Microsoft has announced it will officially launch its next generation mobile operating system, Windows Phone 7, next week on October 11th. New York City has been chosen as the stage for the gathering, which will also bring along 'an exclusive' array of T-Mobile phones powered by the new platform. Curiously, no mention of AT&T was made, even though the carrier was widely believed to be a launch partner in the U.S. with devices such as the HTC Mondrian, LG Optimus 7 and Samsung Cetus. Whether the latter will have a presence at the show as well remains to be seen. [Update: Turns out both AT&T and T-Mobile will show off their Windows Phone 7 handsets at the event]
The event marks a fresh restart for Microsoft's mobile platform and will be critical to stop the rapid market share bleeding it has been experiencing. Over the past few years, many of Microsoft's customers have left for iPhone, BlackBerry or Android devices, while several key partners have dropped Windows Mobile altogether in favor of more modern alternatives - Motorola being one of the more prominent examples. As far as new devices are concerned on T-Mobile's front, the carrier is expected to announce the HTC HD7 and their version of the LG Optimus 7.