Microsoft gives Windows Phone 7 handsets to all its 89,000 workers

3rd November, 2010 by adina
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Guy Gilbert, Windows Phone executive at Microsoft, revealed that the company would give a Windows Phone 7 handset to each of its employees. He did not specify which devices were in question, but said that all 89,000 Microsoft core workers were eligible to receive a phone. According to Network World, Microsoft could also cover cellular plans in order to keep users active, but Gilbert did not confirm this hypothesis.

Microsoft’s action is resembling to that of Apple, which gave out free iPhones to its full-time staff, both rewarding them for their work and as a possible familiarization of the company with what would become one of the most important own platforms. Microsoft is following the same way as its Windows Phone 7 is a complete remake of its mobile strategy after years of continuous work and, at the same time, less familiar to its staff, like the Zune HD was too.

The poor response to the now outgoing Windows Mobile has generated a problem for Microsoft. Some of the higher-level staff even did not use it at all or kept another device from a rival platform and preferred to use that one. It is notorious that Larry Hryb of the Xbox Live team had an iPhone he was using. Other members of the staff have been teased by the CEO Steve Ballmer for using competing hardware too.

Although Gilbert did not unveil details about phone usage at Microsoft, he noted that many employees were very excited about receiving WP7 handsets. Developers coming to the Microsoft-run PDC conference were given phones of their choice, coming from different phone makers, although they are supposed to provide their own service and therefore may need to switch networks, if currently being on CDMA carriers, since Windows Phone 7 has only GSM until 2011.


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