Windows Phone 7 released to manufacturing

Microsoft has announced that the company’s next generation smartphone operating system has been released to manufacturing.

The release means that smartphone manufacturers looking to create Windows Phone 7-based products now have access to the final code. The time frame for the launch of Windows Phone 7 devices is not known. 

While the final integration of Windows Phone 7 with our partners’ hardware, software, and networks is underway, the work of our internal engineering team is largely complete", said Microsoft Windows Phone 7 team member Terry Myerson on the Windows Team Blog. 

Myerson said that nearly ten thousand devices had been in automated testing and that ‘thousands’ of software developers have been providing feedback in the development process. Some of the recent improvements based on feedback include making it easier to filter Facebook contacts and to quickly post a Facebook wall message.

"Today’s milestone is exciting not just because of what we’ll deliver to customers later this year, but how it sets us up for success over the long term in the mobile space… we’re really just getting started."

Microsoft has yet to announced when Windows Phone 7 devices would launch but it’s widely expected to be around the October/November time frame.