Lately, Microsoft has been associated with "bad karma" when it comes to the quality of its products. Moving on, the software giant has pulled up its socks in the mobile department and released the updated versions for Windows Mobile and Internet Explorer (IE) Mobile.

Through Windows Mobile 6.1, that would make it easier for users to navigate the feature menus in their phones. The changes in the updated version are not ground-breaking, but Microsoft hopes they'll make browsing an enjoyable experience overall. With updated IE Mobile, the company hopes to offer a PC-like, full Web browsing experience for mobile phones.

Other goodies introduced include a bunch of mapping features; these are meant not only for Windows Mobile but also for BlackBerry and other mobile phones. Phones that run on the Windows Mobile platform will now be able map a contact and access integrated Web search and local weather; they will also be able to download custom maps from Microsoft Virtual Earth to their PC or to any phone running Windows Mobile. These facilities are expected to be available by April, according to various news reports on the Internet. Meanwhile, Blackberry users will be able to utilize an existing Windows Mobile feature; they will be able to search through voice input, along with direction facilities and other information.

So this seems to be Microsoft's current answer to the iPhone's suave Mac OS mobile platform. However, it looks unlikely that Microsoft is going to beat the Yahoo! Go services this time around.