Windows Phone meets Bilbo from The Hobbit

Microsoft has dedicated a section of the Windows Phone website for The Hobbit marketing. The webpage sports a cinematic advertisement for the film shows a customised home screen with "Home Sweet Shire" as well as the weather report for Middle-earth. Bilbo was obviously out on his adventure with his photos backed up on SkyDrive and Frodo pestering him with SMS messages and calls.

As was previously covered, the marketing campaign will take place in UK, US, France and Germany. The Lord of the Rings is a popular franchise that has a huge following, which Microsoft looks to tap into with the release of The Hobbit. The film sets to follow on from the previous adventure trilogy and treat audiences with familiar scenes and references.

Visitors of the Windows Phone website will be able to check out photos and videos that are combined with links to Microsoft services for consumers to learn more about what the company offers on top of software loaded onto hardware. 

Hobbit WP Wallpaper

As well as marketing and other goodies, there are also a number of wallpapers available with QR codes for download. Should you wish to add a bit of Middle-earth to your Windows Phone, then be sure to check out the work presented on the section of the website. Microsoft has stated in the past that it plans to push Windows Phone harder than previously.

The platform was previously promoted with movie characters, including Yoda from Star Wars in the Vodafone UK Red Box advertisements. The Hobbit has dwarfed the box office, taking a chart topping $36.7m (£22.6m) over the weekend. The film was released near Christmas, which is reported to be the cause of the slow down from the $84.8m it took last week.

If you're planning on heading out on an unexpected journey across lands, be sure to take your Windows Phone with you.

Source: Windows Phone

Rich Edmonds
Senior Editor, PC Build

Rich Edmonds was formerly a Senior Editor of PC hardware at Windows Central, covering everything related to PC components and NAS. He's been involved in technology for more than a decade and knows a thing or two about the magic inside a PC chassis. You can follow him on Twitter at @RichEdmonds.