Windows Phone 7 Coming in October!

It’s not an official announcement, but the evidence, including a passing comment by a Microsoft exec, suggests that Windows Phone 7 will launch in October. This week we’ll also note more information about this forthcoming software, as well as yet another video demo on a prototype device. And we’ll cover the interesting news that Microsoft will be launching a new mobile OS for enterprise based on Windows Mobile 6.5.

Evidence Points to October Launch of Windows Phone 7

Given the onslaught of the iPhone and Android devices, and their burgeoning market share, everyone in wondering whether Microsoft will again be a player in the mobile arena. Which has, of course, intensified the interest in when Windows Phone 7 will appear.

Microsoft kept saying that it would be available in late 2010 in time for the holiday season. Devotees have kept hoping for an earlier release. So everyone is eagerly looking for any clues, and the latest clues firmly point to October.

According to Engadget, Microsoft’s marketing VP mentioned in passing at a conference that Windows Phone 7 will launch in October. And according to another post on Engadget, a leaked roadmap from a carrier in Australia also indicated October.

Another indication is that Microsoft has let developers know that they’ll be receiving prototype devices soon to work on their apps. Until now they’ve been using emulators to work on their software. Read more on Windows Phone Thoughts.

Demo Video of Windows Phone 7

Yet another demo video has appeared, this one being posted by PC Magazine and showing Windows Phone 7 running on a prototype device from Samsung. We’ll likely see more of these as Microsoft sends more prototype devices to developers.

And the Ozymandias website has an article with screen shots that walks you through the experience of using Xbox Live on Windows Phone 7, specifically how the login works. A subsequent article will walk you through the gameplay experience.

Windows Phone 7 — the Good News/Bad News

Jason Dunn of Windows Phone Thoughts recently pointed his readers to a blog post from an iPhone enthusiast who goes into detail about what he finds appealing about Windows Phone 7. Titled, “Why You’ll Want Windows Phone 7,” the post covers features such as convergence (the seamless integration of email, social media, etc.), design, display, and more. He’s pretty excited about this phone and thinks it will compare favorably to others, even the iPhone.

However, another article goes into detail about what Windows Phone 7 won’t have, such as no voice-over-Internet support and being limited to getting apps via the Microsoft Marketplace.

Microsoft to Offer New Enterprise Version of Windows Mobile 6.5

From what we’ve seen of Windows Phone 7, it is much more consumer-oriented (a la the iPhone) than Windows Mobile. So the question has been, how will Microsoft meet the needs of its enterprise clientele?

PC Magazine has an article reporting that Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer recently said that Microsoft will releasing a new mobile OS for enterprise this year based on Windows Mobile 6.5. Apparently this will be a stopgap until an enterprise version of Windows Phone 7 is available in the latter part of 2011.

If you have some hot Windows Mobile news or resources that I can point my readers to, contact me at jim [at] smartphonemag [dot] com. See archives of my columns on my blog.