SEATTLE / PARIS - Microsoft on Tuesday offered a new platform for mobile phones bearing the name "Windows Phone" in partnership with handset manufacturers, hoping to better compete this grinding the Apple iPhone and RIM Blackberry .

We knew that Microsoft was preparing for the arrival of its Windows Mobile 6.5, but the official launch date was yet to know. The firm announced that it would be October 6, an important date because it is the beginning of a new development branch for the giant who is now a particular direction, with a system surrounded by several services.

Microsoft has released the successor to the Windows Mobile operating system before. Windows Mobile 6.5 is replaced by an improved service and complete new functions. In addition, Microsoft announced two new services, Windows Marketplace and My Phone.

On 6 October that Microsoft will launch a global trading twenty Windows phones, smartphones equipped with the latest version of its mobile OS, Windows Mobile 6.5. This is indicated in a press release received this September 1st.

While most iPhone owners have been waiting a long time that the Flash player is finally available on their mobile, perhaps on smartphones equipped with the Android operating system that will be available first.

In February during the Mobile World Congress, Microsoft unveiled Windows Mobile 6.5, a new operating system for smartphones with tactile features and intended to compete with competitors like the iPhone or Android. In May, he delivered a release to manufacturing (RTM), that is to say a final version for OEMs. And this week, he just put online a kit for developers called Windows Mobile 6.5 Developer Tool Kit.

Microsoft had to react. The software giant has lost market share against the iPhone in particular. The steamroller Apple has crushed its competitors and now has a comfortable lead in terms of functionality, although still behind Nokia and RIM (Blackberry) in number of units sold.

As a long time Windows Mobile user, I've been having a hard time listening to all of the negative publicity that the platform continues to receive. Most recently I pointed out how great Windows Mobile 6.5 is looking, and how the platform is continuing to improve with its Windows Mobile Marketplace.

Yesterday we reported that Microsoft will officially ship Windows Mobile 6.5 devices on October 6th. While that's great news for Windows Mobile lovers, it seems that some UI inconsistencies are shipping with the latest ROM.

Microsoft is slated to officially launch Windows Mobile 6.5 on October 6th. While that's great news for new Windows Mobile users, those of you with older devices won't be able to enjoy the new look and feel that 6.5 brings. All is not lost, though. Thanks to the folks at SPB, even your Windows Mobile 5 touchscreen-enabled devices can enjoy a whole new environment including a 3-D launcher, widgets for Facebook, Twitter, Internet Search, Media Player, and more.

It is a story that some like less than others, but it is a time for change for Palm and that was reflected in its fiscal results with negative data, worse than you might expect, but reasonable if we consider the change of strategy that the company has been conducting.

Could Steve Ballmer get any more confusing? He laments the lack of openness in the iPhone OS and Google's Android, will swear up one side and down the other that proprietary walled gardens are better, but then publicly contemplates an open future for Microsoft's flagship browser! At the Power to Developer's conference in Sydney, Australia, Ballmer was conducting a Q & A session with the audience, when a student in the audience posed this rather interesting question:

After Google' push Calendar and Contacts, push Gmail is here, allowing messages sent to your Gmail account to be instantly pushed to your phone or windows mobile device.

There has been a deluge of Yahtzee clones made available on the Windows Mobile platform over the past few months and TripYzee is the latest of these. Available for free, it's a fun version of the popular dice scoring game, with a multiplayer hotseat mode and various skins that can be downloaded to provide customisation.

The next step in Windows Mobile is Windows Mobile 6, also commonly referred to as Crossbow. We had the privelege to work with it and see what it brings to you, the professional roadwarrior. With this major update there is a huge focus on the mobile professional: the knowledgeworker that uses this device during his work on the road. In this review we aim to show what these improvements are and how they affect you.