Microsoft Wants Employees to Develop for WP7 In Spare Time

Andy Lees, the Senior Vice President of Mobile Communications Business at Microsoft [MSFT] sent out an email to employees letting them know that they will be getting a free Windows Phone 7 and that when they do, they should show it (or evangelise it) to friends, family and colleagues. We first heard this from a tweet yesterday, so it’s good to see that further confirmation has arrived.

We also learn in the email (below) that Microsoft is pushing it’s staff to develop apps and is asking them to download the developer kit as soon as it’s ready and get on with creating apps. Microsoft looks to be making a huge push with Windows Phone 7, and they need to as they are quite a bit behind other in terms of releasing the new OS.

From: Andy Lees
To: ‘Microsoft All Employees
Subject: Getting you in the game with Windows Phone 7

Momentum is building for Windows Phone 7! Last week we released the WP7 Tech Preview and beta development tools on the web, and started shipping phones to developers and some early reviewers. Excitement will continue to build as we accelerate to launch for Fall, disclosing more details on final hardware design from our partners, unique applications, and Xbox Live games and much more!

With all the buzz, a lot of you are asking how you can get your hands on a phone and get more involved. So, I am thrilled to announce that a new Windows Phone 7 will be made available to every Microsoft employee as we launch in each market around the world. The process will vary based on your market, your carrier, and your launch date so stay tuned for more information closer to launch.

Andy Lees
When you get your phone, the first thing you can do it MAKE IT PERSONAL! Pick up the phone, turn it on, download mail, get directions, make calls, find friends¦. In short USE IT! The experience of Windows Phone 7 is special and a big step toward our future in the mobile phone business. We’d love all of you to love it as much as we on the team love it. To do that we need to you to use your phone and find the things that make it personal and valuable to you.

There is also a lot you can do while we are heading to launch even before you get your phone including:

Understand the unique value of Windows Phone 7 and evangelize to your customers, partners, friends and family! Windows Phone 7 is a different kind of phone, designed to bring together the things you care about most. The new smart design makes even basic tasks more efficient while Windows Phone Hubs organize the web and applications to simplify what you do every day. It is much more than a phone operating system, it is software and services integrated to create a new type of experience. WP7 has been a cross company effort bringing together an amazing breadth of Microsoft assets for the first time including Windows, Windows Live, Bing, Zune, Xbox Live, Office, Exchange, SharePoint, Silverlight, .NET, XNA and Visual Studio!

Develop! With the help of the developer division, we just shipped the Final Beta of the Windows Phone Developer Tools. They absolutely rock, and you should download them now http://developer.windowsphone.com/. The package includes everything you need to start building apps. In addition, we’ve introduced a new employee developer program which makes it much easier for you to develop apps for Marketplace in your spare time. ¦ And if you need some help jumpstarting your development, check out the Windows Phone Developer Training Kit. ¦

Get involved in launch. Dedicate time to get involved as WP7 launches in your market. ¦

We can’t wait to launch. We’ve got a great product and a great team in all of you. There is a phone being built with your name on it! Get in the game of delighting the world with Windows Phone 7! ¦

Regards,
Andy

Via: MobileTechWorld