Windows Mobile 6.5 phones set for October

Microsoft is hoping that a new crop of phones next month will help the company in its desperate bid to stay relevant in the mobile market.

The software maker said on Tuesday that the first phones running Windows Mobile 6.5 will launch worldwide on 6 October and will include handsets from HTC, LG, Samsung, Sony Ericsson among others.

The new crop of phones will also be the first Microsoft will sell under the 'Windows Phone' brand, an effort to tap into the marketing power of its newly refreshed desktop operating system.

With Windows Mobile 6.5, Microsoft is hoping to convince users that its phones are not only good for work. Much of the company's development focus has been on improving the operating system's consumer features in an effort to regain ground lost to rivals.

"We know people want a phone for their whole life," said Stephanie Ferguson, general manager in the Windows Mobile unit. "They just frankly want to do more. That's why we've shifted."

Although it includes features such as improved Web browsing and threaded email, as well as a new Windows Marketplace app store, 6.5 is seen largely as an interim upgrade of the operating system, with WinMo 7 due next year.

Microsoft has come under criticism for the rather slow pace at which its software has evolved in the face of competition from the iPhone, BlackBerry, Android and Palm Pre.