Microsoft has completely started over with its Windows 7 series, creating a mobile operating system that combines the visual appeal of Bing with the functionality of a Zune music player.
At Mobile World Congress today, Microsoft provided an hour-long demonstration that attempted to get people excited about the platform again after years of lackluster innovations from Microsoft (NSDQ: MSFT). The event today was a way for everyone to start talking the platform before the launch later this year in time for the holidays. Microsoft’s CEO Steve Ballmer: “I think it’s a big step. I’m enthusiastic about the direction we are headed in….Our PC position keeps rolling along with the positive reception of Windows 7. We hope seven is our lucky number and Windows 7 for mobile will have a great reaction.”
To be sure, the new Windows 7 platform involves all of Microsoft’s content and services from the internet and PC, which is smart given that it is in the fairly unique position to have all those properties. Windows 7 will include gaming aspects from Xbox Live and music services from Zune. It will also integrate tightly with Bing, and productivity suites, like Office.
Still, that doesn’t mean that the phone will look anything like the PC. For instance, Outlook is completely unrecognizable with a very finger-friendly version that let’s you easily scan new emails, and in the calendar there’s a way to easily see your personal appointments (in red), and your work items (in blue). The phone offers five integrated hubs, including People, Pictures, Office and Zune. The idea is to give people a destination to go to and consume a lot of information, rather than having to go in and out of applications, like Facebook, Twitter or the Picture catalog. These destinations look a lot like Bing with big photos in the background.
To pull these more integrated experiences off, Microsoft said its forming even deeper relationships with its partners. Once the base layer is agreed upon, developers, operators and hardware vendors can provide their own layer of differentiation, but overall, there will be a much more consistent experience. Hardware partners include: Qualcomm (NSDQ: QCOM), LG (SEO: 066570), Samsung, Garmin-Asus. HTC, Sony (NYSE: SNE) Ericsson (NSDQ: ERIC), Dell, HP and Toshiba. Carrier partners include: T-Mobile, Telefonica (NYSE: TEF), Sprint (NYSE: S), Vodafone (NYSE: VOD), AT&T (NYSE: T), Orange, Verizon Wireless and Telstra. Two special relationships have been formed with AT&T and Orange, which will work closely with Microsoft.
Ballmer closed the press conference by acknowledging that there’s steep competition in the marketplace. “The phone market is highly competitive, highly dynamic and super exciting. There’s no question in my mind that we needed and wanted to do some things that were out of the box. You’ll see us continuing to do our best in Windows 6.5 offering, but we’ve started a whole new generation with the Windows 7 series.”
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