It’s been a long, long wait.  Microsoft has been working on the successor to Windows Mobile 6 since 2007. That successor, code-named Photon, was an incremental upgrade to Microsoft’s long-running smartphone OS.

It never saw the light of day. 

In 2009, Microsoft decided to change course in a big way. The next version of the Windows Mobile OS was scrapped, and a new OS – Windows Phone 7 – went into development from the ground up.  It was officially announced early this year. 

Nearly a year later, Windows Phone 7 has been finalized and is being sent to hardware and service partners for real-world release on devices.  The long, long wait is almost over.

We should begin seeing actual devices running the Windows Phone 7 OS – at least in press photos – in the coming weeks.  And at least a few Windows Phone 7 handsets will debut before the end of the year.

Check out our Windows Phone 7 device page for information on the devices we expect to be released running the new mobile OS.

We’ve known Windows Live Hotmail was due to receive an Exchange ActiveSync (EAS) update for months. 

Today, it’s arrived.

The new Exchange service supports Windows Mobile 6, Windows Phone 7, and the Apple iPhone.  Android support is not yet official, but it may work with your Android-powered device, so give it a try (Android 2.1 is not supported yet; Microsoft will release a list of tested Android phones soon).

Here are the general settings for configuring your device for Exchange ActiveSync Windows Live Hotmail:

Server / URL: m.hotmail.com

Username: Full email address, for example: someone@example.com

Domain: Leave this blank

SSL: Enable this

Certificate:Accept the SSL certificate when prompted

You can find a detailed set of configuration settings instructions for devices here.

Source: Windows Team Blog

Qualcomm began shipping its third generation, dual-core Snapdragon SoC CPUs to device manufacturers sometime around early June.  And, if new information published by AlienBabelTech is taken at face value, devices powered by these new processors are already well into the testing phase.

ABT reports discovering entries for an Android device labeled HTC Glacier  in an online database of GLBenchmark test results.  The benchmark scores show a marked increase in CPU performance  compared to high-end smartphones on the market today.  When compared to the Sprint EVO 4G, for example, which employs a 1GHz 2nd Gen Snapdragon, the Glacier’s CPU produced results that were about three times as fast.

Using comparative math, the poster at ABT seems to believe these benchmark scores come from a 1.5GHz Snapdragon rather than a 1.2GHz model (the 3rd Gen Snapdragon System-on-Chip platforms are available in both clock speeds).  You can review the calculations used to guess the speed of the CPU here.

Qualcomm has only fessed up to shipping 1.2GHz versions of the new Snapdragons thus far, and a jump of 200Mhz in smartphone processors seems more likely than a 500MHz jump. So I’m betting the HTC Glacier – or whatever it’ll be marketed as – will run the 1.2GHz MSM8260 rather than its 1.5GHz sibling.  I could be wrong, of course (here’s hoping).

So, what else is known about the Glacier other than its raw benchmark test results?  Not much.  But ABT supposes that it may be the star of T-Mobile’s Project Emerald, which promises a dual-core HTC Android smartphone.  There are other theories.

Today RIM and AT&T Mobility made the BlackBerry Torch 9800 official.  The new smartphone – available for purchase August 12th for $200 with a two-year contract – is a slider, which is a new direction for RIM. The Torch will also be the first phone to run BlackBerry OS 6.

Noteworthy features include 4GB of internal flash storage, a 5MP camera, 802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi, 512MB of RAM, a 3.2-inch touchscreen display with a 480×360 resolution, and an optical trackpad.

Many of HTC’s current smartphone models feature AMOLED displays, a type of screen technology often touted as the best available for mobile devices. AMOLED has its critics, but the most frequent complaint leveled against it – particularly of late – concerns supply shortages. It seems Samsung (the primary manufacturer of the AMOLED screens) has been unable to churn out enough of the displays for HTC to manufacture desired quantities of Desire, Nexus One, and Droid Incredible smartphones, sometimes resulting in long delays for the consumer.

In order to combat this problem, HTC announced today what many have long suspected: that it will transition from AMOLED to Super LCD displays in some of their smartphones, namely the Desire and Nexus One. 

Super LCD, or SLCD, displays have many of the advantages of AMOLED, and even trumps AMOLED in some utility comparisons such as viewability in direct sunlight.  HTC also claims new SLCD displays have “approximately five times better power management” than older LCD technology, which should at least mitigate AMOLED’s biggest advantage: battery life.

HTC will release SLCD versions of the Nexus One and Desire “later this summer.”  There was no mention of the Droid Incredible, whose AMOLED screen has reportedly been responsible for frequent shortages of the smartphone since its April 2010 release.

Aside from the official Microsoft announcement in February and the steady stream of leaks and rumors that followed, it’s been fairly quiet on the Windows Phone 7 front of late. And other than the HD2 and the LG Fathom, 2010 hasn’t exactly been a banner year for Windows Mobile 6.5 either.

But this week marks a milestone in the Windows Phone 7 journey.  Now, for the first time, reviewers and developers have prototype Samsung smartphones running a near-final version of Windows Phone 7 in their hands.  And that means, among other things, that Windows Phone 7 will quickly shift from chatter and conjecture to any-week-now reality.

Engadget, Boy Genius Report and SuperSite for Windows have each posted first impressions of the Windows Phone 7 OS based on experiences with the prototype devices.  The response is mixed, as you’d expect, and each source highlights aspects of the OS that delight, confound and disappoint. 

If you’re interested in Windows Phone 7 – and if you’re reading this, you very likely are –take a look at the posts and judge for yourself what you think of Microsoft’s upcoming mobile reboot. 

The first smartphones based on the operating system are scheduled for release in Q4 of 2010, so it’s crunch time. 

UPDATE: TechCrunch, ZDNet and Gizmodo have also posted preview pieces.

We’ve always known the XPERIA X1 would be coming in the second half of 2008, and since we’re in the second half of the year, we were expected to see the new Windows Mobile handset any day now.  But now Engadget is reporting that the XPERIA X1 has been delayed until the end of the year.

The XPERIA X1 is a Windows Mobile Professional device with a VGA touchscreen, an angled curve sliding keyboard design, and a 3.2MP camera.

It’s like the Touch Pro without the touch.  Today HTC announced the S740, a Windows Mobile 6.1 Standard non-touchscreen Smartphone with similar styling to the company’s Touch Diamond and Touch Pro.  Features include a 2.4" QVGA display, 802.11g Wi-Fi, GPS, HSDPA, 256MB of flash memory and RAM, and an onboard FM radio.

Sounds great, right?  Not so fast.  The S740 will be released in Europe next month, but there’s no word on when or if the handset will be released in the US.

Shortly after someone dropped the ball and posted information on the upcoming Treo Pro to the Palm web site, Palm decided to go ahead and make the Pro official.  The Windows Mobile handheld now has its own page on the Palm site, and while there are plenty of photos and spec details, there’s still no word on a release date or wireless carriers.

It’s almost certain that the Treo Pro will be coming to AT&T Mobility, and possibly T-Mobile as well. 

According to a report in The Taiwan Economic News, Palm has placed an order for 5 million Windows Mobile smartphones intended for sale in 2009.  The report doesn’t detail the device(s) Palm ordered, but the handsets will run the Windows Mobile operating system and be built by Taiwanese manufacturer Compal.

Compal is an ODM, or Original Device Manufacturer, best known for their design and construction of laptops for Dell and HP and handsets for Motorola.  The same report indicated that Motorola has ordered a number of Windows Mobile phones from Compal as well.