Microsoft’s Ballmer Admits Misteps With Windows Mobile

Slow Windows Mobile development is causing all kinds of problems forMicrosoft (NSDQ:MSFT), but CEO Steve Ballmer says the company has learned from its mistakes and is poised to carry out its mobile strategy more effectively.

On Thursday at Microsoft’s Venture Capital Summit event in Mountain View, Calif., Ballmer told an audience of about 200 that Microsoft is well aware that it dropped the ball by allowing Windows Mobile development to slow to a crawl.

Ballmer’s comments come at the close of a busy week for the Windows Mobile rumor mill. The emergence of photos of prototype devices purportedly from Microsoft’s top secret Pink smartphone project, as well images of a possible Microsoft tablet device called Courier, have rekindled speculation that Microsoft is dead set on raising its profile in the mobile device market.

The consumer mobile device market has been a tough nut to crack for Microsoft, and the software giant has watched as a parade of shiny new smartphones from Apple, Palm, and Research In Motion have relegated it to the shadows of the mobile industry.

Ballmer’s comments show contrition on Microsoft’s part, but now Microsoft will have to get new devices on the market quickly to show that it has, in fact, righted the Windows Mobile ship. Industry experts have been sounding the death knell for Windows Mobile in light of a large wave of devices with Google’s Android Mobile OS and the iPhone’s continued momentum. Microsoft will need to get the Windows Mobile 7 operating system not only launched, but ensure that it leapfrogs the competition in terms of innovation and consumer features.

Microsoft Releases Office Mobile 2010 Beta for WinMo Phones

Alongside Microsoft’s launch of the Office 2010 beta, Microsoft on Wednesday launched a public beta of Office Mobile 2010

The set of applications will allow users to view and edit their Office documents, use their phones as a PowerPoint presentation aid, and connect with their SharePoint Workspace Mobile accounts.  The app is available for download in the Windows Marketplace for Mobile for Windows Mobile 6.5 phones. Anyone with a Windows Mobile 6.5 phone can download and test the app until April 5 of next year.

The app appears to be a step forward for Office Mobile because it interacts exclusively with touch screen Win Mobile 6.5 phones and offers functionalities like syncing with Microsoft OneNote.

Microsoft Launches Windows Mobile Marketplace

It may not be even close to the Apple App store, but Windows Mobile fanboys rejoice – our own marketplace is up and running and available on the web.

I visited it for the first time today from both my WinMo HTC Fuze and the web. Rather than go for volume (which makes me not like the Apple Store – too much control over too many apps), Microsoft played it safe and went for a smaller number of programs both paid and free.

Check it out at HERE

Smartphone Manufacturer HTC Dragged Down by Windows Mobile?

We here at Observer Publishing won’t hide the fact that we’re Windows Mobile fanboys. While the iPhone is a pretty little thing, we’d rather endure some of the clunkiness of Windows Mobile and get features such as multi-tasking, slide out keyboards and the ability to use our phones as computer models (tethering).

A couple weeks ago, Microsoft officially released its Windows Mobile 6.5 (now Windows Phone) with AT&T and other carriers featuring the HTC Touch Pro as their ‘hero’ device. For those unaware, Taiwan based HTC is the largest smartphone manufacturer in the world.

However, all does not seem to be happy in the HTC / Microsoft relationship. As mentioned in this Business Week article, HTC’s profits are slowing and the company, as with much of the industry sees the Google Android operating system for smartphones as a strong route to profitability. Press leaks suggest that a copy of Windows Mobile is between 15 and 25 of the cost of a smartphone. The elimination of those costs by switching to Android is a big incentive to either increase profits or fuel a pricewar among manufacturers. Add that the new Android 2.0 operating system has much of the glitz seen in the iPhone OS, and Microsoft has a big challenge on its hands to keep Windows Mobile relevant.