Windows Phone 7 Launches and We Have A Preview

Frank Gruber October 12, 2010 Tweet

Microsoft made waves as CEO Steve Ballmer spoke at CES 2010 about the Windows Phone 7 and we caught our first glimpse of it at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona this past February. We then went on to work with Microsoft to host a couple of Tech Cocktail mobile events in DC and Chicago which previewed the phone to our audience. We were excited to see the big announcements yesterday by Steve Ballmer about the Windows Phone 7 and wanted to share some takeaways and a preview of the device so you can order yours in time for the holidays. The new phone is focused on helping users to “get in and out and back to life.”

Here’s the main takeaways from the announcement yesterday:

• Hardware = 9 phones available (LG, Samsung, HTC and Dell)
• Software = new operating system which offers touch screen and tiles that can be moved around, deeply integrated search via Bing, Cut and Paste functionality coming in early 2011
• Camera = Hardware enables holding down the camera shutter button to let a user take a picture even if the phone is locked
• Price = most phones will be available for $199.99 with new 2-year contract
• Apps = there will be apps for just about everything. Users will also have Hubs (homescreen widgets) which include the People Hub, Pictures Hub, Music + Video Hub, Games Hub, Office Hub and the Marketplace.
• Carriers = 60 mobile operators in 30 countries including AT&T and T-Mobile in the U.S., Orange, SingTel, Telstra, Telus, Telefonica, Vodafone, etc.

We recently sat down with Brian Gorbett from Microsoft to get a special preview of Windows Phone 7. Watch our video preview with Brian (below) and note that every Microsoft employee will recieve a free Windows Phone 7 device.