Windows Mobile rebrands as Windows Phone

However much Microsoft denies the fact, rumours that it is developing a Windows handset to rival Apple’s iPhone will not be quashed, and a decision to rebrand Windows Mobile phones will do little to help its cause.

Microsoft has announced that Windows Mobile 6.x/7.x phones will in the future simply be known as Windows Phones, with the version number left unspecified.

This is the fourth rebrand for Microsoft’s mobile handsets, which have always been overshadowed by the success of Microsoft’s PC operating systems.

First known as Palm PCs, Microsoft-powered handsets then changed to Pocket PCs, before finally settling on the name Windows Mobile. Until this week, that is.

Meanwhile, Microsoft’s mobile-to-PC web syncing SkyBox service has been rebranded ‘My Phone’, risking confusion (perhaps deliberately) with iPhone.