HTC, Samsung and LG have unveiled the Windows Phone 7 handsets that will accompany the UK launch of Microsoft's new mobile operating system.
Windows Phone 7, which will enter the smartphone market on 21 October in the UK, is a completely different OS to its predecessor, Windows Mobile 6.5. Featuring no backwards compatibility to WM 6.5, Windows Phone 7 — officially detailed on Monday — is being targeted more at the consumer market than enterprise customers, at least initially.
HTC has four models planned for the Windows Phone 7 launch: the HTC 7 Surround (pictured on the far left), which is solely for the North American market, and three handsets — the Mozart, Trophy and HD7 — that are being released in exclusive deals with various UK operators. A fifth handset, the HTC 7 Pro with a Qwerty keyboard, will be available in Europe later in 2010 both through operators and SIM-free.
All of HTC's models will feature much less customisation of the user interface than the manufacturer applied to earlier Windows Mobile phones. This is because Microsoft is now much stricter about the type of experience its customers will receive. However, according to HTC's UK product chief, Philip Blair, the manufacturer will try to put more customisation into its Windows Phone 7 implementations down the line.
"Windows Phone 7 is restricted and locked down... in comparison to what went before with the Windows Mobile platform," Blair said at a pre-launch briefing last week. "[Microsoft is] probably right to do this for consistency [but] we will continue to push Microsoft in order to enable us to continue to deliver a differentiated HTC experience."
For now, the main differentiator between HTC's Windows Phone 7 handsets and others that use the platform is the manufacturer's inclusion of Dolby surround sound. The manufacturer has also pre-installed weather, stock and photo-enhancer apps, along with an HTC Hub app repository.
Blair, who noted that HTC had never before "launched four phones in one go", added that he hoped that, on 21 October, "there will be people queuing up in their sleeping bags outside the phone stores" for Windows Phone 7 handsets.
Also on Monday, Samsung unveiled the Omnia 7 and LG debuted the Optimus 7. Both devices are set to be available on 21 October.
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