Earlier today, CNET's Ina Fried posted a new story citing mysterious, anonymous sources as saying that Windows Mobile 7, the next iteration of Microsoft's handheld OS, has been delayed until the second half of next year. "Delayed" is a difficult word to use, though, as Microsoft has never announced a ship date for the product, possibly to prevent these sorts of stories from appearing. In other words, you can't delay something that doesn't have a calendar.

I asked Microsoft group product manager Scott Rockfeld about the issue and he responded by denying the product exists. Not just saying that there's no due date, which would be perfectly understandable. He tried to avoid acknowledging the existence of a so-called Windows Mobile 7 entirely.

"We've never said anything about a roadmap ... we've never announced anything about any future versions of our OS, nor have we said anything about timing," he said.

Come on, dude. If Microsoft is not actually working on Windows Mobile 7, your problem is far, far bigger than Fried's story portrays. Fortunately, I'm pretty sure a product is in the works.