There were news about it here and here , we saw unofficial leaked versions , we heard renamings and now its officially announced!

BARCELONA, Spain — Feb. 12, 2007 — Microsoft Corp. today unveiled Windows Mobile^® 6, the newest version of its mobile software platform. By improving usability and adding support for Microsoft^® Office features previously available only on PCs, Microsoft Windows Mobile 6 delivers to the small screen a familiar and rich experience that meets the needs of work and life while on the go, all with a single device.

And a couple of days ago, my fellow MVP Jaap van Ekris has put together a comprehensive review about the most important features and updates. While Windows Mobile 6 offers way too much, to be covered in one single article (I'm sure we will see many more during the next days), Jaap's reviews provides a great overview about the latest and greatest Windows Mobile 6 highlights, you can expect to come to a device near you later this year as well since it covers PIM functionalities, communication capabilities and system management enhancements. It can be found here.

Pieter Knook, senior vice president of Microsoft’s Mobile and Embedded Devices Division, demonstrated the new Microsoft Windows Mobile 6 Pocket PC software at the 3GSM World Congress 2007.

Windows Mobile 6 delivers the ability to view e-mails in their original rich HTML format with live links to Web and SharePoint^® sites, which means text and images are displayed as they would be on a PC, and are available from a corporate e-mail server such as Exchange Server 2007, from Web-based accounts such as Windows Live™ Hotmail or from a myriad of other popular service providers. Windows Mobile 6 also includes Windows Live for Windows Mobile, which provides customers with a rich set of Windows Live services. For example, now through Windows Live Messenger, people can chat with more than one person at one time, express themselves through animated figures, quickly send a file or image, or record and send voice notes.

The newest version of the platform offers the most genuine Microsoft Office system experience in the mobile versions of Office Outlook^®, Office Word, Office Excel^® and Office PowerPoint^® by bringing capabilities once available only on the PC versions of these products to the small screen. This allows users to neatly view, navigate and edit Word documents and Excel spreadsheets in their original formatting, without affecting tables, images or text, and to view PowerPoint presentations on their device.

All Windows Mobile 6 powered devices include Direct Push Technology for up-to-date e-mail delivery and automatic synchronization of Outlook calendars, tasks and contacts through Microsoft Exchange Server. Windows Mobile 6 also offers a set of important device security and management features that include the capability to remotely wipe all data from a device should it be lost or stolen, helping ensure that confidential information remains that way.

 
Information Management Made Easier

Users of the Microsoft Office system on the PC — of which there are nearly 400 million worldwide — will feel right at home with the new mobile versions of Outlook, Word, Excel and PowerPoint available for Windows Mobile 6 powered devices. Windows Mobile 6 addresses extensive user feedback and makes information management easier and more convenient through the following improvements:

The Best Platform for Business

Windows Mobile efficiently works with existing Microsoft business technology investments and offers users a familiar software experience, making it the smartest mobile solution for businesses to deploy: