Microsoft, AT&T Set to Unveil Windows Phone 7 Handsets

The timing of the Motorola lawsuit was not coincidental — it’s all part of the Windows Phone 7 ramp-up:

Microsoft Corp. will formally unveil a lineup of smartphones using the revamped version of its mobile operating system on Oct. 11, and AT&T Inc. will begin offering them four weeks later, according to people familiar with the launch plans.

The launch — centered in New York with satellite events elsewhere — is crucial for Microsoft, which has been battered by Apple Inc.’s iPhone and a wave of flashier consumer friendly devices using Google Inc.’s Android mobile software.

Update: Consider too that Motorola’s Android phones are most closely aligned with Verizon, at least here in the U.S.

★ Friday, 1 October 2010