With the Imagio having just launched and the Omnia II coming down the pike, it's easy to be lulled into the false sense of security that Verizon subscribers will soon have their pick of several high-end smartphones running Windows Mobile 6.5 this month. Sure, the Touch Pro2 runs 6.1 for the time being, but the Omnia II must be hitting with 6.5 at launch -- right? Not so fast; WMExperts alleges that when Samsung's latest US-bound smartphone hits later this month, it'll have 6.1 loaded, and although a 6.5 update is eventually planned, it won't come "for a while." That's a huge disappointment if true, and it'll be a tough situation to explain if they've got the Imagio launching on the 6th with 6.5 and the Omnia II comes, say, two weeks later with an operating system nearly two years older (not to say we expect the jump from 6.1 to 6.5 feel like two years' worth of improvement, but still). Heck, we can't believe we're saying this, but we think it might even be worth their while to delay the phone by a few weeks if it meant they'd be able to be on shelves with 6.5 from day one -- but maybe that's why we're writers and not Verizon marketing strategists.

[Via pocketnow.com]