Microsoft is planning a major announcement at the GSMA Mobile World Congress in Barcelona next month; many expect the company to announce the next version of Windows Mobile. Here in the states, Todd Peters, the vice president of marketing for the Windows Mobile division, hinted at CES last week as to what to expect.

According to the New York Times' Bits blog, Peters said that Microsoft is responding to fierce competition in the phone market by revamping its mobile operating system, and—significantly—by putting it on fewer devices.

Currently, there are well over 100 devices on the market running Windows Mobile. As we've noted in many reviews on PCMag.com, Windows Mobile devices tend to lack the tight hardware integration required for a smooth user experience, often requiring more button pushes and deep sea menu diving than competing devices like the BlackBerry Curve, the iPhone, and the T-Mobile G1. Plus, I've found in recent reviews that WM-powered devices tend to have sluggish responses and often exhibit bugs (depending on the phone in question), particularly when playing media or taking photos.

Peters admitted as much at CES. "I'd rather have fewer devices and be more focused," he said; that way "we get better integration" between the phone and the operating system, according to the article. Still, the company's woes are by design, in some sense: Microsoft doesn't control the hardware, like Apple, RIM, and Palm do. It's the only OS that shows up on so many hardware platforms across all major carriers. Reducing the number of handsets could help—but only if the next version is a significant leap and not just a minor revision, and only if the remaining vendors work more closely with Microsoft than before.