According to reports from sources such as Cnet, Microsoft’s Windows Mobile 7 has been delayed until the second half of next year. (2009) Microsoft’s partners were expecting to get their hands on at least a beta 2 version early next year; however a Microsoft spokesperson indicated that things had been delayed somewhat.

This delay doesn’t bode well for Microsoft; who have given the surging competition every chance to get ahead of them with regard to their respective launch dates – Microsoft seem to have learned a valuable lesson from their hasty launch of Vista, though, and won’t be rushed.

Despite their cautious approach; Microsoft has given ground to their competitors – And maybe too much ground perhaps: Apple’s iPhone is selling at great gusto, and Google are ready to launch their Android-based smartphone – In fact they may have already done so by the time you read this. What do you think? Have Microsoft lost already?

The software giant hasn’t said much about WM7. The best we can gather is from leaked documents that suggest the inclusion of advanced touch and gesture recognition technologies, as well as advanced speech-control facilities. Other improvements are expected to include an improved browser that brings the rendering engine of Internet Explorer 6 onto Windows Mobile, allowing phones running it to display rich Web pages and web-based flash content.

Is this good enough in the face of the competition though? Will it be worth the wait, and most of all will it sell after their rivals have already launched their own offerings?