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Microsoft’s recent announcement of bringing native Office support to Nokia handsets was good to hear. But in all truth, considering that there are some pretty great third-party solutions for S60 out there, it wasn’t the news piece to end all news pieces. But now Microsoft has come up with an exciting tidbit; confirmed support for mobile browsers. In the words of Redmond;

Yes, mobile browsers will be supported for Office Web applications. We are still in early phases of development and will share additional details around specific browsers and functionality at a later date.

Office Web App support for mobile browsers has been a dream for smartphone users and now we finally get to see it happen. Sure there was Google Docs, but it was usable on a few platforms and the functionality was sadly limited. So yeah, this is a ‘yay!’ moment.

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In what seems like the strangest bit of WinMo news yet, DigiTimes has written an article claiming that Microsoft will have a two pronged strategy for the launch of Windows Mobile 7 instead of the anticipated single pronged one. According to the article, Microsoft will launch Windows Mobile 6.5 in early 2010 and later towards Q4 of 2010 will come Windows Mobile 7. But the WinMo 6.5 devices won’t be replaced; instead, Microsoft is planning on pitching Windows Mobile 6.5 as a budget OS that will compete with Android, while Windows Mobile 7 will be a high-end OS that will compete with the iPhone. So basically Redmond is going to keep both OS running on devices in the market. It’s not impossible, but would it really be a good idea, considering how much of an effort has gone into making Windows Mobile what it is today, for two versions to be in the market?

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According to a recent DigiTimes article, the HTC Mega and HTC Click will see the light of day sometime in Q4. Of course we know that HTC won’t launch them under those names, but the handsets will be the promised mid-range smartphones HTC CEO Peter Chou was talking about and will bear the around-$300 price tag. The Mega is rumored to be a decently made Windows Mobile 6.5 handset featuring a 2.8-inch QVGA (240×320) touchscreen display, a 3 megapixel camera, GPS and a 528 MHz processor. The Click is still a mystery but it may just be an Android phone that would spike up the mid-range offering. According to a Merrill Lynch analyst Laura Chen, mid-range handsets like the Mega and Click will help HTC increase its revenue by 11 percent in Q4 2009 riding on an anticipated 19 percent increase in handset shipments. Well done HTC.

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In a recent Microsoft and Nokia press conference, many were expecting an announcement about a possible Windows 7 Internet Tablet or maybe even a Windows Mobile powered Nokia phone. Yeah no such luck, what the two giants did announce was the introduction of Microsoft Office on Nokia handsets. As you know, currently only WinMo handsets have MS Office support while other platforms are dependent on third-party software. This partnership, however, will put the world’s most popular and widely used document editing software on the world’s most popular handset manufacturer. This isn’t the first of Microsoft’s expansion onto other platforms, Apple’s Mac has just gotten some love from Redmond and it may be a safe bet to assume that the iPhone may be getting a piece of the pie too.

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Alright folks, time to take your magic marker and put a big circle around September 15. According to a leaked Best Buy pre-order flyer, the mid of September is when you get your beloved Zune HD. For those looking to make faces at the iPod Touch crowd with something, you have a partner. We already have a guess at the pricing, and we’re pretty sure that if Redmond wants to keep the Zune ball rolling, it will stick under-pricing the iPod Touch.

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Ah…Windows Mobile…we shall miss thee. What you see in the image above is the final version of the Windows Mobile platform, as it is readying for public release. Only now it has a new name; Windows Phone. That’s what Microsoft has shared with the good people at The Inquirer, along with the Windows Phone of course. The handset shows off features like the Zune-ish UI, Marketplace for Windows Phone, the free My Phone sync service, Microsoft Tag, etc, etc. Also, let it be known once and for all that the Windows Mobile 6.5 name is history; “We don’t even refer to the operating system because it’s part of the whole long term strategy of releases coming out.” Oooh…I can just feel the authority.

Alright Windows Mobile developers, your day has come at last. Todd Brix, Senior Director for Mobile Platform Services Product Management at Microsoft made the announcement that the company will begin accepting app submissions in 29 supported countries as of July 27th. Brix also told everyone Microsoft is well on schedule to launch “Windows Marketplace for Mobile” this fall along with Windows Mobile 6.5. Current users don’t need to lose their cool, since the Marketplace will be available for WinMo 6.0 and 6.1 before the year is over. Finally WinMo users have something to be excited about.

