Specifically, he said "No, we're not going to do that," which is odd, considering the sheer persistence—and substance—of rumors about "Pink" phones, which they've clearly been considering, at the very least. On Pink, Bach clammed up:

We're not going to discuss the rumors, or discuss any of the things you might see or might read.

So what about a co-branded phone, made by a separate ODM? Could that explain Pink? Are there any plans for that?

Yes, we announced that today, it's called the Windows Phone.

Sassy! Of course, an official denial of an unannounced product shouldn't be taken as gospel—Microsoft isn't in a position to admit too much now. But I can't help but think these flat denials will sound a little funny when Pink phones show up on shelves, made by Microsoft, cobranded with someone else, or otherwise.

From his mouth:

The reason why we couldn't complete the interface on Windows Mobile 6.5 is because of time. We only spend what, eight months, nine months, to build 6.5 from ground up and it's actually an amazing engineering feat. But, in order to do that, we had to do some prioritization and we had to cut certain features. Eventually, we will make sure that the UI capabilities are carried out throughout the whole platform.

It's a revealing, slightly embarrassing mea culpa, and an honest one. Wherever new interface features have been implemented in 6.5, they work fairly well, but massive parts of the OS still looks and operate like they did in 6.1, such that 6.5 feels more like an interface add-on than an actual OS upgrade.

But hey, points for honesty! And maybe, just maybe, Tan's "eventually" means "before 6.5 ships."

UPDATED: The WinMo dev team has responded in the comments. Basically, 6.5 is "finished" in the sense that interface changes won't reach much deeper than we've already seen. One thing: the above screenshots show an early build of the OS, and the Honeycomb looks a bit different now. The response:

You guys never seize to surprise us with your titles! :)

The WM6.5 UI that we planned to build is complete, not half-assed as reported. The original question was why we couldn't persist our new "chrome"/UI across all UI elements like settings etc. Because of time, we decided to prioritize the more important UI elements first and made sure they were revamped like the home screen, today screen and start menu. We also have more finger friendly controls that persists throughout all applications.

The screenshots you posted above are from an older beta build anyway, I'm sure there are screenshots of the RTM build floating on the net somewhere that you can look at. Just looking at screenshots also doesn't do it justice as it has fluid animations that elevates the experience.

[ArsTechnica]

The 70% dev cut is simple enough and has worked well for other stores, but the $99 fee is a slight divergence from the norm. Under this subscription plan, developers can submit up to five apps a year, with an additional $99 fee for every app above that limit. That sounds a little lame, but if you're the kind of person (or outfit, rather) that markets more than five apps a year, a hundred bucks probably won't sting too much, and the fee might even serve as a nice little cr-app filter. There are a few other details, like a fee waiver for student developers, but most of this doesn't really matter much to consumers, and won't surprise developers.

But Microsoft couldn't resist getting a little political here, going out of their way to promise "transparency throughout the certification process"—a not-so-subtle dig at Apple's restrictive and sometimes mysterious vetting process. It's a nice promise, but the Windows Mobile app store is inherently different in this regard already. It may have rules, but developers can still distribute their apps elsewhere, and any user is free to install them. In other words, unlike in the iTunes App Store, a rejected app isn't necessary a dead app. Full press release is below. [Microsoft]

Microsoft Unveils Its Developer Strategy for the Next Generation of Windows® Phones

Familiar tools, large worldwide customer base and transparent policies allow mobile developers to innovate and generate new revenue opportunities with Windows Mobile 6.5 and Windows Marketplace for Mobile.

REDMOND, Wash. - March 11, 2009 - Microsoft Corp. today announced new details about how developers can build and sell applications for Windows® phones through Windows Marketplace for Mobile, the recently announced application marketplace available with the Windows Mobile 6.5 operating system. In its commitment to helping developers create new and exciting applications, Microsoft will provide developers with 70 percent of the revenue generated from sales of their application sales from Windows Marketplace for Mobile, transparency throughout the certification process, and guidance and support from the stage of development to the final sale to the consumer. To get the tools to begin developing for Windows® phones, go to http://developer.windowsmobile.com.

