We can understand not investing in a deprecated product, we really can -- but when you consider the fact that Sony Ericsson's XPERIA X1 is still sold around the world, the fact that its hardware is still thoroughly modern, and the fact that Windows Mobile 6.5 is a trivial boost over 6.1, there's really no excuse for this. Sony Ericsson has gone ahead and made it official that it won't be providing an official 6.5 upgrade for its uber-pricey fallen smartphone that never quite achieved its seemingly stratospheric potential -- and its 6.5-based replacement isn't looking much more promising -- so we imagine this is going to spark a voracious run on hackery to get picture-perfect 6.5 builds working on units in the field. Oh, wait, that already happened! No worries, Sony Ericsson -- looks like we've got this one covered then.

Office 2010 is getting a big companion piece for handsets in the form of Office Mobile 2010, which is being made available today in concert with the suite's beta release. It's a pretty major overhaul thanks to comprehensive, WYSIWYG editing capability in Word, Excel, and PowerPoint, the addition of SharePoint Workspace Mobile for managing Office documents off your office's servers, and a trick Bluetooth mode for PowerPoint that lets you effectively use your handset as a second screen by showing you your slide notes in real time while running a presentation off your PC. You can grab it now off Windows Marketplace in beta form, but be warned: it's only for 6.5, and we're being told that it won't be back-ported to 6.0 or 6.1 for the retail release.

Yar, that was fast. Less than a day after Microsoft updated its Windows Marketplace for Mobile with new advanced anti-piracy measure, some apt xda-developers community member has managed to crack the new code -- in under two hours, according to Chainfire's posting. The hack itself won't be posted, but we're sure other astute programmers, many of more nefarious intention, will be able to have their way with it just as easy. Sad for developers who've been wanting something more secure -- better luck next update.

[Via WMPoweruser]

Windows Mobile 6.5 users rejoice, you now have a better marketplace experience your way. Microsoft's added a couple updates to its mobile app store. On the developers' side of things there's a new portal for submission, and "more advanced anti-piracy protection" -- no clue if it solves those DRM issues we heard about before, but sounds at least like a step in the right direction. For the consumers, there's now an online store that you can use from your certainly superior desktop / laptop browser. In the vein of Xbox Live Marketplace's online portal at Xbox.com, purchased apps from the browser will be sent to the connected phone next time you open up the Windows Marketplace client... what's that? You want support for Windows Mobile 6.0 and 6.1? Microsoft reassures us it's coming later this month, so hang tight, okay?

[Via Mobile Tech World]

Read - Announcing new features...
Read - Windows Marketplace for Mobile

The HD2 has largely blinded us to any other Windows Mobile-based HTC in the lineup right now, but be that as it may, there are other products in the mix, believe it or not -- and Rogers apparently has its eye on one of 'em. Rumor has it that the Canadian carrier is looking at scooping up the low-end Touch2, possibly in a couple wild colors like red and blue -- and considering what we see here in these spy shots, we'll go out on a limb and say that those color choices would be a Good Thing. The phone itself lacks the kind of excitement and buzz that a middling Android-powered phone like the Tattoo is still capable of garnering, so eye-popping cases might be just what the doctor ordered to keep this one in the mix at the cash register. There's no word on pricing or availability for this one just yet... but yeah, Rogers, how about that HD2?

It's not often that a manufacturer pushes a Windows Mobile version bump in a timely fashion, so color us impressed to see that Samsung has now released an official 6.5 upgrade for the Jack on AT&T. 6.5 is a relatively minor bump over 6.1 in the non-touch Standard world -- Professional devices are getting the lion's share of improvements -- but users will be happy to find that they're getting an updated Internet Explorer Mobile, Windows Marketplace access, and automated free connections to AT&T WiFi hotspots (anything to offload cellular strain, right?). Grab it now from Samsung's site, make sure your battery's charged, and let 'er rip.

That's right... the HD2 has landed. Actually, we took the phone over to Late Night with Jimmy Fallon the other day, but didn't get a chance to show it off, so here we are. Sure, you've seen this guy in action in earlier videos... but it's still nice to get a look at this monster up close. We're still blown away by the fact that this is a Windows Mobile 6.5 device -- the skinning job that HTC has done here is nothing short of a miracle. So far we've found the phone to be snappy and responsive, but we're currently putting it through its paces. We'll have a full review shortly, but for now, feast your eyes on the photos below -- and start saving for that imminent US launch.

Be still, our beating hearts! HTC has just pressed the "Go" button for European and Asian shipping of its latest object of desire, and it's served notice to American phone lovers that the HD2 is coming to them soon as well. Slated for a "major US carrier" some time "early 2010," it'll land squarely in the same time bracket as the XPERIA X10, which should lead to some really quite interesting decisions to be made, presumably by March 2010. The WinMo 6.5 device might be shipping now, but you'll have to wait at least until the 9th of November before you can spill your Euros for it, and we expect to see a flurry of pricing and contract information filling that short waiting time. Full PR after the break.

