Well this could make all the pain and suffering worthwhile…

Speaking on Twitter, Alex Reese – the head of Microsoft’s mobile business group – admitted Windows Phone 7 Series upgrades may be available for devices running versions of Windows Mobile. “It’s early days yet, and that’s really for our hardware partners to think about,” tweeted Reese in response to a question about potential upgrades.

While not much to go on, what Reese says is very different to the ‘clean break’ approach Microsoft had stressed Windows Phone Series 7 would make. In fact it flies in the face of the company’s new hands-on stance with manufacturer hardware and an enforcement of minimum specifications.

Consequently, should Reese’s statement be true rather than simply misconstrued what it suggests is certain current or imminent high-end handsets would sneak inside Microsoft requirements. Most obvious amongst these would be the HTC HD2 with its 4in capacitive touchscreen and 1GHz Snapdragon core while Toshiba’s recently announced TG02 and K01 would also qualify.

Such a stance would make a lot of sense since it would mean Microsoft doesn’t kill all interest in its new Windows Mobile 6.5.3 handsets in the (potentially long) wait for Windows Phone 7 Series to launch. That said, even with Microsoft’s backing, owners would still need to rely on some open and positive thinking from networks and that is hardly their forte…

Link:
Reeve’s tweet
via Engadget