Windows Mobile

Microsoft Corp. has said its new software for smart phones, Windows Phone 7 series, is a "clean break" with the past. Now it's clear just how clean that break is: The new phones, expected late this year, won't run any applications written for older versions of Microsoft's phone software.

In a blog post Thursday, Microsoft executive Charlie Kindel, who handles contact with outside software developers, said that jettisoning support for older applications was necessary to make the new operating system as powerful and user-friendly as possible.

If you think iPhone-like features are showing up on other smartphones, apparently Apple's lawyers agree. The iPhone maker said Tuesday it has filed suit against device maker HTC for violating 10 patents relating to user interface, architecture and hardware.

Apple CEO Steve Jobs said the company could "sit by and watch competitors steal our patented inventions, or we can do something about it." So, he added, Apple decided "to do something about it."

Android and Windows Mobile Devices

If you think iPhone-like features are showing up on other smartphones, apparently Apple's lawyers agree. The iPhone maker said Tuesday it has filed suit against device maker HTC for violating 10 patents relating to user interface, architecture and hardware.

Apple CEO Steve Jobs said the company could "sit by and watch competitors steal our patented inventions, or we can do something about it." So, he added, Apple decided "to do something about it."

Android and Windows Mobile Devices

Having the latest and greatest Windows phones will no longer matter once Microsoft releases its Windows Phone 7 Series. Mobile-phone users running the latest Windows Mobile 6.5 operating system, made available in October, will have incremental upgrades but will need a new phone if they want to use the software giant's Windows Phone 7 mobile operating system.

Mobile-phone users with the latest Windows Mobile phones do not have the hardware needed to run the newest mobile operating system, according to Microsoft's Mobile Communication Business.

Mobile phones are increasingly becoming the main communication tool for private and business use, and 2010 promises to offer users a number of innovations.

Smart phones are better placed than the standard mobile phone to deal with these advances because of their large display screens and speedy Internet connections.

There are already phones on the market using 1 gigahertz chips, says Andy Rubin, who works on Google's Android platform.

Mobile-phone sales worldwide headed up at the end of last year, according to a new report from industry research firm Gartner. Sales in the fourth quarter posted a 8.3 percent increase compared to a year ago, although overall 2009 sales dropped 0.9 percent.

Gartner said the drivers pushing up sales are smartphones and low-end devices. Smartphone sales, said Gartner Research Director Carolina Milanesi, "continued their strong growth in the fourth quarter of 2009," up 41.1 percent over 2008 to 53.8 million units. For all of 2009, smartphone sales were up 23.8 percent.

The era of the PC's dominance is officially over. We have crossed over into the age of mobile computing.

This transition has been building momentum for a while. Some might argue that the iPhone was the dawn of this era. Others might say it was really the rise of the BlackBerry. Or maybe even Android, Google's mobile operating system. Good cases could be made that any one of these marked the start of the mobile era.

With only a slight nod toward business clients during the launch of Microsoft's latest mobile-phone operating system this week, CEO Steve Ballmer fueled speculation that the software giant wants a bigger slice of the consumer pie.

With key mobile platforms and their application communities rapidly moving forward, a group of wireless carriers and device makers have decided to simplify. On Monday, two dozen of the largest telecom companies announced plans to create an open platform called the Wholesale Applications Community (WAC).

Microsoft will unveil its next-generation mobile operating system Monday at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, according to The Wall Street Journal. People who have had an early look at the software giant's new platform, reportedly called Windows Phones, say its touch-sensing user interface is comparable to what Microsoft currently offers on its Zune HD music player, the newspaper reported.