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Today, ahead of the CTIA Wireless event in San Diego, Windows Mobile and Android will be vying for attention. With Verizon Wireless holding a joint press conference with Google, Microsoft will be unveiling the first range of phones running Windows Mobile 6.5, and the first carrying its own Windows Phone branding, its latest attempt to increase its impact on the cellphone market outside its enterprise heartland.

Microsoft expects about 30 WinMo 6.5 handsets to launch before year end, though only a few will feature the new brand. Some of these are likely to come from HTC, which despite its increasing success at establishing its own brand, is still happy to go back to its white label roots. Two of its new WinMo devices will debut at AT&T late this month - the Pure and the Tilt 2.

Most of the details of release 6.5 are already available, though Microsoft will be talking up some key differentiators, such as the enhanced browser, menus that can be navigated with fingertips as well as a stylus, and support for Flash (which will only reach Android in 2010).

Two new services will also launch - the long awaited Windows Marketplace for Mobile, and the full release of MyPhone. Of course, Windows has had a broad applications base for years (and no need for the vendor to approve programs or act as a middleman) but like many vendors and operators, the Redmond giant has felt the need to adopt a me-too model to rival Apple. However, users will still be able to buy and download WinMo apps directly from developers - which suggests Marketplace will be geared particularly to less experienced mobile web users.

The market will initially be available only for 6.5 handsets and then extended to those running releases 6.0 and 6.1. Writing on the official Windows Mobile blog, Todd Brix, director of mobile services marketing, said the second phase (by year end) would "bring the PC-based catalog and shopping experience, user generated app reviews, advanced key-based anti-piracy protection and other enhancements that expand your business opportunity and make it easier for a larger number of customers to find and buy your application." He said the response from the Windows developer community had been "impressive", but that the submission process had been slow.

Meanwhile, MyPhone has been in beta release for some while and now adds a 'Find My Phone' feature to track, lock or wipe lost handsets. This costs $5 per use, in contrast to Apple's iPhone finder, which requires a $99 annual subscription.

Though the question of whether WinMo can survive in the medium term will only be answered with the release of the far more radical release 7.0 next year, one researcher is bucking the pessimistic trend. iSuppli said in a recent report that WinMo will triple its volume by 2013 and be a top three OS. Key disadvantages compared to iPhone need to be addressed though, especially support for capacitive touchscreens - expected with release 7.0.

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