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Last month, we talked about how IE9 had surpassed IE8 as the number one browser on Windows 7 worldwide.  This month that trend continues with IE9 growing worldwide on Windows 7.  New HTML5 experiences like Cut the Rope continue to show consumers what they can expect from a modern browser like IE9 - while developers have an HTML5 platform with IE9 that supports these rich, fluid experiences.

This week the world of technology is on full display in Vegas. Situated just off the strip at the Las Vegas Convention Center are the latest, coolest and most interesting electronics gadgets currently on and about to enter the market. The Consumer Electronics Show, known as CES for short, launches approximately 20,000 new products each year (according to their website).

We’re pleased to start off the New Year with an update to App Hub that will enable you to distribute apps and games to even more customers in more markets. App Hub now allows you to submit apps for distribution in 6 new markets; Argentina, China, Indonesia, Malaysia, Peru and the Philippines.  Although you will be able to now select these markets for distribution in App Hub, the Windows Phone Marketplace is not yet available to customers in these markets. We will provide more information about availability of the Marketplace for customers in these markets in a future post.

Holiday deal alert! Starting Sunday, the Samsung Focus Flash will be available from AT&T for just 99 cents (with a 2-year contract).

So if you’ve been looking for an excuse to check out Windows Phone 7.5—just named one of 2011’s top tech products by PC World and Slate—now’s your chance.

Today at a Windows Store preview event in San Francisco, we announced the policies and business terms for the Windows Store. These details for the Windows Store are very important as it outlines the incredible economic opportunity for developers that Windows 8 represents as the Windows Store will be an integrated feature in Windows 8. For more details on what we’re announcing today, I suggest reading this blog post from Ted Dworkin.

Hi everyone. Just a quick update to let you know that today we began delivering Windows Phone 7.5 to customers with Samsung Omnia 7 phones on Telefonica in Spain.  For questions about installing or manually checking for an update, please visit Update Central.

Eric Hautala, General Manager, Customer Experience Engineering

On Friday, we mentioned that things were looking up for developers interested in building the latest set of web experiences for a modern browser like IE9. The good news for developers is that with IE9 at almost 35% share on Windows 7 in the US near the close of October - now 65% of all Windows 7 users in the US have a modern browser!

It’s looking to be a good Halloween for developers. Windows 7 share continues to climb, and as early as next month, IE9 on Windows 7 could be the leading modern browser behind IE8.  For developers this means that most Windows 7 users have a modern browser capable of running exciting, interoperable, HTML5 experiences - allowing developers to use the same markup across their websites.

Hi everyone. The rollout of Windows Phone 7.5 continues, and we’re seeing solid uptake globally. 

Today we’ve added a new handset to the delivery pool: the Omnia 7 on SFR in France. Otherwise, there are no other changes to report. We’re still distributing the update to 50 percent of eligible customers. Thanks again for installing the update quickly and using all the new capabilities of Windows Phone 7.5. Your global adoption, use, and feedback is helping us make delivery decisions.

Korean Air’s mission is to provide excellence in flight through operational superiority and customer service. The company also prides itself on innovation. In fact, last year Korean Air was recognized with an Excellence in Innovation Award.