I came upon
this presentation from the Microsoft Tech Days '06 held during March 23-26, 2006 in Switzerland.
Seems like Crossbow, which is supposedly a second edition of WM5.0 like WM2003SE was to WM2003 is slated for a Q4'06 release with a Q1/Q2 '07 marketing launch. I have read in other reports that it was suppose to be released in 1H'06.
Photon, which is suppose to be the next big mobile OS upgrade, it seems will not be until late 2007 and marketed in Q1/Q2'08.
Other excerpts from the presentation:
AKU 2.0/MSFP: In addition to our major releases, we have also adjusted the schedule for AKU 2.0 and MSFP.
We have high expectations for the release of Windows Mobile 5.0 AKU 2.0 and have received considerable, positive, internal and external feedback on our plans for this release. AKU 2.0 will deliver MSFP which in combination with Exchange Server Service Pack 2 (SP2), provides an enhanced end user messaging experience, better performance, and several key device management capabilities when deploying a mobile messaging solution. The final release of AKU 2.0 is now projected for November 4, 2005. A release candidate is projected to be available on October 14, 2005 to OEMs.
Crossbow Wave: As devices and upgrades featuring Windows Mobileä 5.0 Adaptation Kit Update 2.0 (AKU 2.0) with the Messaging and Security Feature Pack (MSFP) become widely available in 1HCY06, a Crossbow release in that same time period decreases Microsoft’s, OEMs’, and mobile operators’ ability to realize the investment made in devices based on AKU 2.0 with MSFP. Under this consideration, we plan to make Crossbow available to OEMs in Q4 2006, to start the commercialization process. This provides an opportunity for OEMs and Microsoft to market and sell MSFP devices for the majority of the 2006 calendar year, including the Holiday season.
Photon Wave: Photon is a very strategic release for Microsoft. The vision of a unified platform, modular architecture, and a customizable user interface are all focused on enabling our OEMs to deliver a wider range of differentiated products to meet the unique needs of target market segments. As we considered the scope of the Photon release, the Crossbow schedule and goal of the long term roadmap, it was clear that adjusting the Photon schedule was also necessary. We, therefore, plan to make Photon available to OEMs in Q4 2007, to start the commercialization process. This adjustment should help enable OEMs to ship Crossbow devices throughout 2007 and provide necessary time to commercialize Photon devices for a 2008 release. This adjustment should also help enable us to base Photon on the next major release of Windowsâ CE (“Yamazaki”). “Yamazaki” will provide an improved kernel, a new security model, and a number of other enhanced features.
“Photon” (Q4 ‘07)
New, Flexible Shell
Modular Containers
“Yamazaki” CE kernel
Q1/Q2 ’08 Marketing Launch
“Crossbow” (Q4 ‘06)
Great mobile messaging
Advanced Business and Enterprise propositions
Strengthened phone experience
Faster, easier application development and distribution
Q1/Q2 ‘07 Marketing Launch
Windows Mobile Release Roadmap Update
