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After offering previews of its Windows Phone 7 platform last month, Microsoft seems ready to take the next step to get it to market.

The company seems to have set shipping dates for the platform and Europe will be the first to get it.

At a conference, Microsoft’s chief operating officer Kevin Turner told attendees that the company is looking to transition to Windows Phone 7 around October in Europe and November in the U.S.

“We are back in this game,” says Turner in this video posted on Engadget. “And this game is not over.”

In the next three to five years, 450 million smartphones will be sold, he says. That’s double the smartphones sold today.

“When you look at this (Windows 7) phone and some of the UI (user interface), it’s not like any phone you have ever seen from Microsoft,” says Turner. “And I think that’s a good thing.”

Microsoft is working with companies such as Samsung and LG for the hardware.

Over the last three years, Microsoft’s Windows mobile operating system has been eclipsed by rivals such as Google’s Android and Apple’s iPhone OS. For the three months ending May, RIM’s BlackBerry OS ranked first with about 41.7 percent market share in the U.S., followed by Apple at 24.4 percent and Microsoft at 13.2 percent, according to Comscore. Android OS came in fourth at 13 percent but Android has been moving up the ranks steadily gaining points while its rivals are losing share.

Microsoft is betting Windows 7 phone will help turn the tide. The new Windows 7 OS has a snazzy new user interface, integration with Zune market for games and music, and search by Bing. (Check out Gizmodo’s in-depth look at Windows Phone 7.)

In the U.S., AT&T has said it plans to be the “premier” carrier for the platform. AT&T has been slow to embrace Google’s Android platform and it will be interesting to see the size of the bet it will place on Microsoft.

Photo: (brendanlim/Flickr)

Source:wired.com

Posted under Gadget Reviews

A purportedly leaked slideshow reveals what may be Microsoft’s game plan for Windows 8. Giving a strong nod to Apple, highlight features teased in the presentation include a Windows app store and instant-on bootup.

Italian Windows blog Windowsette posted the presentation watermarked “Microsoft Confidential.” One slide explicitly mentions Apple’s consumer strategy: a high-quality, easy-to-use user interface that feeds brand loyalty.

“Apple brand is known for high quality, uncomplicated, ‘It just works,’” a slide reads (see above). “This is something people will pay for!”

Microsoft declined to comment on the presentation’s authenticity.

Though the unconfirmed slides explicitly mention Apple’s strategy, Microsoft is still far ahead of the Cupertino, California company in the desktop OS space. Research firms estimate that Windows dominates over 90 percent of the desktop OS market share. Additionally, Microsoft recently announced it sold 150 million licenses of Windows 7 in eight months.

If real, the presentation would suggest that a key part of Microsoft’s strategy to secure its lead with Windows is to replicate Apple’s successful App Store model. One slide (below) reveals plans for Windows 8 to introduce “Windows Store,” an app store for purchasing and downloading Windows applications.

The slides also allude to a one-second bootup reminiscent of the iPad’s instant-on capability.

“Windows 8 PCs turn on fast, nearly instantly in some cases, and are ready to work without any long or unexpected delays,” one slide says.

Windows enthusiast blog Microsoft Kitchen has collected all the slides and believes they are “the real deal.” For a blow-by-blow analysis, visit Stephen Chapman’s writeup.

Source:wired.com

Posted under Gadget Reviews