Turns out last week's rumor of a new Windows Mobile version today wasn't an early April Fool's joke. Microsoft really did launch Windows Mobile 6.1 this morning at CTIA. According to a report on Pocket-lint, the upgrade enables faster set-up, one-tap Bluetooth and Wi-Fi access, better e-mail management, threaded SMS and a new home screen look.

An upcoming version of Internet Explorer Mobile, due to handset partners in Q3, will upgrade the Windows Mobile experience to "desktop-grade."

The first phones with Windows Mobile 6.1 should be out sometime in Q2. Handsets with the new IE Mobile are due by the end of the year.

See here and here to learn more about Microsoft's upgrade, including a list of new smartphones that'll include Windows Mobile 6.1 and which current ones will eventually receive platform upgrades.

Not mentioned in the list is Sony Ericsson's first Windows Mobile, the XPERIA X1, and a pair of new Microsoft-run smartphone from upstart Velocity Mobile, the Velocity 103 and Velocity 111, all of which will ship with Windows Mobile 6.1 installed. Adapted from MobileContentToday.