"We are empowering the thousands of existing Windows Mobile independent software vendors and prospective developers to grow their business by connecting them to the millions of global Windows® phone customers around the world," said Andy Lees, senior vice president of the Mobile Communications Business at Microsoft. "Our announcement today demonstrates Microsoft's unwavering commitment to providing developers with the latest tools and technologies to develop compelling applications, as well as the appropriate distribution channels to generate revenue."

Developers who sell applications through Windows Marketplace for Mobile will receive 70 percent of the sale of each application. In addition, they will have the ability to set the price for their applications in each market, maximizing their revenues based on targeted pricing strategies. Developers can also choose to distribute their application at no cost. Up to five application submissions to the Windows Marketplace for Mobile is included in the introductory annual registration of $99 (U.S.). Each additional submission within the annual period will have a cost of $99 (U.S.). The registration fee will be waived for student developers who want to reach Windows® phones customers, through enrollment in the DreamSpark program. Finally, developers will also be eligible for marketing and sales support from the Mobility Solutions Partner Program, allowing developers to focus on their core competency of developing innovative applications.

With Windows Marketplace for Mobile available in 29 countries, developers will be able to tap into a broad international customer base. At the same time, Microsoft will continue working with developers to ensure that their applications run optimally on Windows® phones by running a rigorous certification and testing process before applications go to market. Developers will be able to see detailed feedback during and after the certification process of their application on the Windows Marketplace for Mobile developer portal. Ultimately this enables developers to devote more time to writing innovative applications, and less time trying to navigate the approval process. Developers will have access to all details once the registration doors open in the spring, and will be able to start submitting their applications later this summer.

Developers can utilize familiar tools and technologies to build unique experiences for the Windows Mobile platform through Windows Marketplace for Mobile, including the Windows Mobile 6 SDK, .NET Compact Framework 3.5.

With more than 20,000 applications already in market, Windows Mobile is among the most popular platforms for developers. Windows Mobile 6.5, the next generation of the Windows Mobile operating system, will allow developers to build innovative mobile applications without having to learn new skills or programming languages, by leveraging familiar desktop and server development tools such as Win32, Active Template Library and Microsoft Foundation Classes (Visual C++), Visual C#, Visual Basic .NET, ASP.NET and asynchronous JavaScript and XML (AJAX).

While everything seems to have been touched up, simplified, and polished to no end, what really makes this version of Windows Mobile 6.5 isn't the new, revamped browser—which uses the engine deployed in 6.1 but feels a lot faster and has a good new interface—or the honeycomb start screen—which I don't find particularly impressive—or the cleaner UI designed for one-finger operation or the speed or the touch gestures.

To me, what really makes this new operating system great is the new home screen, combined with the lock screen. The lock screen doesn't look very good aesthetically—somehow, the elements don't appear tight enough—but it allows you to see what's cooking in your digital life with just one glance. Turn the screen on and you will see whatever pending alerts, mails, calls, short text messages, or any other element that requires your attention. No need to get deeper into the phone applications. From there, if you want to drill down, just slide-to-unlock the notification and you will be taken straight to the info.

Once you unlock your phone, you are taken to the home screen. This is the true jewel in the operating system: A simple list of categories which let you access information without having to get into the phone applications. It sounds like the lock screen, but from here you can get deeper into the information itself. Here's how it works:

When you slide your finger over the list, it scrolls like it's passing through a visor. The visor transforms the text line into the information itself, so if you go through "text", it will show you the last received text message. Once you are looking at that, you will effectively have access to all your SMS messages right on that screen: Just swipe your finger like passing the pages of a book and it will change the text message. The same happens with all the other categories. There is even a custom "Favorites" category, that would allow you to navigate through whatever you want to put in there, from weather reports to Messenger's messages.

