The free apps will cover a range of popular categories, from social networking to games, and will be available in the LG Application Store. LG is also working with Microsoft to produce its own free apps for distribution through the LG store to WP7 customers. LG handset owners can download the 10 free apps for 60 days, when the next cache of 10 free apps will be made available.

Korean electronics giant LG is using this promotion to push its own app store, even though Microsoft has the official Windows Marketplace for WP7 apps. This leads us to question the possibility of fragmentation in the market, a complaint often levied at the Android platform. The LG store could just be the first app store for WP7 apps outside Windows Marketplace, which defeats the purpose of a single online outlet for customers to shop when looking for apps. It doesn’t help that the LG store is not currently open for customers in the U. S.

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The high target volume may be achievable, as HTC shipped 7 million handsets in the third quarter despite component shortages which affected popular Android phones. HTC will become the number three OEM behind Nokia and Apple (a aapl) if it reaches the predicted volume of handset shipments. The constant growth of Android plays in HTC’s favor for reaching this goal, but it’s not clear how well the public will accept Windows Phone 7 as it begins to hit the market.

HTC has ridden the popular Android train since the platform has exploded on the scene. Android has overtaken the popular Apple iPhone in the U. S., and HTC has seen phenomenal growth in sales as a result of the platform’s success.  The Android explosion has coincided with HTC’s promotional campaign to make its brand a household name, a campaign designed to separate its brand from the smartphone platforms it uses.

The company will be announcing its latest quarterly financial results this week, and is expected to predict a 20 percent growth for the next quarter. This growth would give HTC a ten percent market share, and see $3 billion in revenue.

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All Things D. The title of veteran reviewer Walt Mossberg’s review of Windows Phone 7 sums up his overall experience succinctly: Microsoft’s New Windows Phone 7: Novel But Lacking. Mossberg liked the unique interface design of WP7, with the live tiles, hubs and performance. His main disappointment with the new OS, a recurring theme in many reviews, deals with what makes WP7 fall short of the competition. These missing elements include “copy and paste, visual voicemail, multitasking of third-party apps, and the ability to do video calling and to use the phone to connect other devices to the Internet”.

PC Magazine. Sascha Segan found that Zune fans would be impressed with the new OS, but for everyone else “buying into Windows Phone 7 is taking a gamble that Microsoft will sand away the rough edges quickly.” Segan’s review is largely positive due to the unique interface style in WP7, and for the tight interaction with Zune and Xbox Live. The Office integration will be attractive to the enterprise, but in the end, acceptance of WP7 will come down to the availability of apps for the platform. Segan’s confusion over the lack of good landscape support on the platform is well-placed, as some handsets are better in that orientation for some tasks.

CNET. Bonnie Cha finds the Zune integration to be a great feature for Windows Phone 7, along with other core apps. The user experience is “fresh, fun and functional” due to the novel approach Microsoft has taken with the interface. Cha points out that WP7 yields two different user experiences: elegant at times, yet oddly minimalistic at others. The lack of certain key features in this first release of WP7 is mentioned by Cha, and while the missing functionality will be added later, it needed to be here “out of the gate.” Overall, WP7 will appeal to consumers given the fresh approach.

Engadget. Engadget’s epic review covers every aspect of Windows Phone 7 in great detail. The user interface is fluid and works well, for native WP7 apps. Third-party apps were found to be inconsistent in the interface controls and have a choppy scrolling effect at times. Office integration is well done, and the phone’s Zune interconnectivity with the desktop is first-rate. Engadget is impressed with WP7 for the most part, but like other reviewers find it to be a typical first-version effort. “It still feels like the company is a good year behind market leaders right now, and though it’s clear the folks in Redmond are doing everything they can to get this platform up to snuff, it’s also clear that they’re not there yet.”

