This morning Microsoft officially announced Windows Mobile 6.1 and an upgrade for Internet Explorer Mobile. Windows Mobile 6.1 will start showing up in devices very very soon, and the IEMobile update will be available later this year.

Windows Mobile 6.1 includes a slew of new features and improvements, including a redesigned home screen, built-in Task Manager, threaded SMS client, browser improvements, Copy & Paste support for non-touch devices, integration with SCMDM 2008, improved Windows Live integration, Getting Started Wizard, faster Bluetooth setup, significant and noticeable improvements in performance and battery life, and much more.

Upgrades for several current devices will be available. From the press announcement linked above, the following new phones and updates were announced today:

Mobile operators:

• Alltel Wireless: HTC PPC6800, HTC Touch
• AT&T: Samsung BlackJack II, MOTO Q 9h global, Pantech duo, AT&T Tilt by HTC
• Sprint: A new Palm Treo and updates for the Mogul by HTC, Touch by HTC, MOTO Q 9c, Samsung ACE
• T-Mobile International: T-Mobile MDA Ameo 16 GB, T-Mobile MDA compact IV

Device-makers:

• ASUS: New phones including the P320, ZX1, P560, M536 and updates for the P527, P750, M930
• HTC: A new Touch Dual for the U.S. and updates for the AT&T Tilt, Touch by HTC, Mogul by HTC from Sprint, TyTN II
• i-mate: 8502, 9502, 8150, 6150
• Intermec: CN3
• Motorola: MOTO Q 9c, MOTO Q 9h global, MC70, MC9000
• Pantech: Pantech duo
• Samsung: BlackJack II
• Toshiba: Portégé G810,Portégé G910

For more screenshots, please visit the Windows Mobile page on Facebook. We'll post even more information about Windows Mobile 6.1 on this blog shortly.

-Mel Sampat