Something new brewing in WinMo 6.5?

Whoa. Now we realize this is only the typical settings screen for a build of Windows Mobile 6.5, but there are a couple of things from the Windows Mobile Junkies blog [via and via] that have our interest piqued here: The first is the obvious finger-friendly changes. The tabs at the bottom have given way to buttons toward the top. It's about time.

The second is the build itself, and overall difference we're seeing. For the most part, Windows Mobile 6.5 has appeared to be a reskinning of 6.x. Sure, the Today Screen and the start menu have been changed. But after that, you get dumped back into typical Windows Mobile pretty quickly.

But this build is definitely starting to feel different. There are a few more pictures after the jump. And while builds of Windows Mobile 6.5 are a dime a dozen at this point, and we still have a few more months to go before WinMo 6.5 is released, this is a step in the right direction. Not a huge leap, but a step. And so, we'll posit the following:

1. This could be the direction Windows Mobile 6.5 is going and could be what we all end up with this fall.
2. This is just some random build that was played with but won't be released.
3. Just yet another reskinning, a la TouchFLO 3D?
4. This could be Windows Mobile 7. (I don't actually think that's the case, but we'll throw it out there anyway.)
5. Perhaps there's an interim version being prepared between Windows Mobile 6.5 and Windows Mobile 7? This is a fairly big departure from everything we've seen so far.

Discuss.