Microsoft makes a splash at MWC with Windows Phone 7, its latest mobile OS
There was rumour and counter-rumour whether or not Microsoft would be ready in time to showcase its latest mobile OS, Windows Phone 7, for MWC week. Well, the software firm has proved its doubters wrong.
Windows Phone 7 incorporates Microsoft’s Xbox LIVE games and the Zune music service, but it also has a new UI, where information categories are stacked in smart tile format, and which can incorporate music and video content from a user’s PC, as well as handle online music services.
The first phones using the new operating system, says Microsoft, will appear later this year and include models from Samsung, LG, HTC and Sony Ericsson. Each handset supplier, though, will have to adhere to certain hardware specifications laid out by Microsoft (including a dedicated hardware button for Microsoft’s search engine Bing).
It is also thought that manufacturers will also be restricted to the tile user interface on Windows Phone 7, which would give handset manufacturers less scope for customisation compared when using other mobile OSs (such as Google’s Android).
Qualcomm also says it is working with Microsoft and multiple device manufacturers on smartphones powered by its Snapdragon platforms for running the Windows Phone 7 Series software.
According to research firm Canalys, Microsoft’s software currently has around 9% of the smartphone market, putting it in fourth place behind Symbian, RIM and Apple. Google’s Android has a paltry 2% market share (according to some analysts) but that is still quite an achievement as it has been only available to manufactures for barely more than a year. Momentum also appears to be on Android’s side with more than 50 new Android-based devices scheduled to be launched this year.