微软全新的手机操作系统Windows Phone 7在酝酿造势许久之后，终于在今天正式登场了。据design taxi网站称该操作系统已经筹划了两年的时间，是微软继Kin phones（已经关闭）之后推出的最大的手机项目。

Windows Phone 7 Annoucement

据称Windows Phone 7已经得到包括AT&T、T-Mobile和Verizon等电信运营商的支持。而手机制造商LG、Samsung、HTC以及Dell都将发行基于Windows Phone 7版的手机。

微软首席执行官Steve Ballmer认为他们的操作系统和其他的OS并不一样，特别是在UI（用户界面）环节。和android以及IOS的排列方式不一样，有点像社交网站的分类目录式。另外像zune、xbox和office的一些性能都将运用到该OS上。

Windows Phone 7（2）

据路透社的消息，微软已经计划花费10亿美元对该手机项目进行全球营销，与Research In Motion的blackberry、苹果的iphone和google的android抢夺市场。

富国银行Wells Fargo分析师Jason Maynard表示，现在微软首要做的就是全力争取市场第三名，然后才能考虑再进一步。

Windows Phone 7（3）

现在微软需要的就是一个强力的应用程序商店。纽约时报的Nick Bilton称因为平台多样化导致了开发者需要考虑他们将做怎样的选择，但更多时候iphone和android是他们的首要选择。（本文由游戏邦/gamerboom.com编译）

It’s been a long time coming, but Microsoft has finally unveiled its Windows Phone 7  mobile operating system. In production for two years, Windows Phone 7 is Microsoft’s biggest push into the mobile market after a series of gaffes like the 48-day life-span Kin phones.

The nine phones that will run the OS will first be available on AT&T starting 8 November, but will expand to T-Mobile, Verizon and Sprint later. LG, Samsung, HTC and Dell will be the first to offer the hardware, some of which feature touchscreens and others, a tangible keyboard.

Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer, was quick to distinguish his product from others, particularly in its UI. Unlike the app-focused interface we’re familiar with in Android and iOS phones, Windows Phone 7 has active and configurable ‘tiles’—each one pointing an entire category like social networks and messaging—that update on the fly.

Other Microsoft properties like Zune, Xbox and Office will also be integrated into the new OS.

According to Reuters, Microsoft is planning to spend more than US$100 million marketing the phones, an indication of the software company’s eagerness to battle the top three platforms in the US: Research In Motion’s BlackBerry, Apple’s iPhone, and Google’s Android, respectively. But this won’t be easy.

Jason Maynard, an analyst with Wells Fargo, told Reuters: “We are the first to admit that Microsoft is fighting for third place, not first or even second, at this point.”

One thing Microsoft would need is a robust app store. While it is planning a whole marketplace for its new platform, hard figures of exactly how many developers and apps will be made available were not given.

Nick Bilton for The New York Times wrote: “They [mobile app developers] already struggle with trying to decide which platforms to focus on, primarily the iPhone and Android operating systems.”

Granted, Microsoft would need time to build up the app momentum; after all, it is a “completely fresh start for Microsoft in smartphones”, the company said in a statement. But the question remains: with other platforms so far ahead in the game, has time already run out for the software giant? （source：design taxi）