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LG has been a big partner of Microsoft, with Windows Mobile used on the majority of its smartphone line until this year. Windows Mobile has been steadily losing market share the last two years, taking LG down with it. In a change of heart, LG announced earlier this year it would produce as many as 20 handsets based on the hot Android platform to stem the downward slide.

It has not abandoned Microsoft entirely; LG prototypes running Windows Phone 7 have been spotted in public regularly, and the company has indicated the Optimus 7 handset coming late this year would run the new operating system from Redmond. LG no doubt hopes the focus on Android, along with brand new Windows Phone 7 handsets, can help kick-start its smartphone business back into the black, although that will be too late for Nam.

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The popularity of Verizon’s Android-based Droid line of phones should give it the breathing room needed to wait and see how Windows Phone 7 performs in the market before jumping into the water. Next year is also when Verizon is supposed to get the iPhone, if you believe the rumors appearing every week. Android is fast becoming the 800-pound gorilla in the smartphone world, and the gang in Redmond has a lot of ground to cover to compete in today’s highly competitive market, and while it can do so without Verizon, having the carrier on board would certainly make success easier. Windows Phone 7, Android and much more will be on the table for discussion at our Mobilize conference this month.

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Native EAS support means push email is fully enabled for Hotmail users; new email will arrive on the mobile phone as soon as it hits the Hotmail account. It also means that a third-party solution (or Exchange Server) will no longer be needed to provide syncing the phone with Windows Live accounts.

The EAS support works best on Windows Mobile, iPhone, Nokia or Palm smartphones  (and only Windows Mobile 6.x and above, not Windows Mobile 5) according to Microsoft. It will also work with certain Android handsets and Android OS versions, but those have not been clarified by Microsoft.

Image credit: ZDNet

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The guys in Redmond have an impressive arsenal when it comes to the video game world, of course, and Windows Phone 7 will support Xbox Live. But here’s the thing: Microsoft’s ever-dwindling base of mobile users doesn’t want to play “Halo” or update their cute little avatars on their phones, and I’m not sure how many other consumers want features like that either.

Microsoft is making the same mistake that has plagued game-makers for years in mobile: confusing the handset with the console. After years of spinning its wheels with console-type titles that were often unplayable on the phone, mobile gaming received a much-needed kick in the pants with the emergence of the iPhone. That lift has come in the form of simple, casual titles that can be played alone in a matter of minutes. Most mobile gamers don’t want “twitch” games like “Halo;” they want Angry Birds. They don’t want to engage with other gamers; they want to play a quick game, get a high score and move on. That’s especially true of the business users that have been Microsoft’s bread and butter for years.

I understand Microsoft has to make some drastic changes. Windows Mobile is an antiquated platform that can’t hold a candle to iOS or Android when it comes to the user experience. There’s no denying that support for games and other fun apps is crucial for any mobile operating system in the era of the superphone. But Microsoft seems intent on forfeiting much of its business audience to pursue what may be a small niche of hardcore, community-minded gamers. That’s a puzzling move for a company whose few successes in mobile have come in the business world.

Read the full post here.

Image courtesy flickr user KungPaoCajun.

The games available at launch will have some popular titles: Guitar Hero 5, Fruit Ninja and The Harvest among them. Star Wars fans will be able to play the Battle for Hoth and Star Wars: Cantina on the phone.

Windows Phone 7 owners will be able to experience the rich environment of Xbox Live right on the phone. The famous Xbox Live player avatars will be alive and well on Windows Phone 7, and full interaction with gaming friends will also be part of the experience. Multiplayer games will allow other Windows Phone 7 owners to join in games on the phone.

This push into gaming is a smart move for Microsoft, as the connection to Xbox Live will be unique to Windows Phone 7. The Xbox team at Microsoft is developing this capability in conjunction with the Windows Phone 7 team, with a goal of providing the gamer a total immersion into the Xbox world through the Games hub on the phone. No details have been provided so far in reference to the pricing of games for the phone versions.

