New name, new UI, big marketing spend as giant plans fresh assault on smartphone market.
Windows Phone is the rebranded name of Windows Mobile (specifically verison 6.5), and will be available across multiple devices and operators within a few weeks.
The new user interface features all the current obsessions - touch, swipe, aggregation of social networks in one place, calling from within IM/phonebook/Facebook etc.
A few interesting new elements include an enhanced lock screen that displays calendar information and lets users move to applications in more or less on action.
There's also a free back-up service that archives all phone media and contacts on the cloud without the need for a click.
Windows Phone devices will, of course, link to Windows Marketplace. It launches with 60 apps in the UK and around 250 worldwide.
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They include Facebook, MySpace, Netflix, games from Astraware and Magmic and more. Operator billing will be available in the US, but for the rest of the world it's credit card only.
Microsoft says that, internally, it's calling 2009 the year of the consumer and will up its marketing budget for mobile by 40 per cent.
The company believes the time is right for a fresh assault on the smartphone space, which its own research says will rise from 197m sales in 2009 to 350 million by 2012.
Of course, Microsoft has been active in the sector for years, especially with Orange for which it developed the briefly successful SPV devices. At the launch today, the company tiptoed around is dismal record thus far. Let's be honest, previous versions of Windows Mobile have been clunky at best.
This one looks far more encouraging. But many questions remain. Is the public ready to buy into an OS rather than a specific device? To what extent will OEMs overlay their own skins on Windows Phone?
HTC has already announced that it's bringing its HTC Sense UI to Microsoft's platform on its new HD2 handset. Sense debuted on HTC's Android devices.
And how will consumers choose an app store when faced with - potentially - Windows Marketplace, Samsung App Stoe and Orange App Shop on one device?
ME will have more analysis in the next few hours and days.
