Windows Phone Thoughts: Microsoft Confirms and Educates on Widgets in 6.5

"Starting on 6.5 though we are adding a new option for developers out there… “Windows Mobile Widgets”. A good way to think of a Windows Mobile Widget is as a “Portable chunk of the web” or just basically a rich internet application. Widgets are written using all the web technologies we know and love (HTML, CSS, AJAX, JavaScript) and, since they are powered under the covers by our new internet browser, they have full access to flash and other ActiveX controls available on the device (Like MediaPlayer)."

This is good news for a lot of developers out there that would like to contribute to the Windows Mobile ecosystem but are unfamiliar with C, C++, or .NET. I feel this is a great step in the right direction for Microsoft as well. Making the platform easier to write for will allow designers and developers alike to bring new applications with more refreshing user interfaces to market. At the same token it is not often that a mobile phone application will have functionality that would require anything more than basic HTML, CSS, and javascript to create. As nice as this new feature is there is still the 800lbs gorilla in the room that seems to go unnoticed... All of Microsoft's latest news releases to the public regarding Windows Mobile 6.5, especially the recent widget screenshots they released, are all from the Windows Mobile Professional platform. Where the heck is the Windows Mobile Standard love, guys?! Are we getting left out in the cold when it comes to all of these awesome new features? Hopefully when it comes to widget support Windows Mobile 6.5 Standard will receive the same new functionality.