Yes, most of us want Windows Phone 7 to be very different from Windows Mobile. And Microsoft promised that it will, indeed, be different -- closer to the latest generation of Zunes than to a Windows Mobile 6.x phone. But it comes with a price: Chances are owners of Windows Mobile 6.x devices won't be able to upgrade to Windows Phone 7 software.
Up until recently, it looked as though there was a chance of upgrading; as Microsoft’s UK Mobile Business Group Director Alex Reeve said, it's up to their "hardware partners to think about."
But now, news comes out that owners of HTC HD2, a new Windows Mobile 6.5 device that seems more than capable of running the new software, won't be able to upgrade to Windows Phone 7 software. Furthermore, according to APC, Microsoft's general manager for mobile communications business in the Asia-Pacific region, Natasha Kwan, none of the current phones have what it takes.
“Because we have very specific requirements for Windows Phone 7 Series the current phones we have right now will not be upgradable,” she said.