New York: Microsoft Corp's last-ditch attempt to make an impact on the fast-growing market for multi-featured smartphones won favorable early reviews on Monday, but success will hinge on how well the phones are marketed against Apple Inc and Google Inc, analysts said.
The world's largest software company said it would spend more than $ 100 million on marketing the phones, along with handset makers and network carriers, including heavy television advertising in the holiday shopping season, as it tries to vault back into the mobile market, which many see as the key to the future of computing.
The line-up of nine new phones from Samsung Electronics Co Ltd, LG Electronics Inc, HTC Corp and Dell Inc will start to appear in stores later this month in Europe, and in November in the United States on AT&T Inc's network.
The handsets are much closer in look and feel to Apple's iPhone, with colorful touch-screens and "live tiles" for easy access to email, the Web, music and exclusively, games on the Xbox system.
"This is Microsoft's last chance to be a major player in the smartphone market," said analyst Jack Gold of J Gold Associates. "Microsoft will be required to undertake a massive consumer education campaign if it wants to stand a chance of differentiating itself from iPhone and Android, which have far greater market presence."
British actor and writer Stephen Fry, an outspoken fan of Apple products, praised the phones on stage at a launch event in London.
"When I got one of these (phones) my first feeling was it's fun to play with. I have felt enormous pleasure using this phone," Fry said. "Yes, I love Apple, but I'm not a monotheist. I want biodiversity in this market and all of us that love it should welcome that too."
Last chance
The new phones represent Microsoft's last chance to catch up in the smartphone market with rivals who overtook it in the past few years.
"I've been looking forward to this day for some time," said Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer, showing off the nine phone models at a launch event in New York.
Ballmer, who has admitted his company "missed a generation" with its recent unpopular phone offerings, said the new phones would eventually be available from 60 mobile operators in 30 countries.
The first phone from AT&T, priced at $ 200, will be available on Nov. 8, said Ralph de la Vega, CEO of AT&T Mobility and Consumer Markets. Some phones will be available Oct. 21 in Europe.
AT&T will give the phones ample room in its stores for promotion. "We're expecting these to be really big sellers," said Jeff Bradley, AT&T's senior vice president for Devices.
"This is a marathon, not a sprint. They are not going to change their position today or in the next month," said Michael Gartenberg, an analyst at research firm Gartner. "But they've established themselves as a credible player."
Microsoft did not give any sales forecasts for the new phones.
"We can't give predictions," Andy Lees, who runs Microsoft's phones business, said at the London event. "Our goal right now is to make sure people love our phones. If people love our phones we will become popular and if we are popular, business success will flow from that."
New features
The new range of phones, which are built on the Snapdragon processor made by Qualcomm Inc, represent Microsoft's best attempt yet to introduce live connections with its other products and the Web.
Users will be able to play Xbox Live games on the phones, link to Windows Office, use the Bing search engine and download and play music through its Zune music software. TV episodes are also available for download via AT&T's U-verse service. Updates from Facebook will be incorporated into a user's contacts.
Game maker Electronic Arts Inc said it will introduce a wave of games for the new phone software this holiday season. That should boost the phone's popularity among gamers, especially the 25 million subscribers to Microsoft's Xbox Live gaming network.
Microsoft has a market share of only 5 percent in the global smartphone market, according to research firm Gartner, compared with 9 percent a year ago. Google's Android system has a 17 percent market share, jumping from only 2 percent a year ago.
The market for multi-feature phones that allow users to email, surf the Web and play games, as well as have access to music and video, is set to expand massively.
Gartner expects almost 270 million smartphones to be sold worldwide this year, up 56 percent from last year.
In comparison, Gartner expects only a 19 percent increase in worldwide PC sales to 368 million units this year.
Microsoft shares closed up 2 cents at $ 24.59 on Nasdaq. AT&T shares rose 10 cents to $ 28.32 on the New York Stock Exchange.
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