Then you have the start menu, which is accessible through the now-obligatory Windows flag start button, which must be present in all Windows 6.5 cellphones. Microsoft calls this the "start experience." I call it: "about time something makes sense in your damn phones." The start page shows all your available applications displayed as icons in a honeycomb. You can scroll up and down the honeycomb to start apps. No more start menu. The honeycomb is supposed to make it easier to see the icons and click on them. It works well.

Of course, Windows Mobile 6.5 is not perfect. I doesn't seem to support multitouch, for example. However, it's a huge leap over the previous fugly versions, which were completely unpalatable. If it fulfills its promise, this one will make Windows users think twice before getting an iPhone or an Android phone.

From this first touch on, it looks like Microsoft is back in the game. They don't have the upper hand yet, but they are clearly waking up. We will see what happens and how deep these changes really are once it gets released.

4:02 PM: OK, it's wrap. Windows Mobile 6.5 looks nice, people. The UI is very nice. I'm off to get some food and wine. I'm sure it will look even better in 10 minutes.

4:01 PM: Steve is replying, but you can tell he wants to crack this guy's head open. They just announced Windows Mobile 6.5 and this guy is asking about 7 already?

4:00 PM: "When is Windows 7 coming out?" some smart guy asks.

3:59 PM: People with weird accents asking weird useless questions. I think Steve Ballmer is going to start rampaging around. I bet he had a lot of iberian ham sandwiches for breakfast. Stuffed with babies.

3:52 PM: Questions now: Why the delay in the new Mobile Explorer and has this hurt Windows-in favor of Opera? "We did the rendering in 6.1, and 6.5 has the same user experience of the PC."

3:50 PM: Steve is back on stage. He is saying that they are bringing the same tenacity and vision of Windows 7 and Windows Live to Windows Mobile.

3:47 PM: Ives Maitre, from Orange, coming now on stage. He's going to tell us a secret. I can't understand him. His accent is even worse than mine, but it's some kind of joke about Steve Ballmer. Whatever.

3:43 PM: Skott Ahn, president of LG, now on stage for another session of karaoke improv. They are talking about a new partnership between MS and LG. "We will create joint R&D and marketing teams".

3:40 PM: Peter Chou keeps talking. If you buy the new HTCs now, you will be able to get Windows Mobile 6.5 available for free. Some people applaud. The rest are sleeping. I'm still looking for my sandwich.

3:38 PM: Steve Ballmer is back on stage, welcoming the HTC CEO-the guys who spilt Windows Mobile 6.5 today. I think Steve can actually eat this guy alive in one bite.

3:36 PM: Blah blah blah. Loads of corpospeak on the video. I need an iberian ham baguette. Where's my iberian ham baguette?

3:33 PM: Talking Windows Market now. Not many details here. Time for a video with companies endorsing the whole Windows Mobile ecosystem. Samsung, HTC, LG, Toshiba... all these people talk Engrish, like me.

3:31 PM: The new contact screen shows photos of the people.

3:29 PM: Now they are demonstrating the synching of the phone with Microsoft's MyPhone backend, which is like a fugly version of Apple's Me.com. Syncs photos, images, contacts... in fact, all data is backed up to MyPhone.

3:27 PM: From the phone they started a chat, with multiple people. First they added someone using a PC, then they bugged someone who was playing Gears of War in an Xbox 360.

3:25 PM: They are stressing the fact that the experience is the same as the Windows PC. They are now talking about how Windows Mobile 6.5 has Flash built-in.

3:23 PM: All Windows phones will now have a physical start button, with the Windows flag on it. It will give you access to the Start screen. The Start screen is different than the first home Zune-like screen.

3:20 PM: "All the info you need is all on the home screen." It's quite cool: There's a long list and by sweeping your finger over the titles, you can see information about that category. So if you pass your finger over "Mail", you see a summary of what's pending, and you can access full mail on one click.

3:19 PM: They are now explaining the changes in the Windows Mobile 6.5 interface. The home screen looks like Zune, with a list of categories, "with all the info yhou really need to access quickly in your phone". Very simple and nice. I like it.