Hungry for a munch of Mango? Microsoft has shown off Acer, Samsung, ZTE and Fujitsu phones running the latest fruit-flavoured version of its Windows Phone operating system.
Microsoft bigwigs gave a glimpse of the phones, which are as yet unnamed, during a presentation at its Worldwide Partner Conference in LA.
The Acer and ZTE phones were black monoliths that didn't depart from the current trend for similar-looking Windows Phones. However, the Fujitsu rocked a hot-pink case that Microsoft says is also waterproof.
The Samsung phone was the highlight of the beauty pageant. Samsung has redefined slimness and lightness with the Samsung Galaxy S 2, and its Windows Phone handset looks similarly slight.
Microsoft suggested that improvements in screen technology had contributed to giving the phone a better battery life in a thinner, lighter case than the current Samsung Windows phone, the Samsung Omnia 7.
We've heard rumours that the Galaxy S 2 may come in a Windows Phone flavour, but to our eagle eyes, the Samsung shown off by Microsoft had a slightly more rounded case reminiscent of the original Galaxy S.
Samsung is mad for the 'Galaxy' name at the moment, slapping it on everything from the cheap Galaxy Gio to the flagship Galaxy S 2. However, it traditionally names its Windows phones with the 'Omnia' moniker, including the Omnia 7. So, we dub this phone the Samsung Omnia S. You can thank us later, Samsung!
These phones are likely to arrive along with the Mango update to Windows Phone, which we expect in the autumn. But they'll have to be good to go up against the Nokia Windows phone, codenamed Sea Ray, which should land soon after. Nokia is putting all its eggs in one basket with this phone, so it should be their best. Based on the beautiful Nokia N9, it's likely to be a stunner.
Click the gallery above to see the Acer, Samsung, ZTE and Fujitsu phones in the flesh, and let us know in the comments if any of them could tempt you to switch to Windows Phone.
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Ian Lorenc 14 July, 2011 09:05
Good to see some more devices coming through. Can't see any of these (Samsung excepted) denting the expectant fervour with which us WP7 fanboys await the fruit of Nokia's loins...or indeed for any of these others to sell in meaningful volumes. I can see the WP7 future, turning very much into a 3 or 4 horse race (Nokia, Samsung, HTC and maybe LG too) with little motivation for the smaller boys featured in this story to stay in the WP7 game.
As a side point, I don't see why - given how deep MS and Nokia are in bed together - why the first Nokia device can't land same day or week as Mango does.