Windows Phone 7 Code Finalized

Microsoft announced Wednesday that it has finalized the code for the Windows Phone 7 mobile operating system, and that it's now up to device manufacturers and carriers to bring the phones to market.

"Our OEM partners and mobile operator partners have had test builds for quite a while; we'll turn it over to them and say we're done. Mobile operators will put their tiles on the home screen, and add their settings within the framework of our UI," said Microsoft senior product manager Greg Sullivan.

Unlike with Google's Android OS, wireless carriers and manufacturers can't heavily customize Windows Phone 7. Their contributions will be limited to their own "hubs," which appear as snap-in squares on the Windows Phone 7 home screen.

We spent some time with an earlier version of Windows Phone 7 running on a Samsung phone in July. At the time, our editor-in-chief Lance Ulanoff said the OS seemed to be flexible and powerful.

While Microsoft has primarily been working on bug fixes and performance optimizations, Sullivan said the company added a few new features between the technical preview and the final code. Users will be able to filter out Facebook contacts that don't also appear in other address books. They'll be able to "like" Facebook items and post on their friends' walls, and there will be a more obvious search button in the overall address book.

Also recently, Microsoft showed top-notch games for the Windows Phone 7 platform and said the final version of the developer tools will come out September 16.

Sullivan declined to say exactly when Windows Phone 7 devices would be coming out, except to reiterate that they would be in stores for "the holiday season." But Microsoft's chief operating officer, Kevin Turner said that Windows Phone 7 will appear in "October likely across Europe, November likely across the U.S."

Here in the U.S., AT&T will be the "premier partner" for Windows Phone 7, though Sullivan cautioned that "premier" doesn't mean "exclusive." A wide range of possible Windows Phone 7 devices have been appearing on rumor Web sites.

By PC Magazine