Microsoft’s recently announced Windows Mobile 6 software for smart phones is a step forward for the company, offering some important improvements over previous versions of the software. But just how good is the new software?

On Thursday, Microsoft offered me the chance to play with Windows Mobile 6 ahead of the 3GSM show in Barcelona, Spain, next week. The short demonstration, which took place at Microsoft’s office in Singapore, was done using a currently available handset: the High Tech Computer (HTC) S620 smart phone.

The S620, also known by its code name Excalibur, sports a small qwerty keypad, a 2.4-inch QVGA (320 by 240 pixels) screen, and support for Global System for Mobile Communication (GSM), General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) and Enhanced Data Rates for GSM Evolution (EDGE) networks. Powered by Texas Instruments’ 200MHz OMAP 850 processor, the smart phone has 128MB of ROM and 64MB of double data rate (DDR) DRAM.

But enough about the handset used for the demonstration. What about the software?

At first glance, Microsoft’s attempt to make Windows Mobile 6 look more like Vista has resulted in a better-looking piece of software, with a new font and a cleaner overall appearance. But the most important improvements to Windows Mobile 6 aren’t cosmetic.

For starters, Microsoft has added the ability for users to search e-mails and other information stored on Exchange Server 2007 from a smart phone. Windows Mobile 6 also allows users to configure their push mail settings and out-of-office notifications directly from their smart phone, instead of having to use their PCs.

Previous versions of Windows Mobile for PDAs allowed users to view Office documents, and that capability has now been added to the smart phone version of the software. In addition, users can now edit their documents. That feature may be useful for some Word and Excel documents, but I have a hard time believing anyone will be using Windows Mobile 6 to edit, or even view, PowerPoint presentations. The screens on these types of devices are just too small for this to be practical.

Other improvements to Windows Mobile 6 include offering more information about the people on your contact list. Start typing the name of a contact—say "John," for example—and Windows Mobile 6 brings up a list of contacts named John. Clicking on any one of these names brings detailed information about the contact, including different phone numbers and e-mail addresses, as well as information about your last call—or missed call—with the contact.