With A Little Help From My Friends

According to Microsoft's Steve Ballmer, the new Windows Phone is due to hit the market in time for the next holiday season. Microsoft will not be building its own phones. Instead, like Google with its Android system, Microsoft will be relying on existing handset manufacturers. Among those who will be producing the phone are Dell, Garmin, HTC, HP, LG, Sony-Ericsson, Toshiba and Qualcomm.

The other area where Microsoft is relying on outside help is in the development of apps for its Windows Phone Marketplace. Developers who have already been designing apps for previous iterations of the Windows Mobile OS will have to make significant changes to those apps for the new OS. Microsoft has announced that it expects to have the developer kit details available at the MIX 10 developer's conference in early March.