Windows Mobile 6.5 phones available in Microsoft retail stores on opening day?

Microsoft is planning on opening its new retails stores this fall. Details are scarce, including the exact launch date, but its safe to say Windows 7 -- scheduled to be available on October 22 -- will feature prominently.

But will new Windows Mobile 6.5 phones be available in time for the retail store launch? Evidence surfaced in May that the mobile OS is ready for manufacturers. There is no firm date for when phones will be in customers' hands, but having them for sale in the Microsoft stores would definitely boost traffic and buzz as the holiday shopping season starts.

Prediction: Windows Mobile 6.5 phones will be available for purchase in Microsoft retails stores on opening day, scheduled for this fall. Judgment will be rendered either by an official statement by Microsoft, a carrier, or phone manufacturer, or the confirmed availability of a Windows Mobile 6.5 phones in a Microsoft retail store once it opens. A 6.5 phone being available for purchase prior to the stores' opening will not be sufficient for judgment -- the device must be sold at the new Microsoft retail outlets on their first day of operation.

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