Enterprise Mobility: Windows Phone 7, Kinect, Xbox 360 Will Mark Microsoft's Holiday Season

Microsoft launched Windows Phone 7 with a New York City event Oct. 11, which it also used to show off some newly launched and upcoming consumer products. Chief among them: the Kinect hands-free controller for the Xbox 360, which Microsoft hopes will extend that console's viability for a few extra years. In addition, Microsoft demonstrated more productivity-related (as opposed to alien-blasting) products, including its flexible Arc Touch Mouse and a variety of laptops running its bestselling Windows 7. With so many of its rivals gravitating toward mobile software and hardware, Microsoft needs Windows Phone 7 to be a hit with consumers and businesspeople—and much of the table space at the Oct. 11 event seemed dedicated to Windows Phone 7 devices such as the HTC HD7. Windows Phone 7 devices from Samsung, LG Electronics and HTC will debut on AT&T's network starting Nov. 8, with others soon to follow. Those smartphones include a "Games" hub that integrates users' Xbox Live accounts—part of Microsoft's strategy to offer consumers a multi-device, cloud-centric entertainment ecosystem. Will it succeed? Executives in Redmond certainly have their fingers crossed.