Microsoft Debuts Windows Mobile 6 Phones, Mobile DRM

BARCELONA – Windows Mobile 6 officially debuted today with more than a half dozen new devices and a promise of free upgrades for existing T-Mobile Dash users.

At a press conference here at the 3GSM trade show in Barcelona, Microsoft senior vice president Pieter Knook showed off new Windows Mobile 6 phones from ASUS, HP, HTC, i-Mate, Toshiba, Motorola, and Samsung, as well as Windows Mobile 6 running on existing T-Mobile Dash and Palm Treo 750 devices. At LG's booth, meanwhile, we saw a prototype LG smartphone also running WM6.

Related StoryClick here for a review of Windows Mobile 6.
T-Mobile vice president Leslie Grandy got up at the Microsoft press conference to say that Windows Mobile 6 upgrades would be available for free for Dash users as downloads from the T-Mobile Web site "in the second quarter" of this year.

"We think [Windows Mobile 6] is going to drive even further consumer adoption of these devices," Grandy said.

Palm reps at the press conference wouldn't promise free upgrades for Treo 750 devices, but said they're "not saying no."

Knook said Windows Mobile 6, which offers many improvements including better e-mail, calendaring, and built-in voice-over-Wi-Fi calling, will help extend Microsoft's momentum in mobile phones. The Windows Mobile platform has seen 90% year-on-year growth from 2005 to 2006, he said, with three million Windows Mobile devices sold in the fourth quarter of 2006.

Also at the press conference, Microsoft announced a new digital rights management technology, PlayReady. PlayReady, which will be used by AT&T/Cingular and Verizon Wireless, lets operators lock down not only music but any kind of content – whether it's wallpapers, videos, images, ringtones or games. It supports multiple content formats, too, including AAC and H.264, where Microsoft's previous DRM solutions only supported Windows Media. PlayReady is designed to work in Windows Media Player 10.

In response to some mildly hostile questioning at the press conference, Microsoft execs said that PlayReady will not only exist to lock down simple, purchased content but also to enable other purchasing models, like subscription services. The system will also "make it easier for consumers to move their content between their devices," according to a Microsoft press release. PlayReady will be available starting in mid-2007.