Microsoft to unveil Windows Phone 7 on Oct. 11

Microsoft will formally introduce its much-anticipated Windows Phone 7 operating system overhaul on Oct. 11, roughly eight months after first announcing the new platform. Citing sources familiar with the plans, The Wall Street Journal reports AT&T (NYSE:T) will initially serve as Microsoft's exclusive Windows Phone 7 operator partner in the U.S., and on Nov. 8 will introduce three WP7 smartphones, one each manufactured by Samsung Electronics, LG Electronics and HTC.

Microsoft first announced Windows Phone 7 in mid-February during the annual Mobile World Congress event. Promising an experience distinguished by a more user-friendly design, Windows Phone 7 includes a series of "hubs" integrating related content from the web, applications and services. The hubs include Games, which transports Microsoft's Xbox Live gaming platform to mobile devices, as well as Music + Video, which integrates the company's Zune media player to offer content from the user's PC as well as online music services and built-in FM radio. The other hubs: People (which brings together relevant content based on live feeds from social networks and photos), Pictures (which simplifies photo and video sharing and uploads, integrating with user photos on the web and PC), Office (which includes access to Office, OneNote and SharePoint Workspace tools) and Marketplace (which connects to Microsoft's Windows Marketplace app store).

Microsoft issued Windows Phone 7 to manufacturers on Sept. 1. Writing on the Windows Phone Blog, Windows Phone Engineering corporate vice president Terry Myerson said WP7 is the most thoroughly tested mobile platform that Microsoft has ever released--in addition to nearly 10,000 devices running automated tests daily, the OS was subjected to more than 500,000 hours of active self-hosting use, more than 3.5 million hours of stress test passes and 8.5 million hours of fully automated test passes.

Despite Microsoft's commitment, Windows Phone 7 has so far struggled to attract the interest of mobile developers. Microsoft earlier this year confirmed it is offering financial incentives to stir interest in Windows Phone, with senior director of mobile services and developer product management Todd Brix telling Bloomberg the company is providing everything from free tools and trial handsets to software development funding, even offering revenue guarantees in the event apps fail to sell as expected.

The absence of developer enthusiasm notwithstanding, Windows Phone 7 can't arrive soon enough for Microsoft: Its current Windows Mobile operating system continues to fall out of favor among consumers, now representing 11.8 percent of the U.S. smartphone market--down from 14 percent just three months ago--according to recent data published by digital measurement firm comScore. Windows Mobile lags far behind Research In Motion's (NASDAQ:RIMM) BlackBerry (39.3 percent of the U.S. smartphone market), Apple's (NASDAQ:AAPL) iOS (23.8 percent) and Google's Android (17 percent, up 5 percentage points over April 2010).

For more on the Windows Phone 7 launch:
- read this Wall Street Journal article

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