Microsoft Corp. today announced the availability of a new line of Windows^® phones around the world that are available in a broad range of styles and prices. With a Windows phone, people can navigate their phone easily with the touch of a finger¹ and browse the Internet on a great mobile browser. People can also connect to two new services that allow them to back up and share data from their phone to the Web and buy a variety of useful applications from the Windows Marketplace for Mobile. Microsoft expects partners to deliver more than 30 new phones in more than 20 countries by the end of 2009.

“We all want to connect quickly to the people and information that’s important to us from across our lives at work and at home,” said Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer. “A Windows phone lets people take their entire world of digital information, communications, applications and entertainment with them wherever they go.”

One Phone for Work and Play

With a Windows phone, people can rely on their phone to balance their lives, from work to home to play. Whether it’s editing a document or sharing several vacation updates through a social networking application, Windows phones help people stay connected to the people and information they care about most. Because people’s phones often match their personality and unique needs, Microsoft now offers the Windows phone Custom Theme Creator. People can create personalized themes for their Windows phone by choosing the color and design that suits their style at http://www.windowsphone.com/theme.

With a Windows phone, people will have familiar work and play experiences right from their Start button, including these:

•	A new enhanced Windows Live experience with What’s New feeds and improved Windows Live photo sharing across major social networking sites (such as Twitter, Facebook, MySpace and Flickr)
•	A best-in-class e-mail experience and the ability to manage multiple accounts right from their phone with Outlook Mobile and Exchange Server synchronization
•	The ability to use PowerPoint and open and edit Word and Excel documents from their phone with Microsoft Office Mobile
•	The power to sync files on the phone through Windows Live Media Manager and play media files seamlessly with Windows Media Player
•	A redesigned Windows Internet Explorer mobile browser with Adobe Flash Lite2 that brings the mobile Web browsing experience closer to what people have come to expect from their PC

Powerful Mobile Services

With the launch of these new Windows phones, Microsoft debuts new services that bring added value to people.

My Phone is a free service that helps people manage and back up the invaluable information stored on their phone and provides peace of mind and an easy restore option in the event of a lost or damaged phone. My Phone automatically synchronizes the specific types of a phone’s content the user chooses — from contacts and appointments to texts, photos and more — to a password-protected Web site. People can also publish their photos from the My Phone Web site or their phone directly to Windows Live, Facebook, MySpace and Flickr. As part of the free service, people can go online and map the last known location of their phone from when it was last synchronized. In addition, a set of more advanced “lost phone” features are being offered as a premium package that people can activate as needed. The My Phone Premium package includes the ability to immediately locate the phone’s current location on a map (in the U.S. only); remotely lock a phone and post an “if found” message to its screen; loudly ring the phone even if it is set to vibrate or silent mode; and ultimately, if needed, completely erase the phone to protect personal data from falling into the wrong hands. People using My Phone on their phone running either Windows Mobile 6.0, 6.1 or 6.5 can access the premium package free of charge until Nov. 30, 2009. After that date, seven-day access to the premium package will be available for purchase for $4.99 in the U.S.

Also launching today is Windows Marketplace for Mobile, which offers people an easy way to find and purchase high-quality mobile applications for both work and play, while creating a new opportunity for developers to reach millions of people using Windows phones worldwide. Microsoft is pleased today to introduce 246 quality mobile applications initially in Windows Marketplace for work and play, with more than 753 ISVs worldwide on board to continue building out the catalog. People will have access to not only important line-of-business applications for work, but also popular mobile applications for play such as Facebook, MySpace, Netflix, Twikini, WunderRadio and ZAGAT, as well as leading game titles including Sudoku, “Guitar Hero World Tour” and the “PAC-MAN” series, all of which can be easily purchased and installed directly on a Windows phone. All purchased applications are certified by Microsoft to run on Windows phones and are backed by a simple return policy. Over the next few months, Microsoft will continue to evolve Windows Marketplace for Mobile to bring to market a fresh take on the app store that delivers strong value for developers and a great shopping experience for people.

