As has been spreading around the news, Windows Mobile 5.0 has been released for both phones and PDAs. There is quite a lot of hype going about re: the release. Will have to wait a couple months to evaluate its application into new mobile technologies.

Some features you can expect from the new release: productivity enhancements, Windows Media Player 10 Mobile, persistent memory and USB 2.0 support. If you have the patience for it, you can also create advanced graphics and charts in both Excel and Word Mobile editions.

Windows Mobile 5.0, aka Magneto, comes with a whole gamut of features. Here's a breakdown of some of the new highlights:

- One-handed operation - soft-key, landscape, QWERTY. Stylus not required.
- Flexible platform for partner customizations - can plug in "push-to-talk" or video conferencing
- Network adaptability - from 3G to Wi-Fi to Bluetooth
- Media Player 10 Mobile - for music and tv content
- Microsoft Office integration - new Excel, Word and first PowerPoint release
- Security - encryption over VPN, Bluetooth authorization
- New APIs for developers
- Persistent memory storage - to keep information when the battery dies
- Storage - more support for hard drives and USBs

"The whole mobile space is incredibly hot," said Bill Gates, Microsoft's chairman and chief software architect, in a keynote speech announcing the new software at the company's annual mobile and embedded devices conference in Las Vegas. "We're moving well beyond just doing voice calls and SMS messages," he said.

Windows Mobile 2005 offers hardware makers more flexibility and mobile operators more ways to customize devices, allowing for a wider range of devices, according to Microsoft. For example, the operating system supports more buttons, landscape display and QWERTY keyboards that will let users control the device in one hand. [Link]

The new mobile OS is set to compete against platforms from Symbian, Palm and Blackberry. Microsoft Mobile products are now being made by 40 device-makers for 68 mobile operators around the world and there are greater than 18,000 Windows Mobile-based applications on the market today. Microsoft's Bill Gates is hoping the new OS will spur on hardware and service innovation to "revolutionize how customers use mobile devices... such as location-based services, 3-D gaming and video that bring to life compelling entertainment and productivity scenarios."

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