Been holding out getting a new smartphone while waiting for a Windows Phone 7 handset to come out? Well, your wait just got shorter. Microsoft has rolled out the release to manufacturing (RTM) version of their latest mobile effort, bringing the new OS all that much closer to hitting store shelves.
While it will still take a bit of time to integrate with their partners' hardware, software and mobile networks, there's still a solid four months before the end of the year. That means, there's a good likelihood that a Windows Phone 7 device will come to market right in time for the year-end holidays.
According to Microsoft, the OS has been their "most thoroughly tested mobile platform" to date. Based on early impressions, it easily sounds like it could be the ace up their sleeve too, sending them right back into contention in the now-crowded smartphone space.
From what we remember, the new platform allows little space for firmware customization. If that still holds true, then there shouldn't be much tweaks necessary (at least, for the OS itself) on the manufacturer's end, hopefully speeding up the integration process.
We know we're not alone in looking forward to Windows Phone 7 hitting the scene, so this is definitely big news. Check out the announcement from the WP7 team at the link below.
