CTIA: Windows Mobile 6.1 Enhances Usability

The handset OS wars continue as Microsoft Corp. officially took the wraps off the latest update of Windows Mobile this week at CTIA. Version 6.1 aims to improve the user experience with better data organization and a zippier Web browser.

Perhaps feeling the heat from Apple Inc., which recently made moves to go after Microsoft's target market of business users with the iPhone, Microsoft apparently has decided to listen to what users felt needed to be included to bolster productivity. For one, the refreshed interface allows users to easily see and check through messages and missed calls. The new version also allows the ability to flag, move and delete multiple messages at the same time.

And for texts, Version 6.1 finally adds threaded SMS, so the message flow looks more like instant messaging, with the ability to view the back-and-forth message threads.

Microsoft also said that Version 6.1 will feature an upgrade for Internet Explorer Mobile, purloined from the wired version of IE, for what it termed "desktop grade" browsing. It includes support for Adobe Flash, Microsoft Silverlight, and H.264 video. And, an intuitive new Getting Started Center will make user set-up easier.

The release is essentially a minor one, with Windows Mobile 7 due later this year. Even so, a bevy of devices will feature the upgraded OS, including the AT&T Tilt and the Samsung Blackjack II.

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