Choice and Availability: A Phone for Everyone

Windows phones give people the power to choose the phone that best fits their style and budget by offering phones with a full physical QWERTY keyboard, others with just a large touch screen, and some with both touch screen and keyboard. Microsoft and its partners now deliver a variety of Windows phones for people to choose from in several regions:

In North America:

•	HTC Pure from AT&T
•	HTC Imagio from Verizon Wireless
•	Samsung Intrepid from Sprint, available Oct. 11, 2009
•	HTC Tilt 2 from AT&T, available in the coming weeks

In Latin America:

•	Samsung Omnia II available in the coming weeks from TIM Brasil

In Europe:

•	MDA Vario V, MDA Compact V and HTC Touch2 and the Samsung Omnia II from Deutsche Telekom in select European markets
•	HTC HD2 from Orange, available in the coming weeks in France
•	HTC Touch2 from Orange, available in the coming weeks in France, Spain, Switzerland and Romania
•	A software update for the HTC Touch Pro2 from Orange, available in the coming weeks in France, U.K. and Romania
•	Samsung Omnia II from Orange, available in the coming weeks in Poland, Switzerland and Slovakia and from early December in France
•	Samsung Omnia LITE from Orange, available in the coming weeks in France and Spain
•	Samsung Omnia PRO B7320 from Orange, available in the coming weeks in France and the U.K.
•	Toshiba TG01 W from Orange, available as an update to the TG01 in the coming weeks in France, the U.K., Switzerland and Romania
•	LG GM750 and Samsung Omnia II from SFR in France
•	TMN Bluebelt 2 and TMN Silverbelt, made by ZTE Corp., from TMN in Portugal
•	Samsung Omnia II and Omnia LITE from TMN in Portugal
•	HTC Touch Diamond2 from Vodafone in Germany, Spain, the Netherlands, Australia, South Africa and Central Europe
•	HTC Touch Pro2 from Vodafone in the U.K. and Switzerland
•	LG GM750 from Vodafone in Germany, the U.K., Spain and the Netherlands

The following phones are available on the open market in Europe:

•	Samsung Omnia II, Omnia LITE, Omnia PRO B7320, Omnia PRO B7330 and Omnia PRO B7610 available in October

In Asia:

•	ZTE X60 from China Unicom
•	HTC Touch Diamond2 from Telstra

The following phones are available on the open market in Asia:

•	Acer beTouch E100, beTouch E101, beTouch E200 and Acer neoTouch
•	Garmin-Asus nüvifone M20
•	HTC Snap, HTC Touch Pro2, HTC Touch Diamond2 and HTC Touch2
•	LG GM730 and LG GM550
•	Samsung Omnia II and Samsung Omnia PRO B7320, Omnia PRO B7330

 There's not a lot on offer for North America IMHO.

Dave Parker MVP:

 There's not a lot on offer for North America IMHO.

What's new?

Unfortunately, the wireless operators have a virtual stranglehold on the US and Canadian markets, simply via their long history of subsidies.  We're too used to cheap/free phones, so unsubsidized and unlocked phones seem ridiculously overpriced.  If we can get subsidized TP2s for $200, it's hard to make us look at a $700 phone like a Sony X2, or even an HTC Leo.

On the wireless operator side, the NA operators seem to fill particular slots in their product lines with a product or two- once they have a touch screen Windows Phone or two, the niche for that particular form factor is filled, and no others are offered.  (I suspect they feel it would cause customer confusion, and additional models would just cannibalize sales of the other models.)

[As an aside, I remember when I bought my T-Mobile MDA (T-Mo US' version of the HTC Wizard.)  I really wanted the thinner keyboardless version of the Wizard (the iMate Jamin', I believe it was called) since the keyboard wasn't important to me.  However, I could get an MDA for $200, or pay $700 for an unsubsidized Jamin'.  Getting the exact "right" phone wasn't worth $500 extra to me.  (Same thing happened to me later with my Tilt- I really wanted the TyTn II with the front camera, but even used, it was about $200 more, so I opted for the cheaper US version.)  The power of a decent subsidy really can push customers to put up with different products than they originally wanted!]