Skyfire might want to keep an eye on its competition, especially since a new web browser for Windows Mobile has surfaced, dubbed the March5. This browser uses a similar proxy-type method of rendering and transmitting full desktop-class websites to your mobile phone. The application is currently available on a free trial basis, so it looks like it’s going to be turned into a shareware app in the future.

A recent survey by Comscore of close to 40,000 US cell phone subscribers shows that Windows Mobile holds a rather significant share of the market, coming in 2nd with 27%, behind RIM, which has a healthy 38% lead. Apple’s iPhone certainly isn’t too far behind with 21%, so Microsoft will certainly want to keep an eye on its rivals, especially the iPhone.

If you’ve tried connecting a Windows Mobile device with Windows XP, you’ll certainly have gone through the frustration of having to download ActiveSync or even installing it off a CD. It often seems like an unnecessary step, and even a nuisance. It looks like folks who run Windows 7 will enjoy the benefit of Mobile Device Center being automatically downloaded and installed, which has been verified by the folks who are running the Release Candidate. It certainly looks like Windows 7 will be beneficial to folks who run Windows Mobile, so are you looking forward to Windows 7?

Reports can be extremely useful, but they can also be very misleading, and we’ll leave you to make what you want out of this latest report. According to Strategic Analytics, Windows Mobile has a rather nice position at the number 2 position in the business smartphone market. With 26% of the market share, it’s trailing RIM, which has 37%, by quite a bit, but certainly a percentage that it is able to catch up.

Microsoft and its subsidiary, Tellme, are gearing up to launch an embedded out-of-the-box platform which will be available for free to carriers and handset manufacturers. Tellme is a voice recognition application for Windows Mobile 6.5 which allows users to use speech commands to search the web, send messages and even make calls. Sprint’s Samsung Instinct which already have Tellme’s software bundled have seen an amazing 82% adoption of search queries (by voice). Will all our future phones use voice commands instead of the traditional keypad input?

Verizon looks like it’s getting a fair bit of attention lately, which the company certainly won’t mind. Aside from the rumor of new Apple devices that should be arriving on the carrier, there is still the rumor about a Microsoft phone project, codenamed “Pink”. Of course, Pink is most likely a codename for the software layer, as Microsoft has often taken the time to dispute any claims that it is planning to release a Microsoft branded phone. Will this Pink feature be available on Verizon? Most likely, the question is more of a “when”, rather than “if”.

It looks like there is some bad news for folks who were looking forward to Microsoft’s Windows Mobile 6.5 update. While it was previously reported that the update would be officially announced On May 11th during Tech Ed 2009, it seems that Microsoft has stated that the post was misinterpreted, and they will merely be demoing some of the features of Windows Mobile 6.5. It’s disappointing, but at least it’s not a complete downer. Unfortunately we’re going to need to exercise more patience to wait for Windows Mobile 6.5, which certainly isn’t fun.

Your Windows Mobile phone might be able to do many things that you didn’t think was possible. Some researchers at the Washington University in St. Louis have turned a Windows Mobile phone into a mobile medical manager, which can use a standard USB connection and watch food as it passes through your digestive system. Sure, it sounds a little disgusting, but it’s certainly useful, especially if you’re in developing countries where a full-blown imaging system would be too costly or not practical.

It looks like the official introducing isn’t going to be too far away, as word is out that Microsoft will be rolling out its highly-anticipated Windows Mobile 6.5 on May 11th, which incidentally, is the opening day of Microsoft’s TechEd 2009 conference. Of course, just because the official announcement is made, doesn’t mean that we’ll be getting Windows Mobile 6.5 on every upcoming device that is released will automatically be pre-loaded with Windows Mobile 6.5. It might even take a few months before manufacturers come up with phones that are pre-loaded with Windows Mobile 6.5, but until then, keep your fingers crossed.

The “Zune Phone” rumors have been going around forever, and by now we’ve probably established that we’ll probably be bettering a Zune service for Windows Mobile devices instead, which is more or less the same thing. With the pictures of the Zune HD making its rounds on the Internet, word is going around that Microsoft is gearing up to launch the Zune for mobile phones around the same time of the Zune HD, which means that it can’t be too far away.

Is Microsoft looking to implement over the air (OTA) firmware updates for Windows Mobile 7? It certainly looks like a distinct possibility, especially when you take a gander at the recent job posting from Microsoft for a “Lead Software Development Engineer”. It reads:

Have you wished to see your Windows Mobile phone with new features “magically” show up without you buying a new one? Do you want to see greater and better quality and cool software delivered to your love ones’ Windows phones from just a click? If this is your dream, this is a place for you. Come join us to make this dream into reality! With the mobile industry’s strong growth and several competitors playing in the field, we are going to have a challenging but fun time to show customers what Windows phone can become in the next few years.

We are in Windows Mobile device update team. Our goal is to enable customers to anticipate and enjoy a predictable stream of new and improved capabilities for their Windows Phone via a Device Update service that is worry-free and easy-to-use. Broad scope and impact, deep technologies, engineering challenges, partner interfacing with OEMs and MS internal partners, and fast pace delivery are all part of our charter. In the agile development environment, you will be working with PM/architect/test and partner teams to deliver critical stack of the update solution. You will lead a team of smart developers to solve problems in mobile OS, PC applications, and interacting with web services.

Want some visual guides on what exactly is different between the current Windows Mobile and the upcoming Windows Mobile 6.5? Well, on paper the changes include better kinetic scrolling, new soft key menus, prettier tabs, nicer notification boxes and even a new accept and reject call screen. Well, enough of text, check out the video and see for yourself.