A report by ZDNet Taiwan is indicating that Microsoft will provide Windows Mobile 7 to its OEMs in Q1 2010. With their feedback in hand, Microsoft will then officially launch the next version of its mobile operating system in Q3 2010.
With Windows Mobile 6.5 having met with lacklustre response, Microsoft will be hoping for much more positive response to the next version. It needs it to regain lost market share and fight off the very real threat posed by Apple, RIM, and devices running Google Android.
If these dates are correct, we will likely see Microsoft announce Windows Mobile 7 in the same fashion as it did with 6.5: A formal announcement early in the year at the Mobile World Congress followed by an official release accompanied by Windows phones later in the year.