Fabrizio Capobianco, CEO of the mobile open source company Funambol, has all but declared Windows Mobile dead in a recent blog entry. Is he right, or is there still life left in the mobile platform from Microsoft?Mr. Capobianco claims that Motorola is abandoning the platform and this is the last blow for Microsoft. This may have come from earlier reports where it had been reported that Motorola was abandoning Windows Mobile in favor of Google's Android platform. Those rumors have been refuted by Brian Viscount, Motorola's VP of marketing for mobile enterprise computing, saying that the Enterprise Mobility business "remains 100% committed to Windows Mobile." Sure, Motorola may only be hiring in the Android area right now, but that simply means it's not understaffed in Windows Mobile development. Things aren't all rosy, though, as it also says that the Windows Mobile platform isn't growing at Motorola, and that is a problem given the mobile market is one of the few growth areas in this economy. Motorola is a valuable partner for Microsoft. Its popular Motorola Q is one of the top 10 best selling Windows Mobile phones ever. However, HTC is the big gorilla in Windows Mobile hardware development and sales. HTC makes and sells Windows Mobile devices under its own name, as well as making devices for Palm and most of the carriers around the world. If you have a Windows Mobile phone on you right now, there is a very good chance it was manufactured by HTC. Eric Zeman pointed out just over a week ago that Microsoft sold 20 million smartphones in 2008, a number over four times that of the iPhone platform and likely ahead of Nokia, though it's difficult to say with certainty as Nokia doesn't break its devices out in a way that is easy to do a direct comparison. There is no question Windows Mobile has lost some of the user enthusiasm it had just a few years ago. Since Windows Mobile 5 was released in 2005, each subsequent version has been perceived by many as a minor upgrade. Apple hasn't helped matters as it smacked one right out of the park with the iPhone in 2007, complete with a browser that makes Internet Explorer on a Windows Mobile device look completely inadequate. Microsoft has great strengths in the enterprise market, and those in IT that like the integration Windows Mobile has with Exchange and Windows networks aren't easily swayed by the latest features another platform has. Consumers are a different story, and for them, Windows Mobile may be looking a bit tired. Microsoft will be at Mobile World Congress in mid-February and it needs to make some announcements that will bring back some pizazz to the platform. No, Mr. Capobianco, Windows Mobile hasn't suffered its "last blow" by any stretch of the imagination. I think some of this is wishful thinking as revealed in near the bottom of the post. "...it might be open sourcing Windows Mobile. That would be so cool." At the same time, momentum has been going the wrong way for the platform recently and Microsoft needs to turn that around.

[Correction: The original article incorrectly stated Brian Viscount was speaking for the handset division. He was in fact speaking for Motorola's Enterprise Mobility business. The article has been changed to reflect that. The author regrets the error.]