Samsung, HTC Offer First Windows Mobile 6.5 Phones

From PC World: HTC and Samsung are at the head of the line of U.S. handset vendors offering Windows Mobile 6.5 phones, the first smartphones based on Microsoft's new OS that are meant to finally give Microsoft-powered phones features that are on par with those available in Apple's iPhone.

At an event in New York Tuesday Microsoft also launched its Windows Marketplace for Mobile with 246 applications now available in the mobile apps online store, a small number in comparison to the tens of thousands of applications available on Apple's App Store for the iPhone.

Windows Mobile 6.5 is the first OS to allow people to download apps for the devices, and Microsoft said that more than 753 software developers worldwide are continuing to build out the catalog.

Microsoft showcased the new phones at an "open house" event in New York that also highlighted other products Microsoft will have on sale for the Christmas holiday shopping season, the ZuneHD and XBox 360 among them. The company also quietly rebranded its new mobile devices "Windows phones," appearing to distance them from the "Windows Mobile" moniker.

View: Article @ Source Site