It’s 2.40am in New Zealand right now, but Microsoft have just made the official announcement of Windows Phone 7 in New York. The handsets I am expecting will come to New Zealand on October 21 are:
- Vodafone NZ – HTC 7 Trophy
- Telecom NZ (XT Network) – HTC HD 7 LG Optimus 7Q (Note: this handset will be released in NZ in November)
If handsets do launch on 21 October, then due to time differences this makes New Zealand the first country in the world to receive Windows Phone 7 as per this post a few days ago. Australia is next on the list followed by a number of Asian countries including Singapore, Hong Kong and Malaysia.
The following additional details have been highlighted – confirming as speculation here in recent days:
- Launching with 10 handsets
- Handsets initially from Dell, HTC, Samsung and LG
New features to gain official announcement include:
- Copy and Paste coming via update early 2011
- Launching in 30 countries (in conjunction with 60 carriers)
The following images have been released also. Further down you can read Microsoft NZ announcements relating to handset releases from Vodafone NZ and Telecom NZ (XT Network).
Update – first Microsoft NZ Windows Phone 7 announcement (2nd announcement further down):
MUCH ANTICIPATED WINDOWS PHONE 7 LAUNCHES LATE OCTOBER
Kiwis among the first in the world to get Windows Phone 7
New Zealanders will be some of the first in the world to get their hands on the new Windows Phone 7, which goes on sale later this month in line with the global launch.
Microsoft believes the gloves are officially off in the smartphone market with the Windows Phone 7 launch. Mark Bishop, Windows Phone Business Manager at Microsoft New Zealand says Windows Phone 7 has the smartest of the smarts and Microsoft is set to compete aggressively with other offerings.
“We think the time is right for a different kind of phone – people’s needs and expectations of phones are increasing and there is a great opportunity in the smartphone space to offer a different experience. We have built a phone for people that don’t want to live on their phones, but rather have phones that help them live their lives, doing more in less steps. The lines between our work and home lives have blurred – Windows Phone 7 will deliver an innovative set of features for social networking, entertainment and marry those with our traditional strengths in messaging and productivity.”
Windows Phone 7 is designed to bring together what customers care about most, quickly and easily through the ‘glance and go’ functionality.
Key features of Windows Phone 7 include:
. The only smartphone with Hubs and Live Tiles that update on the Start screen so you can see all the information you care about at a glance
. Making it easier and faster to find popular features such as pictures, music, games and information about friends and family
. Combining basic every-day tasks like Search, taking pictures, interacting with contacts or managing email to do more in fewer steps
. The first phone to have one button to Bing, Xbox LIVE, Office, Internet Explorer Mobile and the Zune experience all built in
The Windows Phone 7 will be launched initially on the Vodafone network, making them Microsoft’s premier partner for launch
Vodafone’s GM of Business Marketing, Becky Lloyd says, “We are delighted to be working with Microsoft to launch this fantastic new smartphone to New Zealanders and to be Microsoft’s premier partner for launch. The combination of Windows Phone 7 with our smart network is going to provide an exciting smartphone experience for our customers.”
More than 1,700 people have downloaded the developer tools for building applications for the Windows Phone 7 in New Zealand. Gavin Jones, Senior Developer at Enlighten Designs says the Windows Phone 7 is a fantastic and easy platform to develop applications on.
“I am really excited about the fact it seems such a simple platform to design and develop applications – the tools are easy to use and Microsoft has leveraged a lot of its existing technology. It is also fantastic to see that the design tools are free to download, and having the local Microsoft New Zealand team to talk to and ask questions has made it a lot easier to get involved and make our mark on the Windows Phone 7.”
Vodafone is launching with the HTC 7 Trophy. The phones can be purchased as part of a Vodafone pricing plan, or alternatively, Prepay customers can buy handsets for $899.
Windows Phone 7 plans on Vodafone start from $40.85 per month (includes 30 minutes of calls, 300 texts and up to 250Mb of data) with the handset priced at $799. To get a Windows Phone 7 for under $500, customers can sign up to the $81.75 monthly plan which includes 120 minutes, 600 texts and up to 250Mb of data.
For more information visit www.vodafone.co.nz/windowsphone, call into a Vodafone Store, talk to your Vodafone Business consultant or Account manager for more details, or visit www.windowsphone.co.nz.
Update: Second Microsoft NZ Windows Phone 7 launch announcement:
MICROSOFT ANNOUNCES AVAILABILITY OF THE WINDOWS PHONE 7
Windows Phone 7 is designed to bring together what customers care about most, quickly and easily through the ‘glance and go’ functionality. This is a phone for people that don’t want to live on their phones, but rather have phones that help them live their lives, doing more in less steps.
Key features of Windows Phone 7 include:
. The only smartphone with Hubs and Live Tiles that update on the Start screen so you can see all the information you care about at a glance
. Making it easier and faster to find popular features such as pictures, music, games and information about friends and family
. Combining basic every-day tasks like Search, taking pictures, interacting with contacts or managing email to do more in fewer steps
. The first phone to have one button to Bing, Xbox LIVE, Office, Internet Explorer Mobile and the Zune experience all built in
“The Windows Phone 7 will be one of the leading smartphone operating systems, giving users a mobile internet experience about as close to an integrated computer as they can get,” says Chris Quin, CEO Gen-i Australasia. “As a long-term Microsoft Gold Certified Partner across unified communications, software, services and licensing, we are excited by the potential to help our clients leverage this capability to develop converged solutions that combine fixed and mobile technologies to help address the key challenges business face.
“We are already getting a lot of interest from clients in Windows Phone 7 and are currently taking pre-orders for a November delivery of our new LG Optimus 7Q Windows Phone 7 device.”
For more information visit www.gen-i.co.nz or talk to your Gen-i client manager for more details.