Now then, here’s what you need to do. Definitely watch the video. Keep the sound down low, there’s nothing interesting there. I’d like you to spend a bit of time admiring the device. Whether it’s official or not, this is a super exercise. I want you to have a close look and see if anything happens to your mindset.

For me, my mindset shifted slightly on Nokia. If they can provide an N9 (or, for that matter, an N8) running Windows Phone 7, with a brilliant, BRILLIANT camera experience, along with the usual Nokia gubbins (decent call quality, battery, machinery) then I’m interested. Very interested.

So whether it’s real or imagined, it’s rather exciting to explore the possibility of Nokia releasing a simply brilliant top-of-the-line device into the market.

Windows Phone 7 is good. It’s rather elegant. Evolve the experience to include Nokia’s historic device strengths and the offering becomes compelling.

My worry is that Nokia will actually ship a mid-level ‘meh’ device that plays well with the bottom end of the market but cannot be spoken of in the same breath as iPhone 5 or one of the HTC Android handsets. The media will bury Nokia. (Incidentally, this is an issue that Rafe Blandford and I almost came to blows over — in a constructive manner — on a recent 361 Degrees podcast. Do check it out!)

Here’s the embed video:

Well then I’ve now had the Samsung Omnia 7 from Three for just under a fortnight and I’m very much enjoying the Windows Phone experience. This has been aided in no small part by the riotous Three data network upon which the Omnia has been screaming with joy. Seeing the 3G+ icon and watching the operating system’s little blue dots zip along swiftly has made me feel very good.

My primary handset is a BlackBerry (Torch — at the moment) on Vodafone’s slightly ailing data network that, no matter what awards they purport to have won, doesn’t always feel at all fast. Especially when I’m in Richmond, where Vodafone hasn’t quite discovered the secret of telecommunications beyond a creaking ‘no signal’ Edge network. In order to try and give the Omnia a bit of a work out, I forwarded all my calls.

And whilst I am most sincerely wedded to RIM’s QWERTY messaging devices, I really did appreciate the Omnia running Windows Phone 7. The screen is huge and wonderfully lit. The curving on the casing makes it feel a lot thinner than anything else in it’s class. The camera is good. The operating system does not get in the way of things happening. Now and again I had to relax into the Microsoft Bosom and accept that it-will-work, rather than demanding some kind of clear demonstration of success. For example, when you tap the little dots to the right of the screen whilst viewing a photo, you are presented with the option to share a photo with one-tap. I would routinely tap to share the photo to my Windows SkyDrive, see the animated blue dots at the top of the screen dance a little and then boom… I’d be … well. I just worried that the photo hadn’t actually uploaded. My worries were unfounded though. It all just works. Obviously some kind of background process was in operation as I didn’t stay on the screen too long. Plus Three’s data network makes short work of even the largest files, especially at 3.5G+ rates.

During setup I configured my ‘Live’ account (e.g. my Hotmail address) and was rather impressed to see my Hotmail contacts already waiting for me when I hit ‘People’. Those Hotmail (or MSN) contacts who’d recently changed their status were also displayed. Responding to their updates requires just a tap. Adding in Google or Facebook (or, in my case, multiple Google Apps accounts) was ridiculously simple. Just the username and password, everything else is sorted by the OS — no exceptions. Contacts were synched, calendars were updated — again, everything just worked. I didn’t have to organise anything — and since most of my address book records are reasonably well organised, the People app worked beautifully, collecting information from Facebook, two Googles Apps accounts and Windows Live into one contact record.

Sharing is a delight. Indeed I felt like I wanted to do more sharing and more interaction thanks to the operating system.

I didn’t tire of the interface either. I was a little concerned about how I would feel about the ‘swipe right/left’ UI that involves incomplete words. (Marketplace is titled ‘Marke’ — and you have to scroll right to see the rest of the word). It actually works really nicely. I’m particularly impressed at how the email works.

The little sounds and transitions are nice too. The way the screen builds when you turn the device, or if you send or delete an email is pleasing.

The Marketplace works swiftly and easily. No arsing around. No ‘would you like to install this application?’ and ‘are you sure’ silly prompts. Tap ‘install’ and woosh, the phone starts downloading and installing the app.

Keyboard input is painless and you really can type fast once you’ve got used to the keyboard — much like the iPhone. Although I really do like the auto-suggest options where the OS shows you an array of possible words. Very useful. Very quick.

