As Microsoft revealed the new version of Windows Mobile, the 6.5, analysts didn’t seem to be so impressed with the company’s latest iteration of its mobile software platform.

Indeed, there are unquestionable improvements in what usability concerns, but this time, it looked like Microsoft tended to forget about its most important market, the business customers. But then again, Windows Mobile 6.5 is still in its Beta stage, so it remains to be seen if the Redmond giant will be able to give users a decent software package.

First, the first big improvement is the completely new home screen. Instead of menu lists, Windows Mobile 6.5 now displays a series of icons in a honeycomb-like layout. The new interface means that icons are much easier to access through the user’s thumb, instead of the stylus. Moreover, the user can also add applications to the home screen and change the order in which they are displayed, in order to have the most important apps in one place.

Other improvements consist of a new version of Mobile Internet Explorer, which now natively supports the Flash platform. Still, some reviewers were not so keen to learn that Microsoft has developed Mobile IE on the core of Internet Explorer 6.

Most analysts concluded that Windows Mobile 6.5 doesn’t come with anything new, besides the interface updates. Unhappily, it seems that Microsoft will focus almost exclusively on UI improvements, rather than updating some of the business-oriented features.

As an example, at a preview of the OS, Microsoft representatives didn’t show if there was a new thumb-friendly emulated keyboard to replace the old one, which has been criticized for its cramped layout. Moreover, the company’s new online sync service, called My Phone, won’t cope well with the needs of business users when synchronizing sensitive information.