October 6 may be the retail launch of Windows Mobile 6.5-based phones from a variety of handset makers and carriers. However it;s truly some thing larger: It;s the kick-off of Microsoft;s plan to persuade end users that Windows is (or, at least, must be) everywhere you go they're.I;m not going to repeat what lots of other weblogs and websites already have, in terms of a feature-by-feature critique of Windows Mobile 6.5. (Gizmodo;s review has screen shots and particulars and ends by noting that the Zune Hd group has entirely one-upped the Windows Cellular crew — kind of ironic,
Office 2010 Standard, given the Zune software team is now part of MediaRoom/Media Center and the Zune Hardware folks are part of Windows Cellular.)Today will be the day when Microsoft and its phone partners start using officially the “Windows Phone” branding for Windows Mobile phones. Windows Cellular is still the name that could be used for the operating system powering phones; Windows Phones is the uber-brand for all phones running Windows Cellular,
office standard, regardless of the carrier.That change can seem like semantics, however it;s not. It;s key to the three-screens-and-a-cloud mantra that Microsoft officials are repeating these days. The idea is you have Windows on your PC, Windows on your phone, Windows on your TV and Windows in the cloud and because it;s one big Windows world, everything works seamlessly.The reality is not quite like the ads. The operating systems powering these several Windows platforms aren;t all the same. Windows Mobile — for now, at least — is still based on the Windows Embedded CE core. CEO Steve Ballmer lamented to TechCrunch recently:“We have one and a half operating systems,
Office 2007 Ultimate Product Key, Windows and Windows Mobile. Windows Cellular is kind of a half because it’s not totally the same as Windows. And everyday, I say I’d love to get those two things to share more.”But until Microsoft can figure out how to do that, the company will have to rely on user-interface similarities and common services to further the company;s “One Windows; message.Example: Notice the way that Windows Media Center,
Office Standard Product Key, the Zune High definition and Windows Cellular six.5 all use the same kind of vertical text menus as their primary interface. (Having said that, because OEMs can and do layer their own interfaces over Windows and Windows Mobile, this UI consistency, in cases where it does exist, often gets buried.)There could be more examples heading forward, as Microsoft makes its Zune Video Marketplace, Zune music-subscription service and other premium services common across multiple Windows platforms. But until then,
Windows 7 Starter Key, Microsoft;s “Life Without Walls” message still has some pretty solid walls in its path.Do you think Microsoft will ever get to the point where Windows could be the 1 and only OS that the company is supporting across platforms? Does it actually matter whether the Softies can do so?