Windows Phone 7 launching October 21st

Microsoft officially launched Windows Phone 7 last night, and also introduced the world to ten of its launch handsets, made by HTC, Dell, LG, and Samsung. More than 30 countries will get their hands on these devices by the end of the year, and just as rumours indicated - will start with select countries in Europe and Asia (Singapore, Australia, Spain, Italy, United Kingdom, and Germany) by October 21st, while the United States will get it by November 8th. So far, only two of the announced phones are carrier-independent, and perhaps we might see those hit Indian shores first...Check out the understated WP7 ads below and on the next page, with the tagline "save us from our phones".

Microsoft’s minimum hardware specifications for Windows Phone 7 devices by today’s smartphone standards weren’t too demanding, and it looks like none of the four manufacturers have tried to differentiate their devices by juicing up the configurations, or upping the ante on the smartphone game. There are some notable exceptions however, with the 4.3-inch screen-bearing HTC HD7, the 4.1-inch screen-bearing vertical-sliding Dell Venue Pro (aka Lightning), and the massive speaker-sporting HTC 7 Surround.

Let us take a look at the ten phones below, comparing their features, manufacturer by manufacturer:

HTC

Model	7 Mozart	7 Surround	7 Pro	7 Trophy (Spark)	HD7 (Schubert)
CPU	1GHz Qualcomm MSM8250	1GHz Qualcomm MSM8250	1GHz Qualcomm MSM8250	1GHz Qualcomm MSM8250	1GHz Qualcomm MSM8250
Screen	3.7" 480 x 800	3.8" 480 x 800	3.6" 480 x 800	3.8" 480 x 800	4.3" 480 x 800 LCD
Storage	8GB	16GB	16GB	8GB	8GB/16GB
Camera	8MP, AF, Xenon flash, 720p	5MP, AF, LED flash, 720p	5MP, AF, LED flash, 720p	5MP, AF, LED flash, 720p	5MP, AF, dual-LED flash, 720p
Dimensions	119x60.2x11.9mm	119.5x61.5x12.97mm	117x59x15.5mm

LG

Model	Optimus 7	Quantum / Optimus 7Q
CPU	1GHz	1GHz Qualcomm QSD8650
Screen	3.8" 480 x 800 LCD	3.5" 480 x 800
Storage	16GB	16GB
Camera	5MP, LED flash	5MP, 720p HD recording
Carrier(s)	Telus (Canada), América Móvil (Mexico), Movistar (Spain), Vodafone (Germany, Italy, Spain and UK), SingTel (Singapore)	AT&T (US), Telstra (Australia)

Dell

Model	Venue Pro (Lightning)
CPU	1GHz Qualcomm QSD8250
Screen	4.1" 480 x 800 AMOLED
Storage	-
Camera	5MP, flash
Carrier(s)	T-Mobile (US)

Samsung

Model	Focus (Cetus)	Omnia 7 (i8700)
CPU	-	1GHz Qualcomm QSD8250
Screen	4" 480 x 800 Super AMOLED	4" 480 x 800 Super AMOLED
Storage	8GB (microSD expansion up to 16GB)	8GB
Camera	5MP, LED flash	5MP, LED flash, 720p at 25fps
Carrier(s)	AT&T (US)	Orange (France and UK), SFR (France), Movistar (Spain), Deutsch Telekom

Microsoft to launch Windows Phone 7 on Oct 11

The company is holding simultaneous press conferences in London and New York on Oct 11. Although Microsoft has given no further details about what it will announce, it is widely expected to use the event to officially launch a range of handsets based on its new Windows Phone 7 operating system.

The devices, from a variety of handset makers, including HTC and Samsung, are not expected to be available in shops until Oct 21, with US availability following a few weeks later, on Nov 8.

Microsoft has high hopes for Windows Phone 7, the successor to the company’s popular but much-maligned Windows Mobile platform.

Windows Phone 7 represents a radical departure from previous Microsoft mobile platforms, with an emphasis on social networking and device integration.

The new-look operating system interface draws heavily on the Zune, Microsoft’s US-only music player, and features “live tiles” that provide instant, one-touch access to important contacts and data. It also uses “hubs” to organise content, with an aggregated contact book forming the centre of the People hub, and multimedia content stored in the Music + Video hub.

Microsoft has faced increased competition in the mobile space from rivals such as Apple and Google, and hopes the launch of Windows Phone 7 will enable it to match up against those products in terms of form and functionality.

“If Windows Phone 7 is to have any chance of clawing its way back in to contention, it just won’t suffice to simply be as good as its rivals, it needs to be something better and different,” said Jonathan Leggett, mobile phone expert with comparison site Top10.com.

Logitech to launch Google TV on October 6

Logitech has sent out an invite to media folks for the launch of Logitech Revue TV at an event scheduled for October 6 in New York, reported CNET. At the Google I/O Conference earlier this year, Google had announced that Logitech, Sony and Intel will be its hardware partners for new Google TV project. Earlier this week, Sony had sent out invites for its Google TV product launch and now, it looks like Logitech is going to overshadow that one.

Logitech Revue will have 1.2GHz Intel Atom processor and 4GB memory on a Gigabyte motherboard. Featuring built-in Wi-Fi, Revue will offer two HDMI, two USB 2.0, Ethernet, optional Audio Out and IR Blaster ports. But the big deal about the Logitech Revue is the new Google TV interface. Android based Google TV interface promises seamless access to content and search experience right from the TV screen.



Revue box also has Harmony technology built in that will allow Harmony Link to work flawlessly with Harmony remote. Harmony Link is a combination of hardware and software built in such a manner that input commands like changing volume levels are translated into infrared signals.

The big rush about introducing Google TV laden devices is to compete with the recently announced $99 Apple TV. Apart from announcing Revue featuring Google TV, Logitech may also launch remotes compatible with Google TV based products. More details, pricing and shipping dates would be available post launch.