So, yeah, Windows Mobile and Zune. In all the excitement over the Droid (and Pixi), Microsoft went and snuck in some new, competitive updates.

First, the iPod touch’s rival, and media darling, the Zune HD got a firmware update that enhanced the browser (though we still get shivers at any mention of IE6, mobile or otherwise) and paved the way for 3D gaming. (Check out the video, above). As with previous games, they’re free, but you might have to watch a 15-30 car commercial before the game (or calculator app) launches.

Second, Windows Mobile proper just saw the launch of Windows Marketplace for Mobile Phase II, including an on-phone update for the Marketplace App, and the ability to purchase apps right from a desktop PC browser. And, yeah, the new Marketplace security has reportedly already been cracked.

For the customization junkies, George at WMExperts has also run down some of the more popular UI layers currently available for WinMo, including manufacturers’ like HTC and Samsung, vendors’ like SPB and Vito, and, of course, Microsoft’s home grown.

So, anything Apple and the iPhone should be paying attention to? Any greener grass on Microsoft’s side of the road with these updates? Check out the links and let us know what you think.

Microsoft today takes the wrappers off their latest generation of mobile software and services, and our good friend George Ponder from sibling site WMExpert.com gives us the details in his complete Windows Mobile 6.5 review. The pre-amble sums things up well from an iPhone point of view:

For some, the launch of Windows Mobile 6.5 may very well be a non-event. But it marks the beginning of a journey for Windows Mobile and a new approach to mobile computing with the Windows Phone.

Rumor has it even Microsoft doesn’t believe WinMo 6.5 is competitive with the iPhone — that’s be next year’s Windows Mobile 7, which even Steve Ballmer thinks is way late to the party. It’s a refresh of a refresh of a refresh. But it does show which direction Microsoft is going, and how the “one OS, multiple handset vendors” strategy is shaping up or them.

Along with Windows Mobile 6.5, Microsoft is also launching Windows Marketplace for Mobile (think App Store) and the previously-in-beta My Phone online service (think Mobile Me, with backups, and also now with “Find my iPhone” er… “Find my Windows Phone” features!).

WMExperts will be live-blogging all the Windows Mobile 6.5 festivities starting at 10am EDT, so head on over there if you want to join in the fun.

Was Apple’s just released App Store announcement — and Steve Jobs’ remark about how difficult it will be for others to catch up — conveniently timed to preempt Microsoft’s Worldwide Partner Conference where, according to our sibling site WMExperts, details of Windows Marketplace for Mobiles are emerging?

1.5 billion downloads, 100,000 developers, and 65,000 apps is a good old Jobsian gut punch to knock the wind of out any Microsoft news about WinMo 6.0 support, Windows Marketplace Business Center, and whatever else comes out from the folks up in Redmond.

It also combines in a very tidy roshambo to Verizon’s recent revelation that, according to Engadget Mobile, BlackBerry App World or Windows Marketplace won’t be built into devices on that carrier(?!)… and we won’t go much further on that bone-headed, short-sighted, anti-openness news since our cursing would get Parental Control level 17+ slapped on this post…

We love many things about the iPhone. Most things even. One of the few things we’re not so chuffed about is the weird, wacky restrictions Apple places on App Store apps, and the sometimes haphazard way in which those restrictions are applied.

So, one edge we thought the other platforms might have would be the relative openness of their competing app stores. Turns out maybe not so much. How so? Our buddy Phil Nickinson over on WMExperts spent his weekend scouring through Microsoft’s Windows Marketplace for Mobile restrictions, and at first blush they appear at least as crazy as Apple’s:

• No VOIP apps using a carrier’s data. (Will WiFi be OK?)
• No apps that replace or modify the default dialer, SMS or MMS apps.
• No apps with an OTA download of over 10MB. (Not sure if that’s the app itself, or downloading within the app for, say, a podcatcher or the dreaded torrent downloader.)
• No apps that change the default browser, search client, or media player on the device. (Does that mean no Opera or Skyfire, which let you choose to set them as the default browser? No Kinoma Play, Core Player or the like for multimedia?)

So pr0n’s no problem, but don’t go trying to replace the rendering farce which is IE6? Of course, Microsoft mitigates this by allowing apps from multiple sources, not just their on store, but then again, they’re apparently going to allow the carriers to get their grubby hooks in branded stores to. Sigh.

With great freedom comes great responsibility, people. Never forget your Spider-Man…