Small Fish, Big Pond

It’s far too long from anything to be more than wild rumor but this is the second time I’ve seen a rumor that Windows Mobile 7 may not be backward compatible with older Windows Mobile versions, and this time from a reputable source. Ina Fried: Cnet news.

Although Microsoft has typically been loath to make major changes to the desktop version of Windows at the expense of compatibility, the software maker appears ready to make a bigger break with its mobile past–a sensible move given its declining share of both the market and developer interest.

Bummer since about 30% of my apps stopped being supported before 2006 but I’ve hung onto them through each upgrade. Luckily they’re all pretty minor. Plus I was contemplating changing OS’s so it’s not like this wasn’t a possibility all along.

However a re-write major enough to break compatibility is a big thing. Possibly major Kernel changes, interface changes, everything you can think of is possible.

Microsoft may be re-writing their phone OS taking into account all their previous history on phones and PDAs and incorporating more recent trends like iPhone OS, webOS, Android, Zune, etc.