Microsoft unveils Window Phone 7, derides rival devices

NEW YORK - As its Windows Phone 7 hit the US market Monday, Microsoft launched a unique campaign to dent Apple’s iPhone and Google Android system by playing up their ‘faulty’ design.

The software giant is taking its “Really” commercial on YouTube to the street by roping in TV stars to tell how badly designed smart phones by its competitors have spawned a bad phone behaviour among users.

Under the ‘Really Rally Road Trip’ campaign launched Monday, Microsoft will take popular TV stars Rob Dyrdek and actress Minka Kelly across the country to show how Windows Phone 7 stands out against rival smart phones.

Manufactured by Samsung and HTC, Microsoft Phone 7 boasts ’tiles’ on its screen to let users have a quick glance at email or Facebook or other applications.

In support of its campaign, Microsoft is citing a new survey - commissioned by it and released Monday to coincide with the launch of Windows Phone 7- to take aim at its rivals.

“The cross-country survey confirms we’re a country chock full of “Bad Mobile Phone Behavior”, with three-quarters of users admitting poor phone etiquette among their top 10 pet peeves, Microsoft said.

But “starting today, those weary consumers might see a chance to curb bad phone behaviour as Window Phone 7 hits store shelves across the United States, introducing them to a phone designed to let users get important tasks done faster and alleviate some bad phone behavior through good smartphone design”, the software giant said.

“It (Window Phone 7) really speaks to our commitment to understanding what consumers want, and our resurrection in the mobile category,” said Todd Peters, corporate vice president of the Mobile Communications Marketing Group.

He said Windows Phone 7 is Microsoft’s answer to “poor smartphone design that keeps people fumbling with their phones as they walk down the block or sit down to dinner with family”.

Because of the poor design of rival smart phones, he said, “People are spending a lot of time with their heads down poking at their phones, creating fragmented attention and some questionable behavior in society.”

Highlighting the some of the findings of the survey, Microsoft said, “Fifty-five percent of all phone owners have used their phone in a bathroom. One in two people age 18 to 24 have tripped or walked into something while walking and texting or emailing on their mobile phone. Sixty-nine percent of adults between the ages of 18 and 34 have used their mobile phone in bed.”