MS Smartphone software to ship 'any day now'
InfoWorld | at | by Mike
After repeated delays, Microsoft is finally ready to ship its Windows Powered Smartphone 2002 software, formerly code-named Stinger, in the coming weeks but mobile phones based on the software may not appear for up to six months after its release, a company executive said here Tuesday. "The smart-phone [software] is going to be released literally any day now," said Roberto Cazzaro, international director at Microsoft's Mobility Division. "It's a question of weeks." Although Windows Powered Smartphone 2002 is nearly ready to ship, phones based on the software are unlikely to appear for up to six more months, as hardware makers ready their phones for mass production and mobile operators continue network trials using phones based on the software, Cazzaro said.
Looking ahead, Microsoft plans to release an updated version of the Windows Powered Smartphone software along with an updated version of its Pocket PC software. Scheduled to ship during the first quarter of 2003, both products will be based on a new Windows CE operating system kernel that will ship at the same time, rather than the Windows CE 3.0 kernel that is used in Windows Powered Smartphone 2002 and Pocket PC 2002, Cazzaro said.