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Are you sick and tires of pushing buttons on the same old media player? Are the newest, latest upcoming phones coming with dedicated players? Is freedom what you crave? Well then get excited about the Microsoft HD Zune. The device is way loaded and the features are definitely eye catching to say the least. It boasts of. 3.3-inch 480 x 272 OLED capacitive touchscreen display, built-in HD Radio receiver, HD output (requires an optional dock), Wi-Fi, integrated web browser, multitouch support and Xbox LIVE integration and as of latest received intelligence, the device will also pack NVIDIA’s Tegra processor. A Gizmodo regular reports along the lines that Microsoft is looking to offer the device with 16 GB and 32 GB options. Release may be sometime around September 8 and with all the excitement we’re fortunate to have a launch date especially for those early birds and dare devil go getter types who like to shop early for the holidays.

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So everyone knows about Microsoft’s new search engine, Bing. Good, the search engine went live a few days ago and is getting good reviews; the new search engine is definitely a notch or so higher than Microsoft Live Search. The search engine’s mobile site is now up and kicking. Bing mobile seems to be like the other website, nothing earth shattering; snappy design, results pages are laid out well with web, image, news and local breakdowns one click away, and Bing will format linked pages for your phone if you want it to (like good ole’ Google). But the Bing layout is much nicer. Okay, you folks are on your own now, hit m.bing.com and get your grove on.

At last! At last! The Zune HD is official! (Yes there is excitement) The handset is slated out this fall and features include 3.3 inch 480 x 272 OLED capacitive touchscreen display, built-in HD Radio receiver, HD output (requires an optional dock), Wi-Fi, integrated web browser, multitouch support and Xbox LIVE integration. Those who’ll be attending the E3 will get first look at the Xbox LIVE integration in what Microsoft calls “a game-changing entertainment experience”. Eat up the Press Release young ‘uns;

Microsoft Announces the Expansion of the Zune Entertainment Service to New Platform and Markets; Confirms New Zune HD Portable Media Player

Premium Zune digital entertainment service to be available internationally on Xbox LIVE.

REDMOND, Wash. – May 26, 2009 – Microsoft Corp. today announced the evolution of Zune, the company’s end-to-end music and entertainment service, to a new platform and new markets. Zune will extend its video service to Xbox LIVE internationally this fall. This marks an important development in the Zune strategy and brings the Zune brand to more than 17 million international Xbox LIVE subscribers. In addition, Microsoft confirmed the next generation of the Zune portable media player, Zune HD. Available in the U.S. this fall, Zune HD is the first portable media player that combines a built-in HD Radio receiver, high-definition (HD) video output capabilities, organic light-emitting diode (OLED) touch screen, Wi-Fi and an Internet browser.

“The Zune music player is an integral part of the overall Zune experience, and we’re proud to be growing and extending our offering beyond the device,” said Enrique Rodriguez, corporate vice president of the Microsoft TV, Video and Music Business Group. “Delivering on Microsoft’s connected entertainment vision, this news marks a turning point for Zune as it brings cross-platform experiences and premium video content to living rooms around the world.”

Zune Service Expands to New Platform:

Zune will be a premium partner in the Xbox LIVE Video Marketplace, bringing an exciting catalog of TV and film to the platform. Zune will occupy the first slot within the Xbox user interface in the Xbox LIVE Video Marketplace, exposing the Zune brand experience to millions of new consumers for the first time. At the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) next week, attendees will see firsthand how Zune integrates into Xbox LIVE to create a game-changing entertainment experience.

Introducing Zune HD:

·         Zune HD is the next iteration of the Zune device family and brings a new level of listening and viewing experiences to the portable media player category.

·         Zune HD comes with a built-in HD Radio receiver so users can listen to higher-quality sound than traditional radio on the go. Users also will have access to the additional song and artist data broadcast by HD Radio stations as well as additional channels from their favorite stations multicasting in HD. If you don’t like the song playing on your station’s HD channel, switch to its HD2 or HD3 channels for additional programming.

·         The bright OLED touch screen interface allows users to flip through music, movies and other content with ease, and the 16:9 widescreen format display (480×272 resolution) offers a premium viewing experience on the go.

·         The HD-compatible output lets Zune HD customers playback supported HD video files from the device through a premium high-definition multimedia interface (HDMI) audiovisual docking station (sold separately) direct to an HD TV in 720p.*

·         Zune HD will include a full-screen Internet browser optimized for multitouch functionality.

·         Zune HD is Wi-Fi enabled, allowing for instant streaming to the device from the more than 5 million-track Zune music store.

More information on Zune and related images is available here and here.