Having said that, business handsets don't need the frequent updates that consumer products demand. Windows Mobile is much like other Microsoft products in that it tends to be an IT purchase, and there are only so many changes IT can or will accept in a given period of time.

If Windows Mobile were a consumer product, I'd put it on the "guarded" list, but as a corporate purchase its condition--again in medical terminology--rises to "serious." And that is a quite a distance from life support. Lots of "serious" patients recover, as Windows Mobile may prosper in the future.

David Coursey has been writing about technology products and companies for more than 25 years. He tweets as and may be via his Web site.