Scott Rockfield, director of the Windows Mobile platform confirmed that the China Mobile variant of the Samsung Omnia Windows Mobile smart device would feature Internet Explorer Mobile 6 preinstalled and that the combination of the new browser with China Mobile’s customer base (436 million as of last month) would be a great fit for Microsoft and China Mobile due to its customer base and continued growth.
The director also stated his intention for the mobile browser to begin its push for marketshare in emerging markets by stating that it did not want to convert existing users of Mobile Safari or Android’s similar WebKit-based browser, but wanted to grab customers that have not had an opportunity to use either browser and become Microsoft IE Mobile users.
The comments above only further exaggerate the confusing commentary last week given by other members of the Windows Mobile team regarding a potential US version of the new browser which is currently available as an emulator from Microsoft, with no word on a firm availability date or release type (new hardware purchase or update Microsoft.)
The browser is expected to be available at some point in 2009 as a part of Windows Mobile 6.5 and will feature support for desktop rendering, text wrap for portrait-oriented displays, AJAX support and enhanced JavaScript support, deeper search integration, improved cursor navigation, improved touch, gesture and panning support, multiple zoom levels, and easy switching between full/mobile versions by user agent switching.
Update: Windows Mobile team member Kush has confirmed in the comment section of the aforementioned post that IE Mobile 6 will not be made available as a download for current devices running 6.1. Instead devices released from now into 2009 will feature the browser.
The reasoning given is a bit complex, as he goes on to state: “Regarding making IE Mobile available as a separate download or update, the rich media experiences that IE Mobile 6 enables require more powerful, advanced devices. That is why it will not be available as an upgrade or direct download for current phones, but rather will be made available on new phones.”
As PhoneNews.com has reported on numerous prior occasions, new Windows Mobile devices historically do not contain considerable advances in performance. In fact, nearly all
Because Microsoft only profits from the sale of new devices, Microsoft typically forces customers to pay hundreds of dollars for a new phone, instead of purchasing a software upgrade. This process has been cited as generation billions of dollars in e-waste, a toxic situation for both the economy… and the environment. Hackers have also easily bypassed these limitations, releasing Windows Mobile upgrades compiled by the community.
Source: phonenews.com