While Windows Mobile 6.5 has yet to be released, people have been digging into the leaked versions. One interesting find is that the next version of Windows Mobile appears to include a widget engine. This would allow applications built using HTML, CSS and JavaScript to run using the IE 6 Mobile rendering engine but without requiring the traditional browser interface (such as menus and address bar).
The widgets will be packages consisting of zipped up HTML, CSS, JavaScript and graphics files. Such applications will bear a .widget extension. Widgets already included with Windows Mobile 6.5 include MSN Weather, Live Search, and an MSN Money stock tracker.
Today, Windows Mobile already sports something very similar with its Home Screen plugins but these are developed in .NET or C/C++. The new widgets should be much easier to develop, making it easier to create new applications and attracting new developers to the Windows Mobile platform.