You’ve got to admit – the hardware that is running Windows Mobile these days is quite evolved (once you get past the forever-unchanged resistive touchscreen). Devices like the Touch HD/Diamond/Touch Pro, XPERIA X1, and Samsung Omnia provide stunning designs, high resolution screens, and terrific form factors. The trouble is, once you turn on the phone, you’re back into something that hasn’t evolved as fast…Windows Mobile.

And so we’re seeing a trend…people are porting other operating systems to Windows Mobile hardware. Over at XDA, they’ve successfully ported Android to the HTC Touch (as we demo’d here), and are likely to have it working on all Windows Mobile device fully in a due time. Also, RIM is working on virtualization software that will allow anyone to run BlackBerry OS on a Windows Mobile phone. And although we have yet to hear about the iPhone running on Windows Mobile hardware, it’s probably just a matter of time. Although this is good for the consumer, it’s bad for the perception of Windows Mobile, which is already not as positive as it used to be.