Windows Phone 7 launched in New York

Good news: Windows Phone 7 launched today in New York. Initially, phones will become available from Samsung, LG, Dell, and HTC. In the U.S., AT&T will be the major carrier; I'm waiting for details for Europe (and Finland of course).

To start developing applications, visit the developer portal for Windows Phone 7. The tools are free and already reliable for professional use.

The major tools are Visual Studio 2010 Express for Windows Phone and Blend 4 Express for Windows Phone. The developer tools include an emulator with which initial testing can be made. Currently the C# language is supported out of the box; however Visual Basic support is coming soon.

The developer marketplace registration costs currently $99 in the U.S. and 75 € in the Euro region. European private persons need to pay a 15 % VAT tax, making the total 86.25 €. This is a yearly fee.

The rumors are already that a Windows Phone 7 "1.1" update is in the works, and scheduled for the first half of 2011.