Steve Ballmer Unveils Windows Phone 7 at Mobile World Conference

by Jordan Yerman | February 15, 2010 at 09:43 am

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Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer unveiled the new Windows Phone 7 series at the Mobile World Conference in Barcelona. The Windows Phone 7 series run on an all-new version of Windows 7, and replaces the Windows Mobile OS (which I've always hated). Like the iPhone and iTunes, Windows Phone 7 will incorporate the Zune to give the user an all-in-one experience, as well as mostly-customizable "tiles" which look like... the app icons on the iPhone.

From what I can see, the Windows Phone 7 UI is pretty slick, with none of the cruft that cluttered Windows Mobile. Also, from a branding perspective, getting rid of that "Start" button, which reminds people of, well, Windows, was a great idea. Windows Phone 7 will also integrate with Xbox Live, so you can keep track of your friends' (and enemies') gaming moves.

In another iPhone-like move, Microsoft is supposedly keeping control of its partners' hardware, so fans of more-customizable handsets will be disappointed by the OS lockdown.

Steve Ballmer didn't actually show off a real live handset, though. We don't know what the finished products will look like, in terms of appearance or feel. We also don't know about stuff like multitasking, which is the iPhone weakness that every competitor should be exploiting.

Speaking of which, Windows Phone 7 isn't due to hit the market until the 2010 holiday season, so they'd best hope that neither iPhone nor Android see great steps in functionality between now and Fourth Quarter.