If you are a fan of Windows Mobile, this is going to be a very good holiday season for you. Microsoft has just announced that WinMo 6.5 will be available starting October 6th. We are just five weeks away from launch day. Microsoft has released some screenshots of the new OS, and they've also put out a list of where you'll be able to find WinMo 6.5 phones this Fall.

North America: Mobile carriers AT&T, Bell Mobility, Sprint, TELUS, and Verizon Wireless. Mobile manufacturers HP, HTC Corp, LG Electronics, Samsung, and Toshiba Corporation.

Europe: Mobile carriers Orange, Deutsche Telecom AG, and Vodafone Group Plc. Manufacturers Acer, HTC, LG Electronics, Samsung, Sony Ericsson, and Toshiba.

Latin America: Mobile carrier TIM Brazil, and manufacturers HTC, LG Electronics, and Samsung.

Asia Pacific: Mobile carriers NTT DOCOMO Inc., SOFTBANK Mobile Corp., SK Telecom, Telstra, and WILLCOM Inc. Manufacturers Acer Inc., HTC, LG Electronics, Samsung, Sony Ericsson, and Toshiba.

Microsoft seems to be looking at making WinMo a more productive OS, with a better UI and more streamlined access to email, calendar, and text items. The screenshots we've seen show an operating system that finally looks ready for touchscreen phones. WinMo no longer looks like an old UI that was hastily updated to accommodate touch monitors. It's too early to do any sort of review of 6.5, but so far things look very promising. We'll see more on October 6th.