Telstra have been on a roll lately, T-Hub sales are great, new CIO, a new company direction, exclusives (like the HTC Desire), and now, at Microsoft's launch of Windows Phone 7, Telstra will receive exclusive acknowledgment in the $100 million advertising campaign for Windows Phone 7.

Telstra will be Microsoft's main launch partner here in Australia and will be given a special place on the handsets with a media centre application focused on Telstra's online services.

Windows Phone 7 is a big step for Microsoft, the smartphone market is currently dominated by handsets running Apple's iOS, Google's Android and RIM's Blackberry OS.

Years of watching Apple, RIM and Google owning the market, would have Microsoft furious - With Windows Phone 7, this gives Microsoft another shot and with Telstra as an exclusive - it's a very big step for them.

Microsoft announced that Windows Phone 7 would be embedded in handsets supplied by LG, HTC and Samsung. Launch phones include the HTC 7 Mozart and HTC 7 Trophy, LG Optimus 7Q and LG Optimus 7 and the Samsung OMNIA 7.

The first handsets go on sale on October 21.