Windows Mobile 7 to be out on Smartphones by November 2011?

HTC just can’t stop dropping hints of the imminent release of Windows Mobile 7. Redmond Pie has picked up a thread over at XDA-Developers forums in which a member had contacted HTC on when HD2 will be getting Windows Mobile 7 as a free upgrade. This is the reply from HTC:

Dear Toby

Thank you for your enquiry about HD2
What we do it ROM Upgrades from our website, however 6.5 windows mobile has only been out 2 months and windows mobile 7 hasn’t even been developed. This wont be out until next November at the earliest. But when it is available it will be a free download.
If these steps have not helped, please let me know by responding using the link provided and I will be happy to check again for you.

Best regards,
Terry Snelling
HTC customer support team
HTC Corp. Global Service Division
http://www.htc.com/europe/CA_Hotline.aspx

There were news of a delay by a site called Bright Side of News which said that Windows Mobile 7 has been delayed to 2011. While we all considered this to be merely rumors, considering the fact that LG confirmed to Neowin that they’ll be shipping phones with Windows Mobile 7 later this year, HTC’s response definitely puts us in a confused state over when we’ll get our hands on the OS. It could be possible that the HTC representative was pointing out to their customized version of Windows Mobile 7 with Sense UI as that might require some time to port. The representative also says that Windows Mobile 7 hasn’t even been developed. If that’s true, it’s horrible for Microsoft. I wouldn’t believe this to be true though, Microsoft should have been working on Windows Mobile 7 for a long time now.

Normally, Windows Mobile hits RTM months earlier before it’s available on smart phones. This was the case with Windows Mobile 6.5 and possible will be for version 7 as well.

What we know for sure is that Microsoft will be speaking about Windows Mobile 7 at the Mobile World Congress this month. Hopefully we’ll find the release time frame as well for Microsoft’s latest mobile OS. No matter what the timeframe, saying that Windows Mobile 7 has been delayed is totally ridiculous because Microsoft haven’t even announced it yet. That’s like saying the Apple tablet has been delayed because people have been waiting for it since years now.

Lets keep our fingers crossed and wait for Friday, when MWC starts.