Windows Phone 7 Launch Date ConfirmedWindows Phone 7 Launch Date Confirmed

Consumers won't have to wait much longer to get a look at Microsoft's next—and, if it doesn't fly, possibly last--offering for the smartphone market.

Microsoft's Windows 7 Phone Revealed

The company plans to hold a launch event for Windows Phone 7 on Oct. 11 in New York, according to a statement on the company's Web site. The event will take place at 3:00 pm at the software maker's Technology Center in midtown Manhattan.

Windows Phone 7 devices, from a list of Microsoft partners that includes HP, Samsung, LG, Toshiba, and Sony Ericcson, are expect to go on sale about a month later, according to industry reports.

Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer is expected to lead the event, and he'll be joined on stage by officials from carrier partner T-Mobile, the notice indicates. The event notice says the launch is already full to capacity.

Many observers believe Windows Phone 7 is Microsoft's last chance to become a significant player in the increasingly important mobile market. Current products, based on the Windows Mobile operating system, have proven to be also-rans against more competitive offerings from Apple, RIM, and newcomer Google, with its Android-powered phones.

RIM, with its Blackberry OS, holds the largest U.S. market share for mobile platforms, with a 39.3% stake as of July 30, according to market watcher Comscore. Apple's iPhone is second, with a 23.8% share, followed by Google's 17% share. Microsoft was fourth, with an 11.8% stake and falling.

Microsoft last week disclosed that it's suing Android handset maker Motorola for alleged patent violations.

Microsoft's credibility in the phone market took a severe hit when it pulled its KIN line of phones from retailers earlier this year amid dismal sales after just several weeks on the market. The debacle led Microsoft's board to slash Ballmer's bonus for the past fiscal year in half, according to financial documents the company filed last week with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Microsoft is hoping Windows Phone 7's tight integration with the Windows development environment will give the platform a boost out of the gate, as third-party application developers will already be familiar with many of the development tools.

The list includes Visual Studio 2010 Express for Windows Phone, a Windows Phone 7 add-in for use with Visual Studio 2010, XNA Game Studio 4.0, Windows Phone 7 Series Emulator for application testing, and Expression Blend for Windows Phone.