Microsoft expected to deliver Windows Mobile 6.5 OS to handset makers in mid-2009, say sources

Microsoft is expected to start delivering its Windows Mobile 6.5 OS (operating system) to handset makers in mid-2009 following the expected debut of the new mobile OS in the upcoming Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Barcelona, according to sources at Taiwan handset makers.

Although a number of Windows Mobile 6.5-based mobile devices are expected to hit the market in the third quarter of 2009, most makers are likely to launch their Windows Mobile 6.5 handsets in the fourth quarter for the year-end shopping season, the sources projected.

Microsoft is also expected to continue its current business model to cooperate with multiple device makers for the development of diversified Windows Mobile 6.5 products instead of focusing on a single model as Apple's iPhone or Google's Android-based G1 phone, the sources indicated.