Today, at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Microsoft is publicly previewing Windows Phone 7 for the first time. The brand new, totally fresh operating system will appear in phones this year, but not until the holidays. All of the major wireless carriers and every likely hardware maker are backing it, and they’d be stupid not to. It’s awesome. We’ve got a serious hands on for you to check out, but here is everything that you need to know:

The name—Windows Phone 7 Series—is a mouthful, and unfortunately, the epitome of Microsoft’s worst naming instincts, belying the simple fact that it’s the most groundbreaking phone since the iPhone. It’s the phone Microsoft should’ve made three years ago. In the same way that the Windows 7 desktop OS was nearly everything people hoped it would be, Windows Phone 7 is almost everything anyone could’ve dreamed of in a phone, let alone a Microsoft phone. It changes everything. Why? Now that Microsoft has filled in its gaping chasm of suck with a meaningful phone effort, the three most significant companies in desktop computing—Apple, Google and Microsoft—now stand to occupy the same positions in mobile. Phones are officially computers that happen to fit in your pocket.

Windows Phone 7 is also something completely new for Microsoft: A total break from the past. Windows Mobile isn’t just dead, the body’s been dumped, buried and paved over by a rainbow brick road.

Related posts:

1. LG Phone is first Windows 7 phone series Microsoft has been demonstrating the first official hardware prototype of...
2. HTC HD2 Sees New Windows Mobile 6.5.3 ROM Windows Mobile enthusiasts up for trying a few new goodies...
3. The Samsung Jet The Jet is pocket-friendly, compact and the buttons are well-defined...
4. HTC Touch2 HTC Touch2 is ready to help you with all the...
5. Selingkuh dengan “Felicia” Linux Mint 6 Awal bulan ini saya sempat berfikir untuk selingkuh, mungkin karena...