Microsoft has announced a full house of operators ahead of the launch of the first much-anticipated Windows Phone 7 handsets.

Windows Phone 7 devices will come to Orange, O2, Vodafone, T-Mobile and Three customers, said Redmond in an official press statement.

Alex Reeve, Director, Mobile Business Group, Microsoft UK, said: "Following our announcement at Mobile World Congress that Orange will be our lead partner, it is wonderful now to have all of the UK's network operators supporting the launch of Windows Phone 7.

"This means we can provide network choice and also a range of phones across networks for customers to choose from, all with the power of Windows Phone 7."

An increasing number of manufacturers have seen leaks of their Windows Phone 7 handsets, the hottest from HTC, the HTC 7 Trophy and HTC HD7. The Samsung Cetus i917 broke cover just days ago, while the LG Panther and Dell Lightning have also been spotted.

Microsoft’s integration with Zune (finally launched in Europe) and Xbox platforms will pose a potent challenge to iOS and Android, but Redmond can be under no illusions as to the size of the task ahead come the October launch.

Via: TechRadar