Windows Mobile 6.5: It's real and it's... well, it's real

As expected, Microsoft pulled back the tiny little veil that was still covering some of the corners of Windows Mobile 6.5 today. The latest mobile phone OS from Microsoft retains some of the features we've grown to love/hate over the years like the start menu and soft buttons at the bottom of almost every screen. But it has a new web browser that's all grown up and able to render anything that Internet Explorer 6 can render, as well as significantly more touch-friendly windows so you can poke your phone with your finger instead of a stylus.

Microsoft has also announced a new naming convention. While the operating system will be called Windows Mobile 6.5, the company is now referring to devices running the OS as Windows® phones.

Along with the new operating system, Microsoft is also launching a "My Phone" service that will allow users to synchronize contact information, text messages, photos, and videos on the web. There's also a new Windows Marketplace which is essentially Microsoft' answer to Apple's App Store for the iPhone. Users will be able to find, purchase, and install apps directly from their phones.

While Windows Mobile 6.5 doesn't may not even be an entire integer away form Windows Mobile 6.1, Microsoft says the new OS will not be available for existing phones. And we won't see any new devices with the software preloaded until Q4 of 2009.

Of course, if you're the adventurous and law-breaking type, there are apparently some early builds of the OS floating around the interwebs for those willing to download them and try them out on existing hardware.

Tags: osupdates, windows-mobile-6.5, windows-phone