Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer reportedly revealed by video this afternoon that a new mobile operating system for enterprise devices, as well as an enterprise version of Windows Phone 7 will be available in the near future.

PCMag.com reports that Ballmer mentioned this during the launch of the new Motorola Enterprise smartphone, quoting him as saying, "In the next six months we will release a new embedded OS called Windows Embedded Handheld, based on Windows Mobile 6.5 technologies … [and] in the second half of 2011, we will release a version of Windows Embedded Handheld based on Windows Phone 7 technology."

Mary Jo Foley at ZDnet raises an interesting point about Ballmer’s recent criticism at the D8 conference of Google having more than one mobile operating system (Android and Chrome OS). "It’s surprising so few challenged the pot for calling the kettle black," she says. "Microsoft doesn’t have just one or even two mobile operating system (OS) offerings. As of today, it has a half dozen, by my count."

Foley does her best to break down Microsoft’s mobile OS roadmap, which won’t be incredibly easy for the company to navigate with such fierce competition in the space.

If this hasn’t already been an interesting year for the mobile OS, next year may be even more intriguing.