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I have been reading every review of the early Windows Phone 7 OS, and I am excited by what I see. Microsoft has taken a totally new angle to the interface, and most comments are positive about the end result. This is good news, as Microsoft needs a solid base to move forward in the mobile space.

Unfortunately, the total failure of the Kin effort (sub. req’d) may come to bite WP7. While the Kin OS is different than WP7, the public perception may equate the two due to the somewhat similar appearance of the interfaces. Both have tiles on the phone screen that are used to access different features of the phone. The WP7 interface is cleaner and offers a much broader user interaction with the phone’s functions than the Kin, but the slight similarity with the Kin may cause confusion in the market.

Microsoft ran a big TV campaign in the U.S. for the Kin, yet the launch failed miserably enough that the company pulled the plug in just six weeks. Verizon, the launch partner for the Kin, followed suit and shortly after the product was killed. That marketing campaign may be the very thing that brings confusion to the consumer for WP7 when it launches. Consumers have many traits, but one thing is for sure, they have long memories.

Image credit: Engadget

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The Microsoft booth at the Computex show is full of tablets running Windows Embedded Compact 7. The impression is that these tablets are products waiting to happen, but the truth is they’re only prototypes to demonstrate the embedded OS. Microsoft makes clear that the interface being run on the one tablet appearing on video is developed in Silverlight, and is not part of the Windows Embedded Compact 7 distribution. It will be up to OEM partners to develop their own interface for devices using this OS as it won’t come from Microsoft.

This leaves us with more questions than answers, as it doesn’t make sense to have an embedded OS without an interface that’s part of the design. If each OEM that undertakes building a gadget running Windows Embedded Compact 7 makes its own interface, there won’t be a look and feel inherent to the platform. While openness and competition are good things, the look and feel of a handheld gadget’s interface is critical to public reception of the device. Microsoft seems to be laying the foundation for a class of device that has nothing much in common other than the platform kernel.

Windows CE has been Microsoft’s embedded platform for years, and is used in a wide range of industrial gadgets. It’s an offshoot of the original Windows Mobile PDA/smartphone platform. That’s what makes Windows Embedded Compact 7 so confusing, because if it is indeed just Windows CE prettied up, then what’s really new? And since the interface is not actually part of the distribution as Microsoft claims, then it’s not really pretty. Hopefully more information will be coming out of Redmond to clear up these questions.

Image credit Engadget.

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The update forces a master reset of the phone and no mechanism was put in place to determine if customers had purchased the full game(s). That’s a drastic solution — just repurchase the games. Those with Blockbuster movie rentals will find them gone after the update too, and it’s recommended you watch all movies prior to applying the update. You’ll have to download those big files again if you don’t.

(via Engadget Mobile)

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The following statement from Microsoft is interesting, if a bit confusing concerning the future of both the Kin OS and Windows Phone 7:

“Over the longer term, we’ll be merging [Kin and Windows Phone 7] platforms and having downloadable apps,” said Greg Sullivan, senior product manager in Microsoft’s mobile communications unit.”

So if the platforms are going to merge anyway, and Windows Phone 7 is due to appear in just a few months, then why release the Kins at all? And will early adopters of the original Kin phones be able to enjoy the new features when they are finally released by Microsoft? Those (like me) confused by the release of the Kin phones in the first place, are probably more confused than ever.

A statement by Greg Sullivan, senior product manager in Microsoft’s mobile communications unit, will surely clear things up:

“If you want to amplify your life and are in searching mode, the Kin is for you, and if you want to simplify your life and manage things, then Windows Phone 7 is for you.”

All clear now?

This new version of Office Mobile supports the following features as explained in the Microsoft press release:

Effective today, Office Mobile 2010 will be available for free via Windows® Phone Marketplace for all Windows Mobile 6.5 phones with a previous version of Office Mobile. People using Office Mobile 2010 can perform lightweight editing of Office documents and take notes on the go. With Office Mobile, people can work with Office documents stored on their phone, attached to an e-mail, and can browse, edit, and update documents stored on a Microsoft SharePoint 2010 site. SharePoint intranet sites and communities also help people collaborate, regardless of location.

