Windows Phone 7 gets the hands-on treatment

While we try to shy away from gadgets and gizmos here on Download Squad, some attention does have to be paid to operating systems. They are, after all, the reason this blog exists! An operating system makes or breaks a device -- it's the difference between grudging oh, it's my company phone acceptance and mass omg, you must check this OUT! adoption.

Of course, try as they might, a vendor such as Microsoft or Apple doesn't really have a say in whether their new OS is a hit or not. They can produce a masterwork, like Windows NT, or a piece of tripe like Mac OS 9, but ultimately it's how these OSes are used that matters. Would the iPhone be where it is today, without the Guinness Beer Drinking App?

Anyway, as you're all aware by now, Windows Phone 7 is coming -- and soon, by the looks of things! Our perky, equally nerdy cousins over at Engadget have an exclusive video of Microsoft's new smartphone OS running on new LG phone. There's a QWERTY keyboard, a five megapixel camera (with flash), and a bunch of other goodies (check the gallery out, if you're more interested in the phone itself). It doesn't look like an iPhone-killer to me, but I bet it's going to nibble at the Blackberry's toes...

Tags: lg, operating system, OperatingSystem, osupdates, windows mobile, windows phone, windows phone 7, WindowsMobile, WindowsPhone, WindowsPhone7