It's all ready and set: Windows Phone 7 Series brings everything you've been asking for to WinMo smartphones. Check out our photo walkthrough here.
As of February 15 2010, Microsoft embraces consumers to the full with the introduction of Windows Phone 7 Series. Social networking? Check. Xbox Live? Check. Zune? Check. Office? Check. You'll find it all in there, and Windows Phone 7 Series will be supported by the following carriers, manufacturers and chip makers from day one:
AT&T Wireless, Verizon Wireless, T-Mobile, Sprint, Vodafone, Dell, HTC, Samsung, Sony Ericsson, LG, HP, Garmin-Asus, Toshiba, Qualcomm, Deutsche Telekom, Orange, SFR, Telecom Italia, Telefonica and Telstra.
The first Windows Phone 7 Series smartphones will hit store shelves around the world by holiday 2010.
Windows Phone 7 Series Walkthrough
Steve Ballmer introduced Windows Phone 7 Series during a press event at the Mobile World Congress, a mobile OS that for the first time ever will bring together Xbox Live games and the Zune music and video experience on a mobile phone.
Windows Phone 7 Series is designed for "Life in Motion". On the Start screen, dynamically updated "live tiles" show users real-time content directly, breaking the mold of static icons that serve as an intermediate step on the way to an application. Create a tile of a friend, and the user gains a readable, up-to-date view of a friend's latest pictures and posts, just by glancing at Start.
Every Windows Phone 7 Series phone will come with a dedicated hardware button for Bing, providing one-click access to search from anywhere on the phone, while a special implementation of Bing search provides intent-specific results.
Windows Phone 7 Series creates a set of integrated experiences on a phone through Windows Phone hubs. Hubs bring together related content from the Web, applications and services into a single view to simplify common tasks. Windows Phone 7 Series includes six hubs built on specific themes reflecting activities that matter most to people:
People
This hub aims to deliver an engaging social experience by bringing together relevant content based on the person, including his or her live feeds from social networks and photos. It also provides a central place from which to post updates to Facebook and Windows Live in one step.
Pictures
This hub aims to make it easy to share pictures and video to a social network in one step. Windows Phone 7 Series also brings together a user's photos by integrating with the Web and PC, making the phone the ideal place to view a person's entire picture and video collection.
Games
This hub delivers the first and only official Xbox LIVE experience on a phone, including Xbox LIVE games, Spotlight feed and the ability to see a gamer's avatar, Achievements and gamer profile.
Music + Video
This hub aims to create a media experience that brings the best of Zune, including content from a user's PC, online music services and a built-in FM radio into one place that is all about music and video. Users can turn their media experience into a social one with Zune Social on a PC and share their media recommendations with like-minded music lovers. The playback experience is promised to be rich and easy to navigate.
Marketplace
This hub allows the user to easily discover and load the phone with certified applications and games.
Office
This hub brings the familiar experience of Office to the Windows Phone. With access to Office, OneNote and SharePoint Workspace all in one place, users can easily read, edit and share documents. With the additional power of Outlook Mobile, users can stay productive and up to date while on the go.
Availability
Microsoft has created a dedicated website for Windows Phone 7 Series, with information about the new mobile OS. Users of this website will also be alerted when specific market availability becomes available.