The Shack® is introducing three new phones featuring Windows Phone 7:

• Samsung Focus from AT&T, available now in stores or via Direct2U, boasts a brilliant 4-inch Super-AMOLED touch screen, a 5-megapixel camera and 8GB of storage for $199.99 (qualifying new or upgrading customers, with two-year contract).
• HTC HD7 from T-Mobile, now available in stores or via Direct2U, is available for $199.99 for qualifying new customers with two-year contract or $249.99 for qualifying upgrade customers with contract. The HD7 offers blockbuster entertainment possibilities with a 4.3-inch high-resolution screen and kickstand. HD7 is built for streaming video, mobile gaming and its integrated 720p camcorder means you’re also equipped to produce home-made HD videos.
• LG Quantum, coming soon from AT&T for $179.99 for qualifying new or upgrading customers with two-year contract. LG Quantum features a sliding screen with a horizontal QWERTY keyboard, 3.5-inch screen, 1-GHz Snapdragon processor and 16GB internal memory. LG Quantum also enables wireless multimedia sharing with other devices. See radioshack.com for updates on in-store arrival.

When I was looking at the phone I was not too impressed.  And in fact amused that it still, 30 days before launch, had bugs in it. But even that does not matter because there is already a set group of users who are going to buy this phone.  Corp Sys Admin.  Yea. They are going to make this work for Microsoft.  Why?

It wont be because they are going to run and buy it for themselves.  I would bet they are all hyped up on the latest android and those still stuck in their plans, on the iPhone.  No they are going to buy it because of those companies running MS systems; (read exchange servers) they are going to get it because it will be the easiest to support the two things all business people MUST have.  Good email support, and good MS Office support.  If you are old enough to remember the saying; “you cannot get fired for buying IBM”, well the same will go with BlackBerry RIM and MS Phone 7.

Where else will they get sales from?  Remember I just said you will not get fired from buying RIM?  You wont.. But you will not be a hero either because RIM is going down and I have yet to see anything that is going to change the tide.  Microsoft is going after THEIR market.  Yes, they will fight for public opinion, buy dumping half a billion dollars into it, but we saw how well that worked with the Kin.  But in away, everyone knew the Kin was going to fail. It was dry run for Mobile 7.   Now Microsoft has a plan, a target market and a long range view to fight for it. … But they will not win.  Well, not outright at least.

Not win in the sense that they will over take Android or Apple.  These two will run the phone market with Android in the lead (Yea, whatever iPhone fan boys);  The iOS platform will be second, Windows will be third.  And given how insanely large the mobile market is; that pretty good.  And that is the win Microsoft is looking for.

So get ready for some non stop advert action from Windows, and LOTS of efforts to win over the Sys Admins.  Because that is where they can win.