Taiwanese manufacturer HTC got its break in the smartphone world by putting together some of the best Windows Mobile-equipped handsets the world had seen, which established the company as the leader in feature rich phone design.

Lately, however, its loyalties seem to have shifted toward Google's Android, not least thanks to its G1 and the Nexus One.

At the Mobile World Congress, HTC revealed three new devices, two of which are powered by Android, while the third is a miniaturised smartphone making use of the final version of Windows Mobile before the all new reboot comes along.

But HTC's chief Peter Chou made a distinct effort to reassure the smartphone buying public (and Microsoft) that it remains as committed to Windows Mobile as ever.

"Our commitment to Microsoft has never changed. [We are] very committed to Android as well. We are very long-term committed to those two."

Android has proven the best option for the hardware manufacturer lately, but that only proves HTC is willing to go wherever the best operating systems are.

We'll have to see whether Windows Mobile 7 offers the same flexibility as Android.