The Maps app, powered by Bing, is very pleasing to look at. I like how the map fades in as you zoom and eventually turns to a satellite photo when you zoom closer. I was less impressed by Bing — when I was filming on camera I searched for ‘Tottenham Court Road, London’ and the only result Bing presented on the Maps was ‘Gala Casino, Tottenham Court Road’. Rubbish. Usable — because I could see Tottenham Court Road and the surrounding area, but a little bit silly. Come on Bing! Everything else — from finding my location to plotting directions worked fine.

I’m going to play a little more with ‘Office’ — Word, Excel and PowerPoint, along with Outlook and OneNote. I didn’t get much of a chance to use them during the two weeks as I was mostly stuck in my email, taking photos, answering calls or messing around with Marketplace.

Another element I need to examine more closely is the entertainment capabilities. I don’t have a credit card setup on Zune and I wasn’t able to add that from the device. And I’m an Apple user by default so I had to mess around with VMWare Fusion running Windows Vista to download Zune (the iTunes equivalent). I managed that, but not without a few Microsoftian hiccups (‘install service pack 3′, ‘install failed’, ‘seriously, install service pack 3′, ‘error’, ‘restart’, ‘install failed’). That is one area that the Windows Phone 7 team need to show to love. Carrier billing will no doubt fix that too. So I’ll add a credit card soon and give some of the games, paid-for apps and other content a test. From what I’ve seen of the Marketplace, it’s regularly updated and there’s lots to see.

I’m hearing lots of whispers about better-than-expected results for Windows Phone across the industry and — well, we’ll need to wait until sales figures are announced — but I wouldn’t be surprised if they show positive reception by consumers.

I used to have to hide my pained look whenever I came across someone who’d purchased a handset running Windows Mobile 6.5. Invariably the devices were phenomenally well specified but the slugging 6.5 was abhorrant. Now, when I come across consumers who’ve plumped for WP7, I am genuinely pleased for them — and they too appear to be happy.

My first impressions of Windows Phone? Excellent.

The Samsung Omnia 7? Top marks.

And Three? Yes, yes and thrice yes.

[I should point out that the areas I generally frequent have got really, really good 3.5G+ Three signal.]

I’ve done a video walkthrough of the phone and the OS — I’ll have that online shortly.

You can pick up a Samsung Omnia 7 free for £40/month on a 24-month contract with Three. That includes 2,000 minutes, 5,000 texts, 1GB of data and 5,000 Three-to-Three minutes.

What a difference a few years makes, eh? 2 years ago I was going nuts at the LG Renoir launch, dismayed by the built-in limitations of the phone’s proprietary operating system yet delighted at the phone’s brilliant specifications.

Sort out the operating system and all of a sudden, the devices get a lot more interesting.

I’m not surprised, of course, to see LG participating in the Windows Phone launch today — after all, the company has been very vocal about it’s support for the beast that is Microsoft.

LG is releasing two key devices under the Optimus range — the Optimus 7 and the Optmius 7Q (the major difference is the built-in QWERTY-keyboard and a slightly smaller screen).

I haven’t had ‘hands on’ with the Optimus but it’s looking good. I’m particularly keen to try out the integrated DNLA technology and ‘Play To’:

With Play To, the DLNA-based multimedia sharing technology available only on LG Optimus 7 devices, users will have the most user-friendly file-sharing experience. LG is leading the innovation of DLNA technology by offering easy and intuitive settings for accessing this feature.

Play To lets users share multimedia files with other digital devices from the picture, video or music Hubs without having to access other menus. Users will be able to display videos and photos captured on their LG Optimus 7 or LG Optimus 7Q on a TV or enjoy music on their phones through their favourite speakers without wires.

Here’s the 7Q:

So it’s no surprise to see that Orange has partnered closely with Microsoft to deliver two new devices to market featuring Windows Phone 7.

Orange will be carrying the HTC Mozart and the Samsung Omnia 7 and they’ll be hitting stores by the 21st of October. They’ve also worked hard to deliver some additional Orange-related services that you’ll find pre-installed:

- Orange Wednesdays: 2-4-1 cinema ticket app – allowing you to read reviews, watch trailers as well as redeem 2-4-1 voucher all from your handset
- Orange Maps: Your personal navigation system, offering turn-by-turn GPS guidance
- Your Orange: to help you keep up-to-date and manage your Orange account – access help articles and get the latest info on your Magic Numbers
- Orange Daily: Bringing you a selection of at-a-glance news, sport and weather content as well as extras such as Wikipedia

Here’s the Samsung:

Meanwhile, the Samsung Omnia 7, featuring a 4.0″ Super AMOLED touch screen, 1 GHz processor will be available for free to customers who take out a £40 per month, 24 month price plan. The package includes 1200 any network call minutes, unlimited text, unlimited email, sat nav with Orange Maps as well as inclusive anytime internet browsing.

