Microsoft has a lot to show at CTIA. The company has partnered with developers for Windows Mobile apps, EA Mobile, MySpace and designer Isaac Mizrahi who will demonstrate ways people can customize their Windows phone to fit their personal
style. There will also be a free theme generator, social networking apps, Windows Live and Windows Live Hotmail
Companies
representing the top-selling categories of mobile applications today
signed on to be among the first to offer applications through Windows
Marketplace for Mobile. They include AccuWeather.com., The Associated
Press, CNBC, Developer One Mobile Software, EA Mobile, Facebook,
Gameloft, Glu Mobile, Handmark, Ilium Software Inc., Jeyo Inc., Kinoma,
LiteScape, Magmic Games, Melodis Corp., MySpace, Namco Networks,
Netflix, Pandora, PhatWare Corp., Resco s.r.o., ShoZu Inc., Sling Media
Inc., SBSH Mobile Software, Spb Software, Web Information Solutions
Inc. and Zagat Survey.
Customers
will have the option to purchase applications on Windows Marketplace
for Mobile with a credit card or have charges appear directly on their
phone bill. In addition, people will be able to return an application
after purchase within 24 hours for a full refund. Microsoft also
announced today that developers will now be able to deliver updates to
their applications for free throughout the application lifecycle.
Through new partnerships with the Design Museum London and Council of Fashion Designers of America, Microsoft will
offer a variety of free designer themes to help people express their personal style on Window phones. Microsoft t
announced Mizrahi as the first in a series of designers to create exclusive themes, including color palettes and wallpaper.
Other designers will be announced in the coming months.
In addition, the new Theme Generator will provide people with yet another way to personalize their Windows phone.
The Theme Generator, available at http://www.windowsmobile.com later this year, will enable Windows phone users to select
pictures from their PC to set as background images, as well as choose colors to personalize their navigation bar, scroll bar
and highlighted text. Once finished, their personal theme will be sent to their phone.
Social networking has emerged as a popular form of expression, communication and sharing for mobile phone users. Windows
Mobile users will be able to engage and experience some of the most popular global social networks right from their Windows
phone, including Facebook, MySpace and Windows Live. Microsoft has created a new Facebook application, available for Windows
phones for free* in April, that makes it easy for people to capture video on their phone and upload it to Facebook. A new
MySpace application, available for free* this summer, gives Windows(phone customers real-time access to their global MySpace
network. LG Electronics Inc. will preload the MySpace application on its Windows phones.
Microsoft
also announced that Windows Live for Mobile will be available for free
download this week for customers in 25 languages. Windows Live for
Mobile is the company's mobile suite of Internet services designed
specifically to take advantage of the Windows Mobile platform. It
includes mobile versions of Windows Live Hotmail, Windows Live
Messenger, Windows Live Contacts, Windows Live Spaces, Microsoft Live
Search and enhanced photo upload capabilities. Customers who have
Windows Mobile 6.x phones can visit http://wl.windowsmobile.com on
April 2 to download the suite.
The company also will launch a new beta version of Windows Live Hotmail available through a mobile Web browser. The
release includes a new and improved user interface, navigation enhancements for touch-screen devices, the ability to see full
HTML pages within e-mail messages and a new search feature that enables people to find important e-mail messages more easily.
The beta version is available at http://m.mail.live.com.