Microsoft has launched Windows Phone 7, its latest attempt to break into the lucrative smartphone market.
Until now the company has failed to provide a credible challenge to rival operating systems from Apple, Google, Research in Motion and Nokia.
Mobile phone operators predict smartphones will have a 70% market share in just three years.
Microsoft says it has made Windows Phone 7 more user-friendly, rebuilding the operating system from bottom up.
The phone system’s experience is built around so-called hubs that aggregate content like contacts, pictures, documents, and music and video. The content on the phone is then synchronised both with storage services on the internet and the owner’s computers at home.
At launch Microsoft’s new phone system will be available on nine phones, and with 60 operators in 30 countries.
In the UK the phone will launch on 21 October, while the US launch will be in early November.
The company wants its new operating system, Windows Phone 7 (WP7), to put its mobile business back in the running against not just Apple, but also Google, which makes the Android phone software, among others.
Windows Phone 7
Speaking at a launch event in New York this afternoon, Microsoft boss Steve Ballmer said: ‘Everybody should be able to take a look at a Windows Phone and say it can represent me.’
The world’s largest software company is hoping that the new phones, from handset makers Samsung, LG, HTC and Dell, will propel it back into the mobile market, which many see as the key to the future of computing.
The new phones, initially available on the T-Mobile network in the UK and on AT&T in the U.S., are much closer in look and feel to Apple’s iPhone, with colourful touch-screens and ’tiles’ for easy access to email, the Web, music and other applications.
“I’ve been looking forward to this day for quite some time,” said Steve Ballmer, Microsoft’s chief executive, at a press conference in New York.
“The difference with Windows Phone 7 isn’t just what you’re going to do with the phone, but how you’re going to do it. We’ve focused in on the way real people want to use their phone when they’re on the go. We’ve set out to build a phone that is thoroughly modern.”
HTC, the Taiwanese phone maker best known for its Google Android handsets, is releasing five Windows Phone 7 handsets, with one, the HTC 7 Surround, a US-only device. The remaining four devices – the HTC 7 Mozart, the HTC 7 Trophy, the HTC 7 Pro and the flagship HTC HD7 – will be available on a variety of networks and a choice of contracts and tariffs.
The HTC HD7 features a 4.3in touchscreen, up to 16GB of storage, and a five megapixel camera with HD video recording capabilities.
LG has released two Windows Phone 7 handsets, the Optimus 7 and the Optimus 7Q. Dell has also unveiled a Windows Phone, the Venue Pro, while Samsung is launching the Omnia 7, a touchscreen device with a 4in super AMOLED display and five megapixel camera with HD recording.
“Windows Phone 7 is an entirely fresh mobile experience, on which HTC is excited to be going big,” said Peter Chou, chief executive of HTC. “We see tremendous customer opportunities with the integration of Microsoft’s most popular services like Xbox Live and Zune.”
Microsoft hopes its new range of Windows Phone 7 devices will help it compete more closely with Apple’s iPhone and handsets running Google Android.
Windows Phone 7 represents a dramatic departure from Microsoft’s previous mobile operating systems. It is based around the concept of “hubs”, to organise contacts, photos, music, videos and Xbox games, and “live tiles”, which are used instead of icons to keep the user constantly updated about new emails, messages and social network status updates.
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Microsoft Corp’s last-ditch attempt to reclaim its prominence in the smartphone market won favourable early reviews on Monday, but it may come too late to claw back customers from Apple and Google.
The world’s largest software company, along with network carriers and handset makers, is planning to spend more than $100 million (£63 million) on marketing the phones, which analysts said could compete with Apple’s iPhone, but that may be a struggle.
“We are the first to admit that Microsoft is fighting for third place, not first or even second, at this point; but we believe this is a key step toward rebuilding confidence in their ability to innovate in mobile,” Wells Fargo analyst Jason Maynard said in a research note.
“This isn’t going to move the market share needle in the short term.”
“They have phones with slide-out keyboards, larger screens, high definition outlets – all features that the iPhone does not have,” said Ross Rubin, a consumer electronics analyst at retail research firm NPD Group. “That should help Microsoft’s competitive position. There will always be a segment of customers that seek out the newest devices.”
The line-up of nine new phones from Samsung Electronics Co Ltd, LG Electronics Inc, HTC Corp and Dell Inc will start to appear in stores later this month in Europe, and in November in the United States on AT&T’s network.
The handsets are much closer in look and feel to Apple’s iPhone than earlier Windows phones, with colourful touch-screens and “live tiles” on the starting screen for quick access to email, the Web, music and exclusively, games on the Xbox system.
“The user interface is quite innovative because it takes advantage of those precious few seconds when eyes hit the glass and actually gives you something useful,” said Al Hilwa at research firm IDC. “It will probably be copied by other platforms over time.”
Microsoft said the launch will be backed by heavy television advertising in the run-up to the holiday shopping season, as it looks to vault itself back into the market.
“This is Microsoft’s last chance to be a major player in the smartphone market,” said analyst Jack Gold of J.Gold Associates. “Microsoft will be required to undertake a massive consumer education campaign if it wants to stand a chance of differentiating itself from iPhone and Android, which have far greater market presence.”
British actor and writer Stephen Fry, an outspoken fan of Apple products, praised the phones on stage at a launch event in London.
“When I got one of these (phones) my first feeling was it’s fun to play with. I have felt enormous pleasure using this phone,” said Fry, who was invited, but not paid, to speak at the event. “Yes, I love Apple, but I’m not a monotheist. I want biodiversity in this market and all of us that love it should welcome that too.”
The new phones represent Microsoft’s last chance to catch up in the smartphone market with rivals who overtook it in the past few years.
“I’ve been looking forward to this day for some time,” said Microsoft Chief Executive Steve Ballmer, showing off the nine phone models at a launch event in New York.