Now you can purchase mobiles sporting the latest windows mobile operating system and at the same time Microsoft is launching its very own app store, Windows Marketplace for Mobile.
Currently the Windows Marketplace has around 250 applications worldwide and about 60 applications in the UK, including social networking applications like Facebook and MySpace as well as a number of popular games, with more apps expected in the near future.
You can expect phones that support the new operating system from the likes of Samsung, Sony Ericsson, LG and HTC in the next few weeks.
“I think one of the fundamental advantages that we have…is the amount of choice there is in terms of hardware choice and platforms, and that just keeps going and going,” said Alex Reeve, Microsoft’s director of mobile business in the UK.
What we really want to know though is what changes we can see with the latest operating system that we didn’t have before and are they worth it?
“This is an area where Microsoft probably hasn’t kept up with the market as well as we should have in the past, but with now with the new version, we’re right there” said Reeve at the launch.
I mean we’re really all waiting on Windows Mobile 7 operating system which isn’t due until next year so what delights are in store with the latest refreshed operating system?
The first thing you’ll notice is an upgraded user interface with more use friendly buttons and icons. Got to admit the phone’s “lock” screen is an improvement as it will provide at-a-glance access to emails, text messages and calendar entries without us having to unlock the mobile first.
“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. A Windows phone lets people take their entire world of digital information, communications, applications and entertainment with them wherever they go,” said Steve Ballmer, Microsoft’s chief executive.
Another advantage is that our photos, contact lists and even our text messages can be backed up in the cloud and so if we lose our phones, which many of us often do, we can download all the data on to our new phone so that all is not lost.
The app store is definitely a welcome move but whether or not Windows Marketplace can even remotely compete with the hugely successful Apple’s iPhone store is another matter altogether, on that we’ll just have to wait and see.
If you want to find out all the latest news on tech why not subscribe to our RSS feed?
Why is it that Nokia phones is not included in the Windows mobile software?