New phase for phones that do Windows

The mobile phone market continues to be a very active place. Microsoft Corp. unveiled its plans Monday for the next generation of Windows Phones at the Mobile World Congress event in Barcelona, Spain. The new operating system, which should be available on phones by year’s end, incorporates many features of the Zune music player into the device.

Microsoft said networks using the new Windows Phone 7 operating system will include Deutsche Telekom, Orange, Verizon and Vodafone. Handset makers expected to offer devices running the operating system include Samsung, LG Electronics, Sony Ericsson and HTC.

You can get a tiny sneak peek at the new system here:
http://www.windowsphone7series.com/

You can read more about the Barcelona announcement and see several video clips, here:
http://www.microsoft.com/news/windowsphone.

I plan to review the operating system when test models are available later this year.