WM7?  Anyone remember a thing called "Photon" mentioned at the end of 2005?  Yeah.

Anyways, being WMExperts, we're going to be less snarky than Gizmodo and give the WinMo team a little pat on the back, with a firm, violent shaking saying 'you better not let us down with 'Photon' er WM7'!

Members of the Windows Mobile team got together after the first day of Microsoft's Tech-Ed conference in Los Angeles to talk application development and discuss the upcoming Windows Marketplace for Mobile. It's an interesting video, albeit 42 minutes long, and well worth a watch. For you busy bees, a couple of interesting points:

• Widgets will be exclusive to the Marketplace. Don't expect to be able to sideload widgets, because they have to be signed (read: certified), and that can only be done through the Marketplace certification process.
• A widget, for all intents and purposes, has the same status as an app. That includes counting toward the first five apps submitted for $99.
• Certification will give end users peace of mind that an app won't brick their phone.
• No Silverlight on Windows Mobile 6.5.
• They didn't get to do everything they wanted with Windows Mobile 6.5. Just ran out of time.
• Marketplace will launch in 55 nations, 29 of which will have for-pay stores as well as free apps.

Check out the entire Tech-Ed video here.

Loke Uei Tan, Technical Product Manager for Microsoft was able to capture a short performance video on the HTC Snap at the 2009 TechEd Meetings in Los Angeles.  The video shows how fast the Snap can go from home screen to camera to taking the shot.

It's as fast as a snap and it will be interesting to see how the HTC Snap measures up to the pending Windows Mobile Professional phones that are coming up for release.  If you are already a Windows Mobile Standard fan, the Snap is sure to excite but will the Snap's speediness convert any Windows Mobile Pro users?

Windows Mobile 6.5 has been "announced," and apparently we're getting closer to "launch." The Windows Mobile Team Blog [via ZDNet] notes that there will be a "kickoff launch presentation" on May 11 at the start of TechEd 09.

Stephanie Ferguson, GM of Business Experiences at Microsoft’s Mobile Communications Business is going to deliver the kick off launch presentation of Windows Mobile 6.5 on Monday, May 11th at 1:00PM – 2:15PM. This Tech Ed 2009 session focuses on one of the biggest launches in the history of Windows Mobile – Windows Mobile 6.5. It is targeted at both IT Professionals and Developers, with a cool demo and an outline of great stuff to come.

What's this mean for you, the consumer? Probably not much (though it'll certainly give us something to write about). There are launches, and then there are launches. Windows Mobile 6.5 still has to officially make it to the manufacturers (not everyone can use a leaked ROM, you hackers), and so we're still not expecting and devices to get sanctioned upgrades until the fall.

But chugging forward at any speed is better than spinning our wheels.