Microsoft's prolonged struggle in the mobile phone market may continue through 2011, as rumors indicate that the Windows Mobile 7 OS is now delayed until next year.
A possible Windows Mobile 7 delay was widely reported last year, but Microsoft was unwilling to confirm the rumor. Now reports are claiming that the delay is definite.
The release of Windows Mobile 6 was a high-profile event, but consumer perception of the mobile OS was extremely disappointing. When compared to other mobile solutions at the time, WinMo 6 lacked many of the same features that consumers were looking for on developing smartphones.
Microsoft has lost out to the open source Google Android operating system, which will find its way into a multitude of smartphones, smartbooks and tablets this year.
Microsoft showed off Windows Mobile 6.5 -- the stop-gap update before Windows Mobile 7 -- during the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) last week. The company is expected to offer new information about Windows Mobile 7 during the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona next month.
This is just more bad news for Microsoft. The company has had to combat competitors in the OS and software market, and has had a difficult time fighting on all fronts. Windows Mobile 7 needs to be finished and released as soon as possible, as Motorola, LG, HTC and other manufacturers switch to Android.
If the "Windows phone" mobile OS can make it to market before the end of the year, there is still a chance European consumers will cling to the Microsoft platform. A recent survey indicates Europeans are still hesitant on adopting Android, so Microsoft still has a large phone market to target there, at the least.
