In a bid to challenge Apple’s iPhone and Google’s Android based smartphones, software giant Microsoft launched its Windows Phone platform in India. The smartphone market in the country is on a high and Microsoft is looking forward to cash in the opportunity. The firms said that the smartphones manufactured by its hardware partners like Samsung, Acer, HTC and Nokia will run on its new platform named Mango.

Microsoft officials said that the company is excited to unveil Windows Phone OS. They further added that with the phone the company has looked consumer experience in a fresh way and the final outcome is an OS which is innovative and stylish.

What makes Mango different from Apple’s iOS and Android is the fact that it uses “live tiles” instead of icons. It is to be noted that Microsoft’s presence in the smartphone segment was badly jolted when Apple and Google ventured in the smartphone segment in 2007 and 08 respectively. According to a report by Gartner in August, Microsoft’s share in the worldwide smartphone market stood at 1.6% during the second quarter of 2011.