Here’s the HTC Mozart:

With a 3.7” WVGA resolution, Super LCD Display, 8 mega-pixel camera, Dolby sound and a 1GHz Processor, the HTC 7 Mozart, exclusive to Orange, is available for free to customers who take out a £35 per month 24 month price plan. The package includes 600 any network call minutes, unlimited text, unlimited email, sat nav with Orange Maps as well as inclusive anytime internet browsing.

More information? Keep watching http://shop.orange.co.uk/.

Here’s Conor from Orange UK showing off the latest HTC Mozart device that’s hitting the UK on the 21st of October. It’s a useful video overview of the basic Windows Phone user interface. See what you think:

My first ever Windows Mobile device was a Compaq iPaq.

I really enjoyed being able to read my email on the iPaq. I used to sit on the tube or in the coffee shop writing emails, stabbing at the screen using the little stylus. When I got back to the office, I then did the ‘ActiveSync’ and boom, Outlook sent my emails.

And synching… goodness me synching was simply amazing. After years of messing around with archaic address book synching products for Nokia, Ericsson and Motorola (none of which *fully* worked), it was a delight to see my Outlook contacts replicated exactly on the iPaq.

I still remember where I was when I send and received my first mobile email via the iPaq: Just next to Starbucks on New Oxford Street. People sitting around me in the meeting were astonished as I carefully lined up my new Sony Ericsson’s infrared port with the iPaq’s infrared port. As if by magic — and over a 5 minute period — my email began to trickle in.

Just amazing!

Microsoft slowly lost its way as the market developed. For a long time, there was nothing better than an ‘SPV’ or any similar HTC device. I remember the first iPaq-with-a-modem that o2 sold, the ‘o2 XDA’ (HTC manufactured). I got that in the o2 Store on Chiswick High Road. I remember waiting breathlessly to see if the shop had any XDAs in stock and was elated when the chap walked out with one. Then there was the XDA II.

And then I hit BlackBerry. The RIM device just worked — super fast — and without having to do the rather annoying send-and-receive. Email just arrived. I went back to synching my own contacts manually with the BlackBerry, because the messaging experience was so good.

That’s when I began to leave Windows Mobile behind.

I still have a lot of love for the company, after all the benefits they afforded me. I really did appreciate being able to work remotely and answer email or telnet into a server via the XDA — annoying, but *possible*.

So with the introduction of Windows Phone 7, I am positive. Michael, our San Francisco-based contributor isn’t so happy. He’s of the mind that Apple will ‘crush’ Microsoft too.

I’m not so sure.

Michael comments that he has ‘heard many rumblings’ or ‘Microsoft essentially bribing codes to write for the new platform’. I wonder if that isn’t the reaction of a protectionist Apple fan, Michael?

Developing for other platforms is a total arse for many companies, especially when they don’t have adequate resource. So any financial assistance to help cover the costs of development on a new platform — Windows Phone 7, for example — will be appreciated by developers. It’s not just the developers though, the end consumers who buy the phones looking for apps and services to play with will definitely appreciate it too. I don’t think it’s a problem. In fact I positively encourage it.

There are many things to like in Windows Phone 7. I like the user interface. I like how they’ve made photos work. I like the device experience.

I don’t know if I’d use a Windows Phone 7 device myself. I think I need a little bit more geekery. But if my mother bought one, I reckon she would be reasonably delighted.

But how will consumers react?

Positively, I think.

Let’s get a look at the full announcements from Microsoft today and across this week.

Come on Microsoft!

What is up with Microsoft at the moment?

Recently a good colleague of mine — who used to work there — pointed out that Microsoft will simply drop a billion each time to try and get their mobile strategy correct.

If initial reports of the Windows Phone 7 system are to be believed, it looks like Microsoft will be down another billion by the end of the year.

Charles Arthur at the Guardian picked up InfoWorld’s Galen Gruman’s report about an in-depth demonstration of Microsoft’s new mobile phone operating system.

