NEW YORK (AP) - Microsoft Corp. will launch three new smart
phones with AT&T Inc. ahead of the holiday shopping season. The new
phones will run on Microsoft's new mobile software in a test of
whether Microsoft can catch up with rivals in the fast-growing
smart phone market.
T-Mobile also plans a phone running Windows Phone 7 software for
the holiday season.
The new handsets will go up against both the iPhone and the
expanding number of phones running on Google Inc.'s Android
operating system.
The phones AT&T plans to launch will be manufactured by HTC
Corp., LG Electronics Inc. and Samsung Electronics Co. The first
will go on sale Nov. 8, with two more coming a few weeks later.
The phones could help AT&T make up for the possible loss of its
exclusive rights to sell Apple Inc.'s hugely popular iPhone.
Published reports say the iPhone is coming to Verizon Wireless by
early next year.
For Microsoft, the new devices represent one step in an uphill
struggle.
In the most recent quarter, the company's existing cell phone
software accounted for just 5 percent of the worldwide smart phone
market. That compares with 41 percent for Nokia Corp.'s Symbian
system, 18 percent for Research in Motion Ltd.'s BlackBerry phones,
17 percent for Android and 14 percent for the iPhone.
At an event in New York on Monday, Microsoft CEO Steven Ballmer
said the company's new software will power "a very different kind
of phone" than customers are used to.
"We want you to get in, get out and back to your life," he
said.
The iPhone and Android are popular in part because of the tens
of thousands of tiny applications, or "apps," made by outside
software developers. But those developers may not want to devote
the resources to build programs for another smart phone system
until it gains traction with users.
In the past, Microsoft focused narrowly on building phone
software, giving handset makers and wireless carriers lots of
leeway to adapt and customize their products. In the wake of the
iPhone's success, Microsoft has adjusted its strategy, retaining
more control over the way the phones look and work.
The iPhone prompted a generation of look-alike smart phones,
with screenfuls of tiny square icons representing each program.
Microsoft has tried to avoid an icon-intensive copy, instead
relying more on clickable words and images generated by content.
For example, a weather program might show a constantly updated
snapshot of weather conditions; photo or music libraries would be
represented by a recent snapshot or the cover of the last album
played on the device.
Windows Phone 7 borrows its aesthetic from the company's Zune
media players, and the entertainment "hub" on the phone is based
on the Zune the same way the music on the iPhone is filed under the
"iPod" section.
Many other Microsoft programs and services come built in on the
new phones. There's a mobile version of the Bing search engine, for
example, and a games "hub" that can connect to Xbox Live,
Microsoft's online gaming community.

(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)