Microsoft will reportedly be announcing Windows Mobile 7 at Mobile World Congress during a Steve Ballmer press conference on February 15, 2010. There have been rumors swirling for weeks now about what we’re going to learn about Windows Mobile 7 at MWC.

I haven’t talked about Windows Mobile much on the site, mainly because there hasn’t been much news regarding the platform for a while. Sure, Windows Mobile 6.5 and subsequent versions were released, and they were an improvement (somewhat) over previous versions. But they weren’t the big, revolutionary leap forward that we’ve been expecting. Whether Windows Mobile 7 will fulfill that promise from Microsoft, we’ll have to wait and see.

I have used Windows Mobile phones exclusively for at least the last 5 years, and while the platform is definitely long in the tooth, I have come to love it. Sure, it has some problems: lack of capacitive touch capability; outdated and often inconsistent user interface; perceived and sometimes actual complexity and other problems. Even with all those issues, I’ve found that Windows Mobile has fit my needs better than other platforms out there.

That being said, I’m at a tipping point now. What Microsoft announces for Windows Mobile 7 will help me determine if it’s time to switch to another platform, probably Android, and I imagine I’m not alone amongst Windows Mobile users. In my opinion, it bodes well that Microsoft decided to push back WM7 and launch WM 6.5 as a stop-gap, because that means they’re taking WM7 seriously and don’t want to screw it up. It wouldn’t be the first time, however, that Microsoft needed to not screw up and did anyway.

I’m really looking forward to some of the rumored features, providing they’re delivered right, especially the Zune integration. I love my Zune HD, but I’d love to have the same features and functionality on my phone so I can carry one device.

I don’t want to do this to you, Microsoft, but if you don’t get it right this time, I’m going to have to break up with you on my phone. I look forward to the announcement at Mobile World Congress and the follow-up, in depth development info that will be coming out at MIX 2010. I’ll likely be getting a new phone this fall. It remains to be seen whether it will be a new Windows Mobile phone.