All I’ve seen of the Windows Phone 7 system is a few screenshots and some fairly promising animations at Mobile World Congress.

I have made no mistake of my absolute abhorrence of everything Windows Mobile 6+ (with 6.5 being slightly easier to live with than 6). Indeed I’ve made it a bit of a mission to ensure the companies I consult with don’t go near it. And I do a brilliant party trick destroying the lives of any Windows Mobile user, by simply asking them to run IM, check their email, load a web page and then calling them (and watching their hunk of joy barf under the load).

But I was hoping for a lot better from Windows Phone 7. I have been rather excited. I’ve even been telling the legions of developers I speak to that they should — tentatively — take a look at the platform.

I have had to use the word ‘tentatively’ and the phrase ‘take a look’ because I haven’t seen it in-depth and because I — like a lot of people — was concerned that Microsoft would arrive to market with a dud.

I’d put it down to a slight possibility.

But after Galen’s drubbing, I really do wonder. I hope he was just having a bad day. It really didn’t sound like it though.

We shall see…

First up — Windows Marketplace:

Windows Phone demo:

Windows Live demo:

Internet Explorer on Windows Mobile:

Windows Mobile email:

My first reaction is that I’d have liked to have seen this from Microsoft two years ago. But at least they’ve got there – at least it’s finally coming. I wonder if they’re too late to have captured the zeitgeist? Are consumers far too obsessed and enamoured with the iPhone? We will see. I think there’s still a lot of love in the room for Microsoft. When the last video swapped into ‘email looks like Outlook’, I had to wince. That interface is broadly unchanged since I was doing email on my Compaq iPaq back in 2002.

Anyway I look forward to seeing how the devices get on in the wild.

(I should point out that these videos are sponsored thanks to Unruly Media and Microsoft)

A blog posting has just appeared from the Windows Live Mobile Team uttering there are new happenings to its mobile phone portal. Wahoo!

They’ve updated their Windows Live site for mobiles with all new features and services that weren’t even around for the beta users, those cheeky wee people.

Aim your phone at http://mobile.live.com to check out what’s what and run up your data tariff so much that you’ll have to sell a family member just to pay the bill off.

They’ve updated, reworked, and tweaked Windows Live Mobile Home to now include Photos, Profiles, People, and Spaces – all with nothing to actually download to your phone.

Services match and mirror what goes on in the full blown version too. With the likes of your personal status messages being updated on the mobile client then changing on the desktop.

Before hand really only very basic Hotmail and Messenger were available for handset users, now they’ve almost enabled the familiar desktop functions for your phone. There’s even a promise of an updated mobile Hotmail version on the way in the next few months. Hurrah!

They’ve released two updated version, one for the PC and another for the phone. With a view to learn what you can actually do on you mobile, with the likes of Alerts and SMS services on the ‘puter.

On the computer, aim your browsers to the exact same address – http://mobile.live.com, to find out what’s what.

For more on the blog-post see here, or just go and visit the mobile site and try it out for yourself.

Currently, the house is offering four instant online games along with a chat service. Using this service, one can play the games in realtime with virtually anyone in the world. The games currently offered include Checkers, Hexagon and Reversi and can be launched within 30 seconds. One may even continue an interrupted game from where it was left off. The players also have a customizable user profile, including pictures, name of handset and type and even the network.

This was originally a part of Spb Online and already has thousands of players registered on the network. The realtime chat enables the users to interact with fellow players on the network.

The online games software ins compatible with Windows Mobile 5 and later professional and standard devices. It’s available for purchase for $14.95 at http://spbsoftwarehouse.com and there’s a free 15-day trial available for those interested.

Apparently, according to Microsoft, acquiring Danger will let it “deliver cool, new, fun mobile experiences”. Cool and fun aren’t words I’d associated with Windows Mobile in a million years – can you be fun if you’re part of a team in a unit within a unit within a unit – but fingers crossed Danger can do something about making Windows Mobile a little bit more intuitive and, who knows, maybe take Microsoft out of its business mobile straightjacket.

Microsoft said it intends to develop application programming interfaces (APIs) and other support to give mobile makers and applications developers a hand with producing NFC-enabled devices.

NFC is typically associated with mass market consumer devices rather than the more business-y Windows Mobile device – could this be a sign Microsoft is willing to follow BlackBerry and get a little more consumer? Either way, the Sirit deal it sounds like good news for Windows Mobile users.