Regardless of the cause, we certainly like the trend of these enhanced touch-screen UIs dominating the high-end cellphone market. Now meet ASUS' GUI slickness destined for their newest touchscreen devices including the ZX1. Starting with a Windows Mobile 6.1 core, ASUS slathers on a new customizable Multi-Home 3D interface meant to simplify access to your today screen, life and business applications. Think HTC's TouchFlo only sexier. ASUS even threw in some "album cover flow" to the media app and the ability to more easily manipulate all your digital media with enhanced figure gestures. You can even drop everything into a visual carousel if that's your preference. See for yourself in the video after the break.

While poking around the ASUS booth this morning we had a chance to witness the world premier unveiling of the ZX1 Lamborghini. We even took a few shots before it went under the glass. However, the real treat is the UI based on a Windows Mobile 6.1 core running special ASUS tweaks. It's "just like the iPhone" according to our friendly ASUS guide. The device is expected to fetch an unsubsidized €1,000 ($1,500) price tag when this 3G world-phone launches in Europe this May. Maybe you'll think it's worth it when we get back to you in a few with a video of the GUI albeit sans all that Lamborghini theme nonsense.

If you thought the X1's crazy panel interface was just a little too crazy for Windows Mobile 6, well, there might just be some truth to that. Mobile-review is reporting that the X1 will be among several late-2008 devices arriving with some post-6.0, pre-7.0 version of Windows Mobile that features a number of yet-to-be-disclosed goodies, which is why Sony Ericsson's generally been pretty stingy with the hands-on time at Mobile World Congress this week. We're not sure if this is simply another way of saying 6.1 or yet another interim build to hold us all over until the platform gets thoroughly revamped, but honestly, right now we're just kinda looking forward to sliding that beautiful keyboard open and closed a few times more than anything else.

[Via SEfanatics]

Not like Windows Mobile 6.1 is an elaborate mystery or anything -- heck, we even know all about the improvements it's slated to bring -- but there's nothing like a bucketful of screenshots surrounded by machine translated opinions to really revive that enthusiasm. Sure enough, the folks over at PocketPT were able get ahold of the software and show off just how it handled webpage zooming, threaded SMS conversations and Office 2007 documents. Still not convinced? Go on and hit the read link -- you skeptic, you.

[Via phoneArena]

Man, that goofy Moto Q9 over Boy Genius Report is just the gift that keeps on giving -- now we've got a five and a half minute video walkthrough of WinMo 6.1, showing off all the new features, including long-awaited threaded text messaging and new "Vista" theme, which looks pretty slick in action. No sense in talking about it when the whole vid is waiting after the break, get to it!

So this weird Motorola Q9 that Boy Genius Report came across is turning into quite a gold mine. First it revealed AT&T's apparent intention to let its guard down just a tad and start bringing more devices into the WiFi fold -- despite the obvious risk to data revenue -- and now it turns out that she's dressed to the nines with none other than Windows Mobile 6.1. A fleeting glance at most of the screens doesn't indicate any obvious changes from 6 (it is a .1 release, after all), but the devil's in the details: goodies like threaded SMS (Yahtzee!) and cut-and-freaking-paste on Standard (double Yahtzee!) alone should make it a worthwhile upgrade. 'Course, it's up to the carriers and manufacturers as usual to ultimately decide whether to push updates to existing devices, but it would be pure, unadulterated torture if the lion's share of devices didn't see official releases. Seriously, we'd cry.