It seems that Microsoft’s Windows Phone 7 is really living up to the hype it has stirred earlier this year when Steve Ballmer first showed the world the work in progress last February. Originally, Microsoft announced that the OS would not be ready until the end of the year. However, it seems that the OS has been finished a lot earlier than expected and that there are already reports that it might be released this coming September.
As promised by Microsoft, several handsets that run the new OS will be offered when the system finally comes out this year. This means that users will not only get to try out the new operating system, but they will also have a range of devices to choose from.
While Microsoft did declare specifics for minimum hardware requirements to run the new OS, there are still variations among the different devices –particularly with the form factor. The Windows Phone 7 OS works with three existing device configurations –though so far, type 1 is the most prolific while there are only a couple of type 2 devices available.
Speaking of which, one such type 2 handset is the LG Panther. This Korean made smart phone will be using a slide out QWERTY keyboard as opposed to just being a standard touch screen smart phone. According to the reports, all WP7 devices will have WVGA touch screen displays. Several other manufacturers have been named, among which are HTC, Samsung, Dell, and Asus.
The developer version of the system has already been distributed last week to various developers and testers. According to early reactions to the new user interface, many find that the new direction Microsoft has taken to be quite bold. The design is something that people really love or really hate, which means that it will be having a very specific niche crowd of users despite being made to be an OS for all.
