Microsoft looks to improve smartphone OS share with Windows Phone 7

Microsoft has launched Windows Phone 7, its latest attempt to break into the smartphone market.

So far the company has failed to provide a credible challenge to rival operating systems from Apple, Google, Research In Motion and Nokia.

Mobile phone operators predict smartphones will have a 70 per cent market share in just three years.

Microsoft says it has made Windows Phone 7 more user-friendly, rebuilding the operating system from bottom up.

The phone system’s experience is built around so-called hubs that aggregate content like contacts, pictures, documents, and music and video. The content on the phone is then synchronised both with storage services on the Internet and the owner’s computers at home.

At launch Microsoft’s new phone system will be available on nine phones, and with 60 operators in 30 countries.

In the UK the phone will launch on October 21, while the US launch will be in early November.

The new mobile phone software is different from Microsoft’s previous attempts. This is highlighted by the disappearance of the menu button; the company’s old “Windows Mobile” software was notorious for leading users into increasingly technical sub menus to execute even simple tasks.