Microsoft has launched Windows Phone 7 as part of their bid to establish themselves in the smartphone market. AT&T will offer two Windows Phone 7 capable handsets in the Samsung Focus and HTC Surround for $199 with a two-year contract, while T-Mobile is selling the HTC HD7 for $199 with a two-year contract and minimum $15 data plan, with the Dell Venue Pro planned for a later date.
Today is a big milestone for the company, said Todd Peters, corporate vice president of the Mobile Communications Marketing Group. It really speaks to our commitment to understanding what consumers want, and our resurrection in the mobile category.
The roughly half-billion dollar ad campaign dubbed Really focuses on people being too distracted by their phones. Microsoft says that the Live Tiles interface will help end bad phone behavior.
“Almost everyone who sees the ads admits at least one of the head-in-phone moments could happen to them or someone they know, said Katy Asher, Windows Phone marketing director for Microsoft. These are experiences we can all relate to. We wanted to surface that insight in a funny way and hold up a mirror, asking consumers if this is really how they want to interact with their phone. Do you really want to be that distracted person, or do you want to get what you need quickly and get back to life
Microsoft also worked with Rob Dyrdek and Minka Kelly on a launch event called the Really Rally Road Trip. They will be flying cross-country to look at Americans bad phone behavior and show off Windows Phone 7 features, starting in New York where there will be a free concert by Katy Perry and ending in San Francisco with another free concert, this time by band Maroon 5.
