Windows Mobile 6.5 is slowly coming up to a public release, however discussions have already begun about the next iteration; Windows Mobile 7. Unsurprisingly, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer has said that the 7th iteration of Microsoft"s popular mobile OS will be released to manufacturing next year.
WM Power User reported the news, which was announced at a Microsoft conference call earlier today, and was stated alongside Ballmer"s thoughts that the growing popularity of smartphones is going to greatly help WinMo in the future, despite the economy woes at the moment. Ballmer also said that Windows Mobile will get more and more shared technology with Windows, bringing in technology such as, "browsers, presentation services, and even, in the future, the kernel, and that the amount of shared technology will only increase over time." Perhaps by presentation services, he is referring to Silverlight.
Lastly, Ballmer confirmed that Microsoft will not be producing a Microsoft Phone, but only sticking to the phone operating systems. For more information, keep your eyes peeled as more Windows Mobile information is released.