Microsoft is set to launch its first line of Windows Phone 7 products next week and announce which carriers and manufacturers will be making and selling handsets based on its next mobile
operating system.
It's evident that AT&T is on board as one of the carriers as Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer and AT&T CEO Ralph de la Vega will be jointly hosting a press conference in New York Oct 11 to discuss the latest developments of Windows Phone 7, Wired magazine said.
T-Mobile is holding a separate press conference Oct 11 that is not part of the Microsoft conference, a Microsoft spokesperson said but declined to comment on whether T-Mobile would be among initial carrier partners offering Windows Phone 7.
Windows Phone 7 is Microsoft's complete do-over of its mobile operating system previously dubbed Windows Mobile, the tech magazine said. Microsoft established an early lead on mobility with its older mobile operating system, but in recent years the company has suffered substantial losses in market share.
Windows Mobile hasn't been upgraded substantially in several years, and more user-friendly competitors such as Apple's iPhone and Google's Android OS have taken market share away from Microsoft.
As a result, Microsoft scrapped the Windows Mobile project and redid the entire OS into a tile-based interface incorporating elements of the Zune media player and Xbox Live gaming, Wired said.
Microsoft is also tackling its competitors on the patent front. On Friday, the Redmond company sued Motorola over alleged patent infringement in its Android phones, covering features such as "synchronizing e-mail, calendars and contacts, scheduling meetings, and notifying applications of changes in signal strength and battery power."
Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer told the Wall Street Journal Monday, that Android sales will generate licensing fees for Microsoft.
Though the company will announce details about Windows Phone 7 at the Oct 11 conference, multiple reports have claimed that the official shipping date of the first Windows Phone 7 devices is Nov 8, Wired.com said.