Learn about the new Widget Framework in Windows Mobile 6.5

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Today as part of Microsoft tech days 2009, there is a session that provides a sneak peak at the new widget framework that will be available in Windows Mobile 6.5.  Here is the title and abstract:

MBL302 Windows Mobile Web and Widgets: Leveraging web technologies to build experiences for Windows Mobile

The last few years have shown people the power of having a full-fledged web browser on a mobile device. From content providers building dedicated mobile sites, to cheaper mobile data tariffs, mobile devices have usher a new era of content an experiences available on the go. A new programming paradigm called mobile widgets has emerged in response to these recent trends. Widgets enable web developers to write application-like experiences that run outside of the existing browser, but are powered by the same technologies [HTML, JavaScript and CSS]. Gone are the days of building WAP sites. By leveraging the capabilities of a fully fledged browser on windows mobile, web developers can now build rich experiences for mobile devices without resorting to native/managed code. In this session, members of the windows mobile widget team will give you a sneak peek at the upcoming widgets platform. They will demonstrate how easy it is to develop widgets that mash up existing web technologies in novel ways.

Updated 4/5 - Here is a link to the Live Meeting recording:

Also, check out a related blog post by the presenter Jorge Peraza here.

The session also provides information on the new Internet Explorer 6 Mobile web browser that provides full desktop browsing capabilities on Windows Mobile.  You can work with the new Internet Explorer 6 Mobile web browser today by downloading the Windows Mobile 6.1.4 Device Emulators available here.  Here is a screen shot of the new browser in the emulator:

The first image displays MSN.com as a desktop browser would based on the settings shown in the second image.

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The browser sends a desktop browser User Agent string so no additional work is required on the part of the web site to support the desktop browsing mode.

Check out the Microsoft tech Days 2009 session detailed above to learn more about the new capabilities and the Widget Framework that will be available in Windows Mobile 6.5.