• E-mail this page
• |  Print this page
• | 
• | 
• | 

Windows Mobile May Become Windows Phone

DigiTimes is reporting that Microsoft will be changing the name of Windows Mobile to Windows Phone. It isn't the first (or second or even third) time Microsoft has renamed its platform.

For years, many recognized Microsoft's mobile devices as the Pocket PC, and a few years later the non-touch-screen SmartPhone joined the stable. Those devices simply had a "Windows Powered" logo on the back. Then they were renamed to include Windows Mobile in the title, giving us easy to remember names like Windows Mobile™ 2003 Second Edition software for Pocket PCs, which just rolled right off of your tongue.

That was simplified recently when the touch-screen version became Windows Mobile Professional (or Windows Mobile Classic if it was an old-style PDA with no phone) and the non-touch-screen version became Windows Mobile Standard.

As Microsoft has been merging the touch and non-touch-screen versions on the software side, it seems to be heading toward a more unified name, simply Windows Phone. I suspect the days of the classic PDA are over. I would be surprised to hear that a Windows Mobile 6.5 device or Windows Phone device were made available to consumers without a cellular radio included.

These rumors aren't confirmed yet, but that may happen next week at Mobile World Congress.

« IT In India Is Booming, Gartner Says; Oh, Really? | Main | Live Blog: Amazon Announces Improved Kindle 2.0 For $359 »