Technology Review: Microsoft is planning to release Windows Mobile 6.5 in May

Windows Mobile 6.5 phones still aren't expected to arrive until the second half of the year, but Microsoft sounds like it's ready to show off the new operating system next month.

Electronista spotted a post to Microsoft's Windows Mobile blog last week that said the company is planning to "launch" the new mobile operating system at TechEd 2009, scheduled for May 11. "Launch" can mean an awful lot of things in the business world, and in this case, it's likely that Microsoft is referring to the "release to manufacturing" milestone, when a product is made available to its handset partners for testing and certification.

Representatives from Microsoft did not immediately respond to a request for clarification on what will announced or demonstrated in May. When Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer discussed Windows Mobile 6.5 in February at the Mobile World Congress, he said that phones with the new software wouldn't be available until the second half of the year.