It has been a busy day for Microsoft and the Windows Phone 7 crowd. We've seen devices, specs, pricing points and availabiltity dates move across the wire at record speeds.
So much has been covered today we felt the need for a little roundup to pull as much as we can under one roof. So, hit the link and ease on past the break to see a brief summary of today's events.
Devices
Devices took center stage today with a total of nine devices launching in some thirty countries over the next month. Microsoft has put together a nice Windows Phone 7 page that details specs and carrier availability but briefly, the devices are:
North America
- AT&T: Samsung Focus, LG Quantum, HTC Surround
- T-Mobile USA: HTC HD7, Dell Venue Pro
- Telus (Canada): HTC Surround, LG Optimus 7
Europe
- O2: HTC HD7 (U.K and Germany)
- Orange: HTC Mozart, Samsung Omnia 7 (U.K. and France)
- SFR: HTC Trophy, Samsung Omnia 7 (France)
- Movistar: LG Optimus 7, HTC HD7, Samsung Omnia 7 (Spain)
- Deutsche Telekom AG: HTC Mozart, Samsung Omnia 7 (Germany)
- Vodaphone: HTC Trophy (U.K., Spain, Germany), LT Optimus 7 (U.K., Spain, Germany, Italy)
Asia/Pacific
- Singtel: HTC HD7, LG Optimus 7 (Singapore)
- Telstra: HTC Mozart, LG Optimus 7 (Australia)
- Vodafone: HTC Trophy (Australia)
The release dates start on October 21, 2010 in Europe and November 8, 2010 the U.S. Pricing for the U.S. phones appears to be set at $199.99 (after contractual discounts) across the board.
Oh... and we also ran across the HTC 7 Pro that will be heading Sprint sometime next year.
Software
We did learn a few things about Windows Phone 7, the operating system.
It won't have cut/paste at launch but expect it sometime next year. Over the air updates will be possible and Microsoft has put together a comprehensive How-To section on their Windows Phone site.
Electronics Arts is on board with their EA Mobile to bring thier popular games to the XBox Live hub.
It was also announced that Ebay would have an application available for Windows Phone 7 and GoVoice (Google Voice) would also be available on the Marketplace.
It's been a busy day all around. Mal and Phil have been burning up the sidewalks of New York (it's my understanding they're still shooting videos) whiile Dieter and myself burned up a few keyboards trying to get the information out to our readers. I'm sure I've left something out but just his this link, wp7launch, for all the launch related posts and wp7 for all our Windows Phone 7 posts.
George is the Reviews Editor at Windows Central, concentrating on Windows 10 PC and Mobile apps. He's been a supporter of the platform since the days of Windows CE and uses his current Windows 10 Mobile phone daily to keep up with life and enjoy a game during down time.
