Windows Phone Thoughts - Daily News, Views, Rants and Raves

"At the Mobile World Congress show, what Microsoft didn’t roll out is as interesting as what it did. During a February 16 press conference at the show..., CEO Steve Ballmer and Senior Vice President of Mobile Communications Andy Lees told attendees that the company is making some tweaks to its mobile strategy: It is no longer focusing primarily on business customers, but both business and consumer users; and is no longer thinking about mobile devices in a vacuum (instead it’s now about phones and software and services)."

If you feel like your head is going to explode from the massive amount of Windows Mobile news we were presented with today then you might want to take a second to check out Mary Jo Foley's cheat sheet to Microsoft's MWC goodies. One thing that has become painfully clear today is that Microsoft likes to play musical chairs with their branding scheme. I personally wish they would just pick a name and stick with it for more than a few years but a fresh new name could have been exactly what Microsoft needed to wash away the negative taste previous versions of Windows Mobile has left on our collective tongues. Some of the things Mary Jo covers in this cheat sheet are things like Zune Mobile, Windows Mobile 6.5, Windows Mobile 7, Microsoft's My Phone service and more. This is an exciting time to be a Windows Mobile user!

Microsoft's Mobile World Congress 2009 press conference is scheduled to take place in a little under four hours. Alas, not everyone and their pet dog has the luxury of attending, but that doesn't mean you can't live vicariously through the live webcast (local times featured below). We'll also be reporting the announcements as they happen - and Microsoft is promising plenty related to Windows Mobile, Windows Live for Mobile, and MSN Mobile - so simply watch the front-page for updates.

• Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle: Monday, 6:00 AM
• Chicago, Houston: Monday, 8:00 AM
• New York, Washington, D.C.: Monday, 9:00 AM
• London: Monday, 2:00 PM
• Paris, Berlin: Monday, 3:00 PM
• Moscow: Monday, 5:00 PM
• Beijing, Shanghai, Hong Kong: Monday, 10:00 PM
• Perth, Tokyo: Monday, 11:00 PM
• Brisbane: Monday-Tuesday, Midnight
• Sydney, Melbourne: Tuesday, 1:00 AM
• Auckland: Tuesday, 3:00 AM

"Microsoft says: 'Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer will highlight the company's latest innovations and partnerships, as well as share insights on the company's strategies and approaches that will enable more opportunities for mobile operators and device manufacturers to deliver exciting solutions for consumers and mobile workers'. For Ballmer to attend the press conference, along with Andrew Lees, senior vice president of Microsoft's mobile communications business, it could indicate big news from Microsoft. Last year Robie Bach delivered the speech."

While I wasn't terribly impressed with Steve Ballmer's keynote this year at CES, I have high hopes for the Microsoft press conference at this year’s Mobile World Congress. Even if we are not presented with a ton of information on the rollout or feature set of Windows Mobile 6.5 - or an any mention of windows Mobile 7 whatsoever - Microsoft has been rumored recently to announce SkyBox (a MobileMe competitor,) SkyLine (an enterprise version of SkyBox,) and SkyMarket (an Apple App Store like application) which could hold the potential to drastically change how we interact with our Windows Mobile powered handsets on a daily basis.

It wasn't long ago that Acer snapped up E-TEN, and now we have confirmation that the first Acer-branded smartphone of 2009 will launch at MWC. Unfortunately, NDAs prevent me from saying much about what's coming, so you'll have to use your imagination this time around. What are you hoping to see from Acer on February 16?