Microsoft Launches Windows Phone 7

Microsoft’s latest version of its mobile Windows platform provides users with pretty much anything Microsoft, from its Bing Internet search engine to Xbox Live. The question is, will it have enough bells and whistles to satisfy business users as well?

Windows Phone 7, unveiled at the Mobile World Congress event in Barcelona, is a platform built for “life in motion,” said Steve Ballmer, Microsoft CEO, during the event. “Windows Phone 7 Series marks a turning point toward phones that truly reflect the speed of people’s lives and their need to connect to other people and all kinds of seamless experiences.”

At the heart of the new platform are “hubs” – categories of information easily accessible via a touch of a virtual button – including People, Pictures, Games, Music & Video, Marketplace and Office. Each hub features a social networking bent – from Facebook live feeds in the People hub to Xbox LIVE connections in the Games hub – designed to enhance the user experience, Ballmer said during the unveiling.

But only one hub – the Office hub – has any business implications. Office features mobile versions of Microsoft Office, OneNote and SharePoint Workspace, as well as Outlook Mobile, enabling business users to stay productive away from their computers. It may be enough to entice the mobile workforce to check out smartphones with Windows Phone 7, but at the same time Microsoft has set stricter parameters on the design of the devices on which the new OS runs, as well as the services that carriers can and should offer for Windows Phone 7, which may or may not put a damper on the amount of innovation third-party developers can offer in the way of business applications.

However, Andy Lees, senior vice president of Microsoft’s Mobile Communications business, said the restrictions will translate into a richer experience for all users. The PC software application development process, he added, is the best model for developing a standard in mobile application development.

“We’re creating that same environment in the mobile space, so phone makers, ISVs and mobile operators can innovate,” he said in a statement issued in tandem with the unveiling. “We want innovation without fragmentation. We want a balance that strikes harmony where hardware, software and services can work together in a much richer way.”

Windows Phone 7 is designed primarily for touch-screen phones, which is quickly becoming de rigueur in design, thanks to Apple. A number of carriers have already signed up to carry Windows Phone 7 phones, including AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile USA and Verizon Wireless. Manufacturers agreeing to design phones according the Microsoft’s specs include Dell, Garmin-Asus, HTC, Hewlett-Packard, LG, Samsung, Sony Ericsson, Toshiba and Qualcomm.

The phones are expected to hit stores by the holiday shopping season, which gives business app developers time to tweak their existing mobile apps or design new ones based on Microsoft’s specs. It’s tough to know how many will see the value in building apps for an obviously consumer-focused OS.