Having the latest and greatest Windows phones will no longer matter once Microsoft releases its Windows Phone 7 Series. Mobile-phone users running the latest Windows Mobile 6.5 operating system, made available in October, will have incremental upgrades but will need a new phone if they want to use the software giant’s Windows Phone 7 mobile operating system.
Mobile-phone users with the latest Windows Mobile phones do not have the hardware needed to run the newest mobile operating system, according to Microsoft’s Mobile Communication Business.
“For Windows Phone 7 Series we are enforcing a strict set of hardware requirements to ensure a consistently great experience for end users and developers,” said Microsoft spokesperson Sara Anissipour. “While we cannot confirm that WM6.X phones that satisfy those requirements will be upgradeable, every Windows Phone 7 Series device will be upgradeable with improvements and features we deliver with subsequent Windows Phone 7 Series releases.”
The news may upset mobile-phone users who recently purchased new phones running on Microsoft’s Windows Mobile.
“Seven is a departure from previous operating systems, so an upgrade path might not have been possible,” said Carolina Milanesi, a Gartner mobile-device analyst.
Microsoft announced the new mobile operating system in February at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. Mobile-phone makers were anticipating the operating system, which will include Zune multimedia experiences and Xbox Live gaming capabilities. Once announced, manufacturers quickly went to work developing phones with Windows Phone 7 Series.
Carriers including AT&T, T-Mobile USA, Verizon Wireless, Sprint Nextel, and Telefonica, to name a few, will partner with Microsoft to bring the new Windows 7 phones to customers.
Users waiting for the new OS may have held off buying a new phone. But others may have made a purchase too soon.
Mobile-phone users who recently purchased Microsoft’s new HTC HD2 touchscreen mobile phone may…