Silverlight and Windows Mobile 7 – an Important Relationship?

Microsoft had planned on releasing a version of Silverlight 2 for Windows Mobile this year, presumably with the Windows Mobile 6.5 release – in fact on the Silverlight website it still says as much (at time of writing):

I know Microsoft had a working internal beta of Silverlight for Mobile (which I nearly got my hands on) and then had a change of heart and pulled it.  They had apparently had a “change of direction.”  Whilst a bit disappointed, at the time I didn’t think anything more on it.  Then the other day when I was showing the Sky Sports Centre app on my iPhone to a Windows Mobile owning friend, he exclaimed “it’s all so slick isn’t it” – almost in desperation at how clunky most Windows Mobile applications are.  This struck a chord.

Even though Windows Mobile 6.5 is largely regarded as a facelift release, Microsoft have openly stated that with it they hope to appeal more to the non-business users, an area dominated by the iPhone.  I presume with Windows Mobile 7 they intend to continue this focus, with the consensus being the OS will get a huge overhaul.

The question is – how big a role will Silverlight play in that overhaul?

Windows Mobile 7 will have a slick, tactile interface – it has to.  It must allow developers to easily develop applications for the OS that are also slick and tactile.  So what Microsoft technology allows developers to easily create lovely looking/feeling applications?  Silverlight does (and WPF).  Wouldn’t it make perfect sense to put Silverlight centre stage?  Not just “make Silverlight run on Windows Mobile 7” but make it an integral part of Windows Mobile application development?  We shall see.