Back Windows Mobile ANG ويندوز موبايل Arabic Windows Mobile Azerbaijani Windows Mobile Bulgarian উইন্ডোজ মোবাইল Bengali/Bangla Windows Mobile Catalan Windows Mobile Czech Windows Mobile Danish Windows Mobile German Windows Mobile Greek
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 Windows Mobile 6.5 screenshot, showing the Today screen | |
| Developer | Microsoft |
|---|---|
| Working state | Succeeded by Windows Phone |
| Initial release | April 19, 2000 – January 8, 2013 (12 years, 8 months, 2 weeks and 6 days) |
| Final release | 6.5.3 / February 2, 2010 |
| Final preview | 6.5.5 |
| Marketing target | Mobile devices |
| Update method | Adaptation kit upgrade |
| Kernel type | Hybrid |
| Default user interface | Graphical |
| License | Proprietary software licensed to OEMs |
| Succeeded by | Windows Phone |
| Official website | https://www.microsoft.com/windowsmobile/default.mspx |
| Support status | |
| Unsupported | |
Windows Mobile is a discontinued mobile operating system developed by Microsoft for smartphones and personal digital assistants.[1]
Its origins can be traced to Windows CE in 1996, though it first appeared in 2000 as Pocket PC 2000 which ran on Pocket PC PDAs. It was renamed "Windows Mobile" in 2003, in several versions (similar to the desktop versions of Windows) aimed at business and enterprise customers. It was to be the portable equivalent of the Windows desktop OS and a major force in the emerging mobile/portable area.
After the rise of newer smartphone OSs (iOS and Android) Windows Mobile never equaled their success and faded rapidly. By February 2010, Microsoft announced the more modern and consumer-focused Windows Phone, and Windows Mobile has been deprecated since existing devices and software are incompatible with Windows Phone.[2][3][4] The last version of Windows Mobile, released after the announcement of Windows Phone, was 6.5.5. After this, Microsoft ceased development on Windows Mobile in order to concentrate on Windows Phone.
Microsoft released a similarly-named Windows 10 Mobile in 2015 which was part of the Windows Phone series; it is unrelated to the retired Windows Mobile operating systems.
- ^ Evers, Joris (January 6, 2005). "Microsoft to phase out Pocket PC, Smartphone brands | Hardware". InfoWorld. IDG. Retrieved July 14, 2011.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
futurewas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Nicholas Kolakowski (March 15, 2010). "Microsoft Explains Windows Phone Lack of Compatibility". eWeek.
- ^ "Windows Phone: A New Kind of Phone (36:47 min. in)". Microsoft. June 13, 2010. Archived from the original on December 27, 2012. Retrieved September 9, 2010.