Microsoft to give away Windows 7 phones - but you only get one if you work for them

It seems that Microsoft is to start giving away Windows 7 phones - but don't get too excited, you're only in line for one if you're one of Microsoft's employees.

In an attempt to create some hype around the phone, which is due to launch in October, bosses have decided to hand each and every one of Microsoft's employees their very own Windows 7 phone. The announcement was made at the company's Microsoft Global Exchange (mgx) event this week, and the news immediately broke out into the twittersphere - as was no doubt intended.

Microsoft has already made a name for itself in the smartphone industry by coming late to the game; and then releasing the KIN handset which it killed off within weeks of launch because the device was so poorly planned and  poorly received - so it has some ground to make up. Add to that the Wall Street Journal story in May which suggested that as many as 10,000 Microsoft employees owned iPhones, and you have a company which seriously needs its mobile products to be seen in a more positive light, ahead of a new product launch.

So much so that it's willing to spend big money on it. With suppliers such as HTC, Samsung, Asus and LG signed up to make handsets based on the Windows mobile OS, and a suggested handset price of $300 each, the bill for the 'free phones for all 93,000 employees' push could be in the region of $27 million.

The possible good news for anyone who's interested in a Windows 7 phone but doesn't work for Microsoft is that such a promise would suggest that the phones will be supported by a wide range of carriers - which in turn means that no one carrier gets to price based on exclusivity, and prices stay lower.