BlogOur Windows Mobile ROM Policy
In light of recent developments, we felt it necessary to publish our position on Windows Mobile updates. We believe that opening a dialogue about our policies and protocols about developments such as these, will avoid similar, unfortunate misunderstandings.
Users are legally licensed, by Microsoft, to install updates to the version Windows Mobile that comes with the device. Some times, unsupported ROM updates are released that facilitate the installation of the latest version of Windows Mobile. These updates contain licensed Windows Mobile code, but are only installable on licensed Windows Mobile updates. In short, these updates are legal, and their distribution is legal.
What we will do:
Our upcoming rebuild of the Phones Encyclopedia will host legally licensed Windows Mobile updates. For example, this includes unsupported installers that update the UTStarcom PPC-6700 from Windows Mobile 5 AKU 2 to AKU 3.
What we will not do:
Host unlicensed upgrades to Windows Mobile for a particular device. For example, this includes releases that upgrade the Cingular 8125 from Windows Mobile 5 to Windows Mobile 6. That would be a product upgrade and not a product update, and would require a new license from Microsoft (unless Microsoft offered the update for free to existing licenses, which at times, they have done in the past).
We believe that this position upholds the license rights of both Microsoft, and the user, in every possible context. We will stand by the user’s right to install updates licensed by Microsoft for a particular version of Windows Mobile, at all times.
Thank You.
[...] in the past, we’ve sided with hackers on Windows Mobile ROMs… for the most part. After all, those were firmwares that could only be run on the device [...]