Microsoft’s Moore: Windows Mobile 7 'put back until late next year'

According to Microsoft UK head of mobility Phil Moore, Windows Mobile 7 won’t be hitting phones for another year.

Speaking at the Connect! technology summit in London, Moore had this to say about the much-delayed mobile operating system:

"It has been put back until late next year but it is definitely coming.”

Windows Mobile 7 has experienced a troubled gestation. In development since 2005, it became apparent that it was well behind schedule for a 2008 release, prompting a dramatic restructuring of the Windows Mobile team.

Windows Mobile 6.5 eventually made an appearance early this year as a stop-gap measure, though it has come under heavy criticism for the rushed nature of the release and the lack of proper touchscreen integration.