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Windows Mobile supported first by Google Gears

Windows Mobile users won't have to worry about applications being unavailable while they are flying or otherwise away from a wireless connection.

Some mobile web applications like Zoho, a productivity suite, and Buxfer, a personal finance tool, won't work without an Internet connection. Google announced an implementation of Google Gears to enable offline availability of Gears-enabled applications.

"What if developers could deploy applications directly to mobile browsers rather than develop native applications?" Google's Charles Wiles asked on the Google Code blog. "That would simplify the development process, as developers could use the same coding skills to create mobile applications."

Wiles noted Google Gears for Mobile currently supports Windows Mobile 5 and 6. "We're also working to bring Google Gears for mobile to Android and other mobile platforms with capable web browsers," said Wiles.

We were surprised the Windows Mobile OS, rather than the Nokia-supported Symbian OS, received the first version of Google Gears. Despite Google's closer relationship with Nokia than with Microsoft, as Nokia's native mobile search recently became Google-powered, porting Google Gears to Windows Mobile must have been an easier prospect than starting with Symbian.