Microsoft made a convincing bid to reinvent itself in the smartphone space as it unveiled the Windows Phone 7 Series at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain.
The first 7 Series phones are due in time for the 2010 holiday season and will include Zune and Xbox LIVE functions for the first time. The platform was called a serious play by Microsoft to gain a bigger foothold in the smartphone market by Engadget.
The 7 Series user interface includes “live tiles” which stream updates from social networking web sites and other functions. You can create a tile of a friend that sits on the main screen and get an updated view of the friend’s latest pictures and posts.
A statement from Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer said, “In a crowded market filled with phones that look the same and do the same things, I challenged the team to deliver a different kind of mobile experience. Windows Phone 7 Series marks a turning point toward phones that truly reflect the speed of people’s lives…”
Phones will include a dedicated hardware button for Bing search; and six “hubs” to organize content including a “people” hub for live social network feeds, a games hub for Xbox LIVE as well as an office hub with access to Office, OneNote and SharePoint Workspace in one place.
Carriers including AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile USA, and Verizon Wireless have committed to the 7 Series as have suppliers Dell, Garmin-Asus, HTC Corp., HP, LG, Samsung, Sony Ericsson, Toshiba and Qualcomm, said Microsoft.
Some early reports on Windows Phone 7 Series includes this one from ZDNet.
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