Posted by Tom Krengel
on 02/15/10
Microsoft has laid down a gauntlet to Apple with the launch of its new mobile phone operating system
Microsoft has unveiled a new version of its mobile phone operating system that it hopes will allow it to replicate its desktop dominance on the next generation of smartphones.Windows Phone 7 is a complete departure from previous Windows Mobile operating systems, focusing more closely on social-networking capabilities, real-time information, and organising contacts and data in to single “hubs” to make it easier to keep in touch.
The software has a redesigned user interface and incorporates many Microsoft services such as Xbox LIVE games and the Zune music service.
According to research firm Canalys, Microsoft's software currently has around 9% of the smartphone market. That puts it fourth in the global market behind Symbian, Rim (makers of the Blackberry) and Apple's iPhone OS.
From 2008 to 2009, Microsoft's slice of the smart-phone operating system market shrank to 10.7 percent from 13.1 percent. Meanwhile, Apple grew to 14.4 percent from 9.1 percent, and Google's Android system started with half a percent and grew to 3.5 percent, according to IDC. Research in Motion, maker of the BlackBerry, rose to 19.6 percent from 15.6 percent.
The first multi-touch phones to use the operating system will be available before the end of the year.
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