Windows Phone 7 Launch

The Windows Phone 7 Launch

We’re here, where are you?

Microsoft have chosen an unseasonally hot day to launch Windows Phone 7 (WP7). The room in the ICA is hot an dark and there’s not air con full marks. Especially in a room where the average number of phones per user was heading for double figures, and each person was also equipped with at least one laptop, digital camera and every other consumer gadget you can mention. As usual for this sort of even there’s no wifi and the signal on the mobile is low.

There’s a simulcast with the US so we’re having to wait for five more minutes.

The background music is Eliza Dolittle

They’ve just announced a problem with the wifi signal. WE KNOW

It’s started.

Ashley Highfield is up
They’ve announced that this a user focussed delivery, a “relentless focus on the user” –

Ballmer has interrupted Ashley

“With windows phone we hav built with our partners a different kind of phone”
With WP7 “We want you to get in and out and back to life”

We wanted the phome to be “Always delightful” and “wonderfully mine”

There’s a twitter hashtag #wp7

Will ship in November in the US on 9 different devices. Dell/LG/Samsung/HTC amomgst others.
60 mobile networks in 30 different countries.

Andy Lees presented saying he was responsible for the dev of WP7; He decided that Micosoft would stop their previous design and start afresh with the focus on the user. They created a book to see what mobile would look like in 2010. The customer was to be king in the new design.

There’s now a demo of the new design. Showing how it’s glance and go, not stop and wait, and looking at the email and how they have improved search. It’s looking very good.

System will scrape information from your social networks and add it into your outlook, and integrates pictures from all your different cameras etc. WP7 uses Zune wifi sync to update the phone. It’s providing a real “panoramic experience”.

Includes the Office Hubm that has Word, Excel etc so you can use OneNote seamlessly, and SharePoint.

Music system also uses Zune sync to maintain music and video files and playlists etc.

Apologies if this seems to be just a bunch of notes. It’s dark so we can’t see the keyboard.

Apps – TESCO have a WP7 app – There’s a rail travel app.
No mention of how many apps are going to be there on launch yet.

On to Games – yes it’s a games platform as well

Back to Andy Lees

Copy and paste not present on launch but will be added in 2011. This is mad. Didn’t they learn from Apple.

Meet the phones- All the phones have a common core

HTC Mozart – Aluminium 8Mp camera with Xenon flash on Orange exclusively from Oct 21st
Samsung Omnia 7 on Orange Tmobile and Three
HTC 7 Trophy – Vodafone
LG – No mention of a name Has DNLA
HTC HD7 4.3 inch amoled screen with kickstand to watch movies
Dell Venue Pro – Slide out QWERTY keyboard with 4.2 inch screen.

Tom Alexander CEO Everything Everywhere shared Microsoft’s vision of not suprisingly Everything Everywhere and that’s whay they’re the lead network in the UK.

Orange HTC Mozart and Samsung Omnia 7 will have Orange branded apps including Orange Wednesdays etc

Ashley Highfied
We want to make a real break with the past and we realist that this is not going to be an easy journey

Stephen Fry here as an amateur and that’s the french name for lover. I have made no bones about my dislike for microsoft. But they now “get it.” He’s been sent a few of them and he’s had a week to play with one and his comment was “I have felt enormous pleasure using this phone.”

Stephen Fry “You have to be very stony hearted to not welcome a new player” I want biodiversity in this market the more players the better. I am genuinely thrilled that i can stand on this stage and announce that I like Microsoft. Stephen compares Microsoft to Leeds Utd – sleek liquid feel.

Ashley Highfield – That was high risk wan’t it??

We’re off to the demo bye