Windows Mobile 7 more of a downgrade than upgrade?

The Mobile World Congress will certainly answer all the questions in the next few weeks when Windows Mobile 7 is officially introduced but if the list posted by PPCGEeeks.com is anything to go buy, it looks like Microsoft is ditching a lot of functionality that made Windows Mobile 7 partially appealing to the ten people that still use it. Here is the list.

1) The User Interface is based upon codename “METRO”. It will be very similar to the Zune HD User Interface with a complete revamp of the “Start” screen. The UI is “Very Clean”, “Soulful” and “Alive”

2) Unfortunately there will be no Flash support at the get go as there was not enough time to implement these features.

3) Windows Phone 7 will only support application installation through service based delivery. (i.e Marketplace). Application installation via storage card will not be possible.

4) No Multi-Task support. Applications will “Pause” when in the background, however will support notifications via push notifications.

5) Marketplace will now support “try before you buy” as well as an API

6) No NETCF backwards compatibility. This means the original rumor of no backward compatibility for applications holds to be true. That being said, there are high hopes of porting the NetCF to the newer platform easily.

7) Microsoft is confident that devices will be ready by September 2010

8) Full Zune Integration

9) Windows Mobile Device Center will no longer be used. Zune software to take over syncing via PC.

10) OEM Interfaces will not be allowed to run on the device. Say goodbye to Sense UI / SPB Mobile Shell / Point UI / Infinity, etc, etc

11) Full XBOX Gaming Integration (Gamer tag, achievements, friends, avatars, merchandising, etc)

12) Full support for social networking

Doesn’t it seem that the model follows a certain competitor that Steve Ballmer dismissed at launch and has now become the second biggest Smartphone manufacturer? Lets see- No Flash, no multi-tasking, no SenseUI/Mobile Shell and No Today Screen. And no backward application compatibility. And, instead of targeting the corporate users with Windows Mobile Microsoft is going after the consumer with XBOX integration?  Sounds to me as though they’ve lost direction and don’t  know where to focus. Good luck.