Over 30 Windows Mobile 6.5 smartphones to be launched before year-end, says Microsoft executive

More than 30 smartphones running on Microsoft Windows Mobile 6.5 from a total of over 15 handset vendors are to be launched before the end of 2009, according to Benjamin Tan, senior director, GCR Mobile Team Unit at Microsoft China. Tan revealed the numbers as he met a group of reporters in China recently. Handset vendors which have expressed their support for Microsoft's new mobile OS include HTC (High Tech Computer), Acer, Samsung Electronics, LG Electronics (LGE), Sony Ericsson, Toshiba, and Hewlett-Packard (HP), according to market sources in Taiwan. HTC, a long-term partner of Microsoft, is expected to offer two Windows Mobile 6.5-based models, the HTC Tilt2 (HTC Touch Pro2) and HTC Pure (HTC Touch Diamond2) to carriers including AT&T, indicated the sources.