Enter Windows Phone 7

With the smartphone market already crammed with handsets, operating systems and options, Microsoft have now entered the fray with their latest and greatest.  At an event in New York city this morning, Windows Phone 7 was officially unveiled.

It's exciting too, finally a smartphone OS for people who bemoan the lack of buttons on their handsets and a budgeting department that Ridley Scott would be jealous of.

Microsoft have $1 billion to throw at this product launch worldwide, and this is on top of whatever handset manufacturers and mobile operators will add to the mix.  You can be certain that you'll be hearing a lot more about this mobile OS over the next few months.

Everything's in place too, the new Windows Phone website has launched and the new version of the Zune software, which will be used to synchronise the devices with your PC has also been made available today.

What happens now will depend very much on the quality of the advertisements that Microsoft produce.  Apple received a pasting with their negative anti-Windows adverts around the time that Windows 7 launched.  People don't like negative advertising, but equally they don't respond to adverts that don't speak to them. With Windows Phone 7 Microsoft have to make certain that they do this.

If you're as excited about this new smartphone OS as I am you'll be getting on regardless, but if you're an average phone user who hasn't yet made the jump to a smartphone you'll be harder to impress.

You might be pushed towards it as handsets with buttons become increasingly harder to buy, but if Microsoft get it right, this could tempt you to at least try a device in a store when you've not wanted to try the app-centric iOS or Android in the past.

Whatever happens it's clear that both iOS and Android are here to stay.  They both have a large market share and they both have legions of fans.  I don't believe that WP7 is tempting enough to lure anyone away.

Give it time though and if Microsoft have got the advertising right you'll pass by a mobile phone shop in a couple of months and might wander in to try one.  If they get it wrong, good luck to them.

Update: Microsoft released Windows Phone 7 in October 2010 and supported it with updates until October 2014. The company released Windows Phone 8 in October 2012 which succeeded Windows Phone 7.

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