The rich experiences consumers have on their mobile devices are possible because of a combination of well–designed software and powerful internet services. Small screens, slow processors and limited memory restrict the type of applications that can run on mobile devices. However, because mobile devices have almost ubiquitous internet connectivity, phone applications can take advantage of powerful cloud based services. That's why many of the best phone applications are designed around a mobile–specific user interface that taps into a cloud service.

Windows® Phone 7 is designed specially around this software plus services construct. Many of Microsoft's most popular cloud based applications have been brought to the phone, including Xbox LIVE, Bing and Zune. With these services, consumers can use Zune and Xbox LIVE, but in a format that is specifically designed for the mobile device form factor. On the productivity side, the Windows® Phone 7 features the Office hub with SharePoint built-in, so you can access your files instantly on the go. Additionally developers can use Microsoft's familiar development framework including .NET and Silverlight via Visual Studio and Microsoft Expression Blend to make their own applications and games available on the Windows® Phone platform.