Ballmer says Microsoft to speed up development of Windows Mobile

Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer, speaking at his firm's annual CIO Summit for IT workers in the government and education sector, said that Microsoft has an opportunity to speed up development of  Windows Mobile. The goal is to make the software better to compete with other cellphone Operating Systems. Microsoft has seen a lot of criticism from cellphone users about Windows Mobile's inability to compete in the touchscreen arena with the OS on the iPhone and the open-source Android platform from Google. The current version of Windows Mobile being used is 6.1 and an upgrade to version 6.5 is expected later this year with another upgrade to version 7.0 expected for release in 2010. Ballmer's response came from a question by a NASA IT administrator who wanted to know what to do about workers bringing handsets like the iPhone and the G1 to the office. The CEO stated that Microsoft is working to simplify the licensing terms for the company's software, and that the firm is meeting with the cellphone industry to find which form factor would allow the OS to reach its highest level of capabilities.

source: Yahoo News via PhoneScoop