October 11: All Windows Phone 7, all the time

Just blocks from the New York City GooglePlex and Apple's flagship West Village store, Microsoft and partners will be launching Windows Phone 7 on October 11.

"Launching," in this case, is not synonymous with shipping. The first Windows Phone 7s are expected to debut two weeks from now in Europe, and not until November 8 (on AT&T) and mid-November (on T-Mobile). But Microsoft will be showing -- and sharing more about -- the coming phones on Monday, starting with a 9:30 a.m. ET kick-off here in New York.

I'll be at the launch, as well as at the Fall Consumer Open House, also happening tomorrow. A few other members of the ZDNet blogging crew will be there, too, to bring you updates on Windows Phone 7 devices that will be coming here and abroad. If there are any Windows slates on display, we'll be bringing you more info on those, as well.

If you want to watch from home, Microsoft is webcasting the Monday morning keynote, which will feature CEO Steve Ballmer and Ralph de la Vega, President & CEO of AT&T Mobility and Consumer Markets.

In the interim, here are a few past Windows Phone 7 links that may be of interest:

Microsoft: Bring on the Windows Phone 7 Developers, Developers, Developers

Microsoft Makes the Business Case for Windows Phone 7

Games to be front and center for Windows Phone 7

Windows Phone 7 will be GSM only in 2010

Angry Birds developer claims Microsoft jumped the gun

Windows Live portal for Windows Phone 7 teased again on video

Windows Phone 7 likely to benefit from low expectations

If there are any specific Windows Phone 7 or consumer-focused questions you've got, send them my way and I can try to get more answers tomorrow.... (If you don't want to leave a Talkback below, send me a confidential e-mail using the form at the bottom of my site.)