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Windows Phone 7 is due out by the holiday season, but Microsoft isn’t allowing Windows Mobile 6.x to wither away like a raisin in the sun. Today, the Bing team announced new turn-by-turn directions courtesy of Microsoft’s Tellme unit. The new feature is available on Windows Mobile handsets for T-Mobile, Sprint and AT&T — but not Verizon, which both surprises and disappoints me. I recognize the carrier needs to sell their own services of course, but the Motorola Droid on Verizon sports that nifty, free Google Navigation. Go figure.

Folks with a supported handset and carrier will find the Bing application update available today or can hit up http://m.bing.com for the new feature. Older Windows Mobile handsets gain a slight interface update too — the new UI provides faster access to more common searches, such as Movies and Traffic. Since I no longer have a Windows Mobile device, I have to ask: has anyone used the new navigation yet, and if so, how does it compare to Google’s free solution? I’m also wondering on the timing of this addition to Bing — is it coincidental that it was launched the same day that Google added biking directions and sharing to Google Maps for Android?

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No details have been provided by Microsoft nor HTC as to which technologies are covered under this agreement. A look at Microsoft’s IP licensing program sheds some light as to the likely ones:

• Exchange ActiveSync: HTC was the first Android phone maker including full support for interacting with Exchange Servers. This is almost certainly included in this licensing deal.
• ClearType: Technology yielding crisper display of text on LCD screens.

There are no doubt many other patented technologies that are included under the HTC/Microsoft agreement, given the “broad coverage” claimed by both companies.

The statement by Microsoft that Android was infringing on its patents, and the subsequent deal with HTC, may spell big trouble for Google and the platform. Other Android phone makers now must make a determination if handsets produced likely infringe on either Microsoft or Apple technology. This may turn the semi-open platform into one as full of potential holes as Swiss cheese.

The Dell Lightning is the first look we’ve gotten of a real handset running Windows Phone 7, and it looks like a dandy. The Snapdragon processor, which seems to be rapidly becoming the standard against all other are judged, is running a 4.1-inch OLED screen that looks gorgeous in the leaked photos. The Lightning is a portrait slider with a QWERTY keyboard which will make quite a few folks happy. In addition to all of the hardware goodness packed in the Lightning, leaked details indicate it will get an LTE upgrade in the last quarter of this year. Oh my, the Dell Lightning is looking mighty tasty.

Several Android phones are in the works by Dell, including the Thunder which has a hardware design that looks similar to the Lightning without the slider and with Android on board. The Thunder is reported to also have a 4.1-inch display, and Dell is following HTC’s route by putting its own shell on top of Android to make it distinguishable from the competition. The “Stage” UI follows a familiar route by integrating social networking into the UI, in a very attractive package. The Thunder is also reported to be coming in an LTE version late this year.

Dell is not forgetting those looking for a cheaper, simpler phone, as the Flash proves. This handset will have a slower processor and more sedate design, but with the same Android and Stage UI as the Thunder. There will be a smaller 3.5-inch screen on the Flash, and all of the standard features one expects in a smartphone. The Flash is expected in early 2011.

We have been teased by Dell with handheld Android tablets for quite some time, but haven’t seen any hit the market yet. That teasing has been cranked up to a high level with new information about the Dell Streak, the 5-inch handheld tablet that is now reported to get the latest version of Android in September. This news is exciting as it may mean we’ll actually be able to buy one of these puppies soon. The Streak is looking mighty fine with its dual cameras hinting at video conferencing. There is also a 7-inch Looking Glass model mentioned in the Dell documents.

A big shout out to our friends at Engadget for getting all of this “secret” information about Dell’s mobile roadmap. We understand no German beer was involved, which is no small feat.

Image credit: Engadget

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