With today’s announcements around the release of Windows Phone (Windows Mobile 6.5) comes not only an updated MyPhone, but upgrades to both the mobile client and web experience for Windows Live for Windows Mobile.  Not much from Windows Live about the new versions yet, except one post on the Stay Connected (Windows Live for Windows Mobile Team) blog (last post: Dec 26, 2008, woohoo!).  Here’s what’s new, from the post:

• Windows Live Home - an entirely new feature!
  • View you and your friends "What's new" feed from Windows Live and other major 3rd party social networking sites.
  • View Windows Live photos and comment
  • Upload photos to Windows Live and other 3rd party sites through integration with the new My Phone client
  • View your Windows Live people
  • Update your status and accept network invitations from others
• Improvements and Updates like
  • Entirely new launcher screen
  • Significant touch investments that shine with new Windows Mobile 6.5 devices
  • Bing search integration
  • Abuse reporting
  • Automatic uninstall of previous versions
  • Virtual memory improvement and reduced installation file size through client refactoring

You can try out Windows Live for Mobile at mobile.live.com

Windows Live for Mobile client:

You can also download the Windows Live for Mobile client to your Windows Phone (or Windows Mobile 6.0 or 6.1 phone).  To get it on your phone, go to WindowsLiveforMobile.com, input your mobile number, and send yourself a text message with the download link.  From there, you’ll be asked to identify your carrier in order to configure Messenger, and install the app.  Sporting a new simplified look, Messenger and Hotmail integration (but not much more) and Mail and Contacts sync, this new app may be stripped down, but looks like a much better Messenger interface than we’ve had previously. No MPOP (multiple points of presence) though, so signing in to Messenger on your phone signs you out everywhere else.

There’s still lots we’d like to see from a Windows Live mobile experience (not the least of which is to clean up the confusion between MyPhone and Windows Live for Windows Mobile, why do we have to re-invent the “don’t be confusing” wheel with every Microsoft product release?).  And unfortunately here we don’t have our hands on a true Windows (6.5) Phone, so our experience is limited.  Let us know what you think in the comments.