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Microsoft has recently announced a free beta MSN Direct client for Windows Mobile Standard smartphones.

It is a screen plug-in that uses Internet for data delivery, and currently supports news, weather, and stocks, which are displayed right on the home screen.

The beta version is now available for download.

A member of the xda-developers forums has developed a notification utility called smartWatchM, which allows for certain data interchange between a Sony Ericsson MBW-150 Watch and Sony Ericsson phones or Windows Mobile based smartphones.

For instance, if you receive a message or an incoming phone call, or if you're listening to the music, the corresponding info, such as type of the message received or current song details is displayed on the watch's screen.

Opera Mobile browser has been updated to version 9.5.

The latest build offers several enhancements, including faster browsing speeds and support for more Web technologies (Widgets, JavaScript, Ajax, Flash and Flash Lite 3), which deliver a more desktop-like browsing experience on a smartphone.

Some of the functions of the Opera Mobile include page content zooming, offline browsing, sending web links or images as SMS/MMS messages and more.

If you're planning to buy a BlackJack for Valentine's Day, you'll be glad to know that Samsung has released a Windows Mobile 6 upgrade for the handset and made it available for download from the official website.

Now with WM6 BlackJack users will be able to view and edit Office Mobile documents, use Outlook Mobile, and read HTML emails.

ASUS has a new HSDPA-enabled WM6-based GPS Phone, called the ASUS P750.

It is a Candy Bar shaped handset with a numeric keypad, a joystick navigator and some shortcut keys.

Operating on a 520MHz processor, the device features Wi-Fi connectivity, SiRF star III GPS chipset, Bluetooth 2.

According to Opera Software, they plan to release their Opera Mobile 9 web browser in the first half of 2008.

The software will be compatible with both Windows Mobile 6 OS and Symbian UIQ platform, and will come embedded in some of the upcoming handsets.

There was no word on when the application will be available for download.

Sprint has just unveiled the new Samsung Ace SPH-I325, or the BlackJack World Edition, which turned out to be a real surprise for us.

It isn't the best phone from Samsung, but it's a good addition to the carrier's handset lineup. Features of the SPH-I325 include a 1.3Mpix camera, QWERTY keyboard, QVGA display, and microSD slot (maybe).

Dell will be entering the smartphone market in 2008.

And this seems to be the only way for the PC manufacturer to expand hits business. The company will officially announce its entrance at the Mobile World Congress early next year with a new WM6-based smartphone.

Palm has released an official Windows Mobile 6 update for the AT&T's Palm Treo 750 smartphone.

The new platform will offer users access to AT&T Cellular Video service, as well as functional Voice Command via Bluetooth headset, USB charging, and more.

The device supports UMTS and HSDPA networks.

Microsoft are ready release its latest Windows Mobile 6.1 OS, which is already present on the Wi-Fi-enabled Motorola Q9.

Its main improvements include a much more convenient UI, the ability to set your own homepage in Internet Explorer, copy/paste functionality, and threaded SMS system.