Microsoft launches Windows Phone 8
San Francisco - Microsoft on Monday officially launched its Windows Phone 8 operating system, stressing its tight integration with the company's other platforms, as it seeks to expand its small share in the global smartphone market.
The phone software, available on devices from Nokia, Samsung and HTC, differs radically from its Google and Apple rivals by organizing apps around tiles which group together activities, rather than by individual program icons.
Users are able to arrange the so-called Live Tiles according to their preference on the phone's home screen, including the ability to display live information from various sources without the need to open individual apps.
Together with tight integration with the millions of PCs, tablets and game consoles running the company's software, Microsoft hopes the rethinking of the smartphone interface will help lure customers to its new platform.
"If you're one of the hundreds of millions of people who will use Windows 8 in the next year, there is no better phone for you than a Windows Phone," said Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer, referring to the new operating system for PCs and tablets that Microsoft launched last week.
Ballmer unveiled the new phone software at a San Francisco event that also featured an appearance from actress Jessica Alba.
The launch is especially crucial for Nokia, the former smartphone leader, which has seen its market share dissipate under competition from Apple and Google phones, and which has staked its future on the success of the new Microsoft software.
The new phones go on sale in Europe at the weekend, with the United States and Asian countries set for launch later in November.
Microsoft had just a 3.1-per-cent share of the smartphone market in the April-to-June quarter, according to research firm IDC.//DPA
