The HTC HD Mini is to the HD2 what the iPhone Nano would be to the original iPhone. It's well-built and charmingly small, but its OS is too dated to ever enjoy very much.

Today Apple added some excellent features to its iPhone platform, so we were forced to update our smartphone beginner's guide chart. Here it is:

General Manager for Microsoft's Asia-Pacific Mobile Communications Business confirms it: There is no upgrading to Windows Phone 7, not even for the badass HD2. So! Every Windows Mobile phone out there's officially dead in the water. [APC Mag via Techmeme]

From what we've heard about the development process of Windows Phone 7, rumors about the OS predated its earliest seeds. How? The secret lies deep underground in Redmond, buried with a little project called Photon.

Before Windows Phone 7 was even an embryo of a concept, Windows Mobile was king: It powered nearly half of smartphones in use, a led the industry in features. Then, in 2007, things started to go wrong. Very, very wrong.

Windows Phone Series 7 is here, and it's like nothing we've seen from Microsoft—or anyone else—before. But how does it measure up? And where does every other smartphone OS stand?

With the announcement of Windows Phone 7, Microsoft's made it clear that they're finally—and truly—getting back into the game. They also brutally kneecapped their existing phone software, effectively taking Microsoft out of mobile for the next six months.

The TG01 had it all on paper—an amazing screen, the first use of the super-fast Snapdragon processor, and a thin build not seen since before Nicole Richie started putting on the pounds. The TG02 will hopefully perform better.

The first and only time I saw Windows Mobile 6.5.3 in action, it was a grim scene. But according to Mary Jo Foley, the OS, which is now shipping on a single device, it's more than a questionable makeover.

In my review, I lamented that Windows Mobile 6.5 didn't feel finished. Now that we can see what Windows Mobile 6.5.x was eventually destined for, well, maybe that was for the best. [PhoneScoop]