Microsoft's First Windows Phone 7 Devices On Sale Now

This week, a new mobile OS launches in the U.S. market. It's a competitive field already, with Android, iOS and BlackBerry OS fighting for position in the smartphone arena. But Microsoft once dominated here with Windows Mobile, and they aren't planning on giving up without a fight. Windows Phone 7 is an entirely new approach for the company, and while it has been talked about for the better part of 2010, the day has finally come for consumers to vote with their wallets.

At AT&T stores and Microsoft B&M stores around the country, the very first Windows Phone 7 devices are leaving boxes and hitting the pockets of customers. The Samsung Focus is the flagship phone for AT&T, while Microsoft is selling the Dell Venue Pro (for T-Mobile) directly. Only time will tell what kind of market share Microsoft can steal away, but for now, there's some pretty hilarious statistics fetched by Harris Interactive about the ways people use their phones (and in theory, how a Windows Phone 7 product can make it better). Enjoy the laughs below.

Windows Phone 7 Goes on Sale in the United States; Is There Hope for People in Need of Better Phone Behavior?
 
New study shows 72 percent of U.S. adults surveyed identified bad mobile phone behavior as one of their top pet peeves, but only 18 percent admit to engaging in it.

REDMOND, Wash., Nov. 8, 2010 /PRNewswire/ -- As Windows Phone 7 goes on sale in AT&T and T-Mobile USA stores across the United States, Microsoft Corp. has commissioned and released the findings of a recent Harris Interactive® survey showing the surprising ways mobile phones have become a part of the fabric of Americans' lifestyles — a point illustrated by the fact that 55 percent of all phone owners surveyed age 18–35 have used their phone in a bathroom. To commemorate the U.S. launch of Windows Phone 7, Microsoft is challenging consumers to get a grip on their mobile phone habits.

Although consumers love their phones, there is growing annoyance with the distracted behaviors people exhibit while their heads are buried in their phones. Most U.S. adults indicate they have witnessed examples of bad mobile phone behavior, yet relatively few have admitted to engaging in such behavior themselves. Key findings from the study show the following from the surveyed adults:

    * Seventy-two percent identified bad mobile phone behavior as one of their top 10 pet peeves, but only 18 percent of mobile phone owners admit they are guilty of displaying such behavior.
    * Nineteen percent of phone owners between the ages of 18 and 24 have dropped their phone in a toilet.
    * Forty-nine percent of adults between the ages of 18 and 24 have tripped or walked into something while walking and texting or e-mailing on their mobile phone.
    * Sixty-nine percent of mobile phone users between the ages of 18 and 34 have used their phone while in bed.


The new Windows Phones offer a different kind of phone experience designed to get users in, out and back to life. With Windows Phone, Microsoft set out to design a mobile experience that would bring the things people care about most right to the start screen. In doing so, Windows Phone combines basic everyday tasks — tasks associated with e-mail or activities related to taking and sharing pictures — so people can do more in fewer steps.

Better Design Encourages Better Behavior?

By reimagining the way people access information on their smartphones, Windows Phone 7 is designed to help people perform common tasks more easily and faster. In an effort to root out bad phone behavior and test the theory that better phone design leads to better phone behavior, TV personality Rob Dyrdek and actor Minka Kelly are currently traveling the country on an adventure to challenge people to change their relationships with the mobile phone. Consumers can follow the Windows Phone 7 Really Rally Road Trip at http://www.windowsphone.com.

Celebrating Windows Phone 7

In celebration of the launch of the new Windows Phone 7, Microsoft and AT&T are giving thousands of fans the chance to see free concerts by Katy Perry in New York City and Maroon 5 in San Francisco. Fans need to visit select AT&T retail locations in New York and San Francisco for the chance to attend the exclusive concerts. More information is available at http://www.windowsphone.com.