The new Windows Phone 7 mobile operating system will be available to Singapore customers from next Thursday. -- PHOTO: AFP
SINGAPORE phone users here will be among the world's first to get their hands on new mobile phones running Microsoft's much-anticipated new Windows Phone 7 software next week, as the tech giant launches an unprecedented effort to reverse its flagging share of the lucrative smartphone market.
LG's Optimus 7 goes on sale on Oct 21, and HTC and Samsung will launch another four handsets (3 HTC, 1 Samsung) over the next two weeks.
The handsets, all touchscreen models, will cost between $798 (HTC Trophy) and $998 (Samsung's Omnia 7 and HTC HD7), before operator discounts, similar to the price tag of high-end handsets like the Samsung Galaxy S and iPhone 4.
All three operators, SingTel, StarHub and M1, will carry Windows 7 phones, although some models will be exclusive to a particular telco.
The Straits Times understands that consumers who get the handset together with a two-year contract, especially the higher-cost subscriptions, are likely to get their handsets free.