[Via MobileTechWorld]

Bell and Telus are both making quick work of forgetting their legacy CDMA networks and bringing gobs of sexy, high-profile devices to their new HSPA digs -- presumably in an effort to get folks switched over as quickly as possible and steal Rogers customers posthaste -- and the latest is Samsung's Omnia II, which will be coming to Bell in GSM form (despite the fact that Verizon is bringing a CDMA version to market). Featuring a 3.7-inch WVGA AMOLED display, 5 megapixel cam, WinMo 6.5, and 16GB of storage on board, the phone definitely rests at or near the top of the current WinMo crop -- but the real news here is the fact that the phone has just been selected as the Official Mobile Device of the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympic Games, which we suppose means you can use it with pride while bobsledding, lugeing, curling, slaloming, or whatever other arctic sports you enjoy. Pricing hasn't been announced, but the phone will be available this month; let's just hope that Olympic endorsement doesn't drive up the MSRP, eh?

WinMo folks, we wouldn't blame you for getting a bit of Android envy after last week's DROID onslaught, but if there's one thing that could make people pine for your OS it's HTC's HD2, and T-Mobile has just confirmed it's coming on November 9 -- a mere weekend after Moto's new hotness hits Verizon. Mind you, there is some confusion going on here, as the picture on T-Mo's site is of the old Touch HD, not the HD2 we met and loved, and the mention of "loads of applications to download from Android Market" is particularly perplexing. But, we've been told to go ahead and blame a bumbling marketeer rather than to expect some sort of cross-platform app marketplace love fest -- groovy as that may sound.

Update: We've also just learned that HTC is going to officially launch the HD2 on November 4 ahead of a November 11 release elsewhere. We're not entirely sure what there is left to learn about the thing, but we're always game for another press event.

Update 2: Just to clarify things, this is T-Mobile UK. Also, as many have pointed out in comments, we're now thinking the "09" above means 2009, not November 9, which likely points to a November 11 release. Surely you can swallow that DROID envy for another two days, yeah?

[Via WMPoweruser.com]

The overwhelming mediocrity of Windows Mobile 6.5 gives us pause before saying something sensational like "it's a great time to be a WinMo fan," but we've got to admit, manufacturers are really stepping up their game to deliver these days -- one need look no further than the mighty HD2 to see that. The Omnia II's looking pretty solid, too, especially if you like your phones served up keyboard-free, and ai.rs blog has compiled a comprehensive screenshot gallery showing just how deep the TouchWiz integration really goes. Build quality is said to be top-notch, and it's pretty hard to argue with a 3.7-inch WVGA AMOLED display -- so as we go into 2010, it looks like we might be gearing up for an epic TouchFLO / TouchWiz showdown in the WinMo octagon. Who doesn't like a good fight?

[Thanks, msav]

You've already seen the HD2 that HTC would have you see, but now it's time to take the obligatory journey to the world of unboxings. Seen here in "not-yet-final" packaging, the WinMo 6.5-packin' handset looks sexier than ever, even in that still-to-be-tweaked green box. Hop on past the break and mash play if you're looking to get all sorts of jealous this morning.

We've seen plenty about HTC's hot HD2, gone hands-on and sized it up next to everyone's most/least favorite smartphone, but there's one thing we haven't seen yet: multi-touch in IE. The video embedded below from Techblog.gr is in a language you may not quite understand, but certainly everyone can grok the snappy UI performance and the pinch zooming demonstrated at the 2:20 mark. It does look a wee bit unresponsive at this point, but HTC still has time to make things perfect before releasing it here -- though to be honest we'd rather just have it now.

[Via WMPoweruser.com]

After what seemed like a full lifetime of waiting, Acer's recently-launched neoTouch S200 is finally making its way into some reviewing hands. The fine young cannibals over at Phone Arena have just given it the head to toe treatment, and we have to say, we're glad they've done the dirty work for us. This WinMo 6.5 handset, according to their impressions, seems to be a not fully baked affair -- sluggishness and random crashing are both reported, as is a rather serious sounding call quality issue. The battery also seems to be inadequate for a workday, coming in at around five hours. Overall, the phone suffers from software optimization problems more than hardware issues. The one ray of light in all this is of course that 1GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon CPU, which can multitask and handle several things at once without flinching -- but it's rather hard to get pumped about it in the face of all that sadness. Hit the read link for the full, exhaustive review.

It feels like these phones have been on sale for a solid six months for some weird reason, but in reality, Acer's 2009 line of WinMo 6.5 devices -- including the range-topping F1 -- are finally out and about with shiny new names to boot. As we'd previously heard, the Snapdraon-powered F1 is actually going to market as the S200 and will sit in the high-end neoTouch range, while the E100, E101, and E200 will slum it down in the beTouch series. All four are touch-equipped and range in price from £159 to £295 ($259 to $481) at retail, and when you consider that they're all fully unlocked and unbranded, that may not be so bad of a deal -- particularly for that sexy S200 up there.

[Via Slashgear]