Windows 7 Phones: The Irish Details

Microsoft have finally entered the smart phone operating system market and already have three manufacturers launching Windows 7 phones in Ireland in the coming weeks.

JOE

Microsoft have finally entered the smart phone operating system market and already have three manufacturers launching Windows 7 phones in Ireland in the coming weeks.

By Leo Stiles

It been a long time coming and the last 12 months have seen the battle for smartphone superiority intensify but finally Microsoft have entered the fray with their own operating system and three manufacturers have announced that they will launch Windows 7 phones in Ireland in the coming weeks.

Windows 7 is the latest version of Microsoftâ€™s mobile operating system for mobile phones that has been steadily evolving since its debut in 2000 on the Pocket PC handheld computer. The operating system was a mainstay of the nascent smartphone sector for the last six years and it wasnâ€™t until the iPhone launched in 2007 that the platform was seriously challenged. The emergence of Google as a major player in the smartphone world prompted Microsoft to build the next version Windows Mobile from the ground up and scrapping much of the framework that they had built up in prior years.

The result of this rethink is Windows 7 for Mobile, an operating system that puts an entirely fresh spin on the smartphone and is a fully fledged alternative to iOS and Android. Windows 7 forgoes the app based menus that have now become ubiquitous after years of iPhone superiority and is an update on the impressive Zune interface that was the highlight of the failed media player. Instead of a screen full of icons, the Windows & interface is made up of high resolution movable tiles that allow users to cruise through menus with ease.

The rest of the interface is made up of six hubs: People, Pictures, Games, Music +Video, Marketplace and Office. The main concept here is that all these hubs are connected to the internet and services such as Facebook and Windows Live give you a constantly updated phone that is connected with your favourite people and media at all times

The phone will be supported by a full app marketplace for applications and Xbox Live is also implemented on the phone brining over all your friends and achievements from Microsoftâ€™s console gaming service. Microsoft Office will also be fully integrated, ensuring that all windows 7 phones are useful in the business environment as well as the social one.

This would usually be the part where we tell you that Windows 7 phones will be launched in the US soon and sometimes next year and Ireland sometime next year if we are lucky. For once, this is not the case and by December there will be three models on the market across all of the four networks. Hereâ€™s what to expect.

Samsung Omnia 7

Available on 3 and Meteor before the end of November.

Samsung are emerging as a real player in the smartphone world and have already delivered an impressive Android phone this year in the shape of the beautiful Galaxy S. The key features of the Omnia 7 are:

1GHz Processor
4 Inch Super AMOLED Display
5 Megapixel camera with LED flash
HD video capture at 720p
High speed 3G and Wireless N Wi-Fi
Bluetooth 2.1
8GB Memory

LG Optimus 7

Available on Vodafone from October 21

Another rising star in the mobile market, LG have brought several capable handsets to the market during the last couple of years that have been both feature rich and affordable. The key features of the Optimus 7 are:

3.8 WVGA screen.
720p video capture.
5 megapixel camera.
1GHz processor.
Bluetooth 2.1
16 GB memory.
DNLA Streaming of photos, music and videos to compatible devices such as Xbox 360 and Playstation 3.
Voice to text for SMS messages.

HTC HD7

Available on O2 from October 21

HTC are the biggest players in the smartphone market and the HD 7 has a lot in common with the recently released Desire, which is absolutely a good thing. The key features of the HD7 are: