Windows Phone 7 brigade: Samsung, LG, Asus get set

The first ever device to run Windows Phone 7 from the Samsung stables has been spotted in the wild.

Showing signs of an upcoming charmer, the new handset now will join the ranks of models from the likes of LG and promises to hold the flag of Microsoft’s new mobile OS – Windows Phone 7 Series – aloft in a soon to be crowded Windows Phone 7 arena.

The yet-to-be-named Samsung handset that made its appearance at the recent Microsoft MIX 2010 sessions, sports looks so similar to the company’s own 2009 Samsung i8910HD phone.  It is believed that the new phone would be named the Samsung Omnia 3. Sorry, no official confirmation yet on that.

With a wide touchscreen spruced up with a high resolution capabilities as well as HD video recording, the new Samsung Windows Phone 7 handset will now be seen in the same platform as LG’s recently showcased Panther QWERTY slider phone and the ASUS touchscreen phone. All the handsets, as specified by Microsoft, come with 1GHz processors and start, search and back buttons, apart from the large touch screen.

Microsoft’s current specs for Windows Phone 7 devices are as follows: WVGA capacitive touchscreen with 4 or more contact points, A-GPS, accelerometer, compass, proximity sensor, 5-megapixel camera with flash, dedicated camera button, 256MB RAM and 8GB Flash memory, and a minimum 1 GHz processor and DirectX9 capability. The Omnia 3 Windows Phone 7 device – if that is indeed what it will be called – will be all that and a lot more, we are sure.

The smartphones that run Microsoft’s latest mobile platform Windows Phone 7 are just the beginning – towards the end of 2010, we can expect to see a large number of WP7 phones.

The first three we mentioned would most probably make it to the market place by the fag- end of 2010. They are expected to be followed closely by innovations that would be churned out of manufacturers such as HTC and Motorola too. Both have already expressed their intention to come out with Windows Phone 7 handsets.

The Samsung WP7 handset, as has been the practice by Samsung, is all set to be the first of its kind going by the sneak peek. Spruced up with an OLED display, 256MB of RAM, 8GB of flash and DirectX9 acceleration, the unnamed smartphone is far better than the Asus phone that was also shown off at the Microsoft MIX session – at least in terms of looks.

While talking of the Asus and Samsung handsets, we don’t find it right not to mention the LG handset running Windws Phone 7 OS which is also set for debut. As per what we know, the LG Panther QWERTY slider phone could be the first Windows Phone 7 handset to arrive.

The three prototypes show promise. However, there hasn’t been yet scope for a comparison. We think we will wait for a few days more to know more on these handsets and may be do a comparative study later on.

There was some disappointing news for the owners of the best Windows Mobile 6.5 smartphone in the market, however. The HTC HD2 was believed by many to have all the specifications needed to run Windows Phone 7 Series, the latest mobile OS from Microsoft. But apparently this is not the case and Microsoft is very particular that handsets should meet the specifications as laid out in the recently revealed chassis specs.

If you remember, we had introduced Windows Phone 7 to you earlier when it was demoed by Microsoft head honcho Steve Ballmer and acolytes. Considering that no one expected a revolutionary interface and design by MS, Windows Phone 7 was a big surprise indeed. In introducing WP& targeted at a great user experience for the consumer market, Microsoft had to practically abandon its current base of loyal users. Backwards compatibility has always been a religion at the software giant, but this time the company bit the bullet and went off in a totally different direction.

In the coming months, we can be sure to see even more Windows Phone 7 devices being leaked and demoed, and we will be keeping track of new developments on this new mobile platform.