Always delightful … wonderfully mine was the tagline for the Windows Phone 7 launch event in New York today and if you were not able to watch the keynote live stream, you can watch a recorded version on the Windows Phone Newsroom.
Steve Balmer opened the keynote and official announced the general availability of Windows Phone in the US and Europe. During the opening session, Steve commented on the important partnership between Microsoft and hardware manufacturers and mobile operators.
Nine phone were unveiled from hardware partners including Dell, HTC, LG and Samsung. Windows Phone provides a consistent set of experiences across the different hardware devices, but the OEMs are still able to differentiate their phones by adding additional capabilities to the phone. For example: The Dell Venue Pro provides a vertical slide-out keyboard and scratch resistant Gorilla Glass screen, the HTC Surround offers Dolby surround sound and a kick stand, the LG devices support DLNA (one also offers a horizontal slider) to hook up your phone to other media device in your house, but if all you want is a sleek, thin, lightweight phone, with a great Super AMOLED screen then the Samsung Focus (available US) or Omnia 7 (available in Europe).
Mobile operators will play a very important role by providing services and personalization options. Windows Phone 7 will be offered by by 60 mobile operators in 30 countries, including AT&T, T-Mobile, Vodafone, Orange Telstra, amongst others.
Next up was Ralph de la Vega, President & CEO, AT&T Mobility & Consumer Markets. AT&T brought the first Windows smartphone to market with Microsoft in 2003 and will be the key launch partner for Windows Phone 7 in the US. AT&T will offer the Samsung Focus on November 8 and the LG Quantum and HTC Surround a few weeks later; all three phones will cost under $200.
“When Steve and his team showed us Windows Phone 7, we knew it was going to be a winner. The user experience that you have seen is unlike anything that we have seen - it’s an awesome experience, it’s a unique fun to use interface that gives you super fast access to content and data.” Ralph de la Vega, President & CEO, AT&T Mobility & Consumer Markets.
“When Steve and his team showed us Windows Phone 7, we knew it was going to be a winner. The user experience that you have seen is unlike anything that we have seen - it’s an awesome experience, it’s a unique fun to use interface that gives you super fast access to content and data.”
Ralph de la Vega, President & CEO, AT&T Mobility & Consumer Markets.
AT&T will also be bringing U-verse Mobile to Windows Phone as well as XBOX 360, which will allow you to watch hit TV shows such as Mad men and ESPN on multiple devices.
Joe Belfiore briefly discussed the inspiration and goals of the design of Windows Phone 7, codenamed Metro. Joe explained that there were two key questions the design team set out to answer when they designed Windows Phone: how can we build a phone that simplifies the basics and helps organize information and applications. They came up with a smart design that provides six hubs that contain content such photos, people, music, games, etc. Joe also showcased some 3rd party applications, including eBay, and IMDB.
I am really looking forward to seeing the applications in the Windows Phone marketplace that our customers and partner have been developing. One such application is the iFood Assitant, developed by one our partners, Clarity Consulting, for Kraft Foods. This application is one of a handful of applications that was demoed at the launch event and can be seen in a video on Gizmodo.