Windows 10 Mobile Preview Will Only Be Released in February: Report

On Tuesday, a report by ZDnet's Mary Jo Foley claimed that the Redmond giant will not release the first preview of the mobile version of its Windows 10 operating system at the event, but only sometime next month. The event is only expected to showcase the new Windows mobile OS apart from Windows 10 consumer preview. The technical preview of Windows 10 for desktops is said to be likely to release alongside the mobile preview in February.

"The first public release of the Windows 10 mobile SKU - which sources have said will work on both Windows Phones and smaller Intel- and ARM-based tablets - won't happen until some time in February 2015," notes the report.

While Foley is pretty confident about the February release date, she said that Microsoft officials declined to comment on the availability date.

The major highlight of the Wednesday event will be more details about the OneCore unification concept of Windows 10. Foley says sources claim that OneCore is more than just the common OS kernel first touted for Windows 8 and Windows Phone 8, but also common "dynamic link libraries (DLLs), application platform layer and other pieces of the operating system." This ties in with Microsoft's Universal apps concept, and the expected combining of its separate stores - Windows Phone Store, Windows Store, and Xbox Store - into a single Windows app store. Notably, the OneCore concept does not imply a single Windows 10 SKU, rather, multiple SKUs meant for the different device types.

Microsoft on Wednesday is also expected to showcase an updated Windows Phone version of Office 365, and a new 'phone-laptop hybrid' hardware for enterprise customers. The touch-first version of Office for Windows devices is also expected to be unveiled, with a preview due in February and a release in the second half of the year. The version reportedly shares a lot of code with the Office for Android release.

The Redmond giant is also expected to show its progress on the 'Project B' Windows gaming helmet that has been since before in patents, and is expected to tie-in with Microsoft's fitness band. The ZDNet report also contained information about the rumoured new Spartan browser for Windows 10, which is said to use Microsoft's Trident web-rendering engine instead of Webkit, but be as compatible as Webkit. The browser is said to "work across the Windows 10 desktop, Windows 10 mobile and ultimately, the Xbox One, also will be a key piece of Microsoft's Windows 10 everywhere message." IE will still be available on desktop devices.

(Also see: Microsoft Criticises Google for Public Disclosure of Windows 8.1 Bug)

The live webcast of Microsoft's The Next Chapter event in Redmond will begin at 10:30pm IST/ 9:00am PST.

(Also see: Google Reveals 2 More Windows Bugs After Microsoft's Public Criticism)