The handset interface is similar to that of the recently launched Windows 8 system for PCs
It boasted that the system's internet browser, Internet
Explorer 10, was the fastest on any mobile, and also suggested it
offered the closest integration with video chat app Skype.
Microsoft had a 3.1% share of the handset system market in the April-to-June quarter, according to IDC.
The low figure has discouraged some developers from building apps for it.
HTC, Nokia and Samsung have all unveiled flagship WP8 devices
over recent months, but had been unable to release them while they
waited for Microsoft to sign off its software.
The handsets will now go on sale in Europe at the weekend and rollout worldwide during November.
"It can't be underestimated how important it is to Microsoft
to get a successful handheld platform," Ben Wood, director of research
at CCS Insight, told the BBC.
"It's the fastest growing and most prolific sector - 800
million smartphones will be sold this year, within three years that
number will be up to one billion annually. Nokia has also bet the ranch
on this at a time when the market is dominated by Apple and Google's
systems - and Microsoft is seen as being late to the party."
Kid's Corner
WP8 resembles the Windows 8 PC operating system released last
week. Users navigate the interface by swiping through tiles which also
display information pulled from the internet - for example weather
conditions, Facebook status updates or recently received emails.
While its predecessor WP7.5 was based on the firm's ageing
Windows Mobile platform, WP8 shares its kernel - or software core - with
its PC equivalent, which should help make it easier to port programs
between the two environments.
Much of the details of WP8 were announced at a previous event
in June. But Microsoft had held a few features back until the San
Francisco launch.
Kid's Corner is designed to make it safer to lend their handsets to their children
These included the speed of Internet Explorer 10 which it said
was up to seven times faster than the version on WP7.5 at handling
webpages based on the commonly used Javascript language. In addition it
has been designed to make use of devices' graphics processing units
(GPUs) to render videos or animations written in the HTML5 computer
language.
The firm also showed off Kid's Corner - a function designed
for parents who give their handsets to their children to play with. It
allows them to restrict access to a limited number of apps without
giving access to email, phone call or text message functions.
Microsoft said a survey had suggested about two-thirds of
smartphone-owning parents in the US had used the handsets to occupy
their children while out shopping, visiting friends or some other
activity.
Another new feature is Rooms which allows users to create an
invitation-only environment in which members share their calendars,
notes, photos and other material. The firm suggested it might be used to
help families, sports teams and other community groups stay "in sync".
Microsoft also made much of an "always-on" Skype experience.
This addresses one of the major flaws with its previous
mobile system which had not allowed the video chat program to run in the
background. That had meant that users of iOS and Android phones had
been able to receive calls while using other apps, but WP7.5 devices had
not - a notable omission bearing in mind Microsoft paid $8.5bn (£5.3bn)
to buy Skype in 2011.
On WP8 Skype runs in the background even if the app is closed
and the phone locked. It uses a similar method introduced in the full
Windows 8 system to reduce its battery use by effectively being "asleep"
until an incoming notification of a call wakes up the program.
Microsoft stressed the facility would also be available to
other video chap apps including Tango and Qik so that its own program
would not be given an unfair advantage.
Unfamiliar system
Despite the new features some analysts believe Microsoft could
have an uphill struggle to lure customers away from Google's
market-leading platform Android, and iOS which powers Apple's iPhones.
The BBC's Rory Cellan-Jones looks at what sets the Lumia 920 apart from rivals.
"Windows Phone as a platform still has very low awareness among
consumers, and that's the biggest challenge," Francisco Jeronimo,
mobile devices research manager at the consultants IDC, told the BBC.
"Apple still has a strong brand thanks to the advantage it
gained by offering the best smartphone experience of its kind in 2007
with the launch of the iPhone. Android benefits from the fact it powers
about 147 devices on the market in Western Europe.
"There are only about 8 to 10 handsets running Windows Phone
and that makes it hard for it to stand out. It won't be until we see 20
to 30 devices and people relate it to the desktop system that consumers
understand there is something going on."
WP8 runs software written for previous versions of the
system. But Stuart Miles, founder of the gadget site Pocket-lint, said
some consumers might be put off by the fact some apps - including the
BBC's iPlayer - remained unavailable.
"Windows Phone 8 will encourage the release of more software,
and some of the apps that are already there work well - but the problem
is that I've been to several launches where the developers say that a
release for the system is on their roadmap but is not a priority.
"So if you are a die-hard app fan you may be disappointed,
but if you don't care so much about the latest third-party software then
it is worth looking at."
Microsoft said they have 46 of the top 50 apps on the platform so far.
"That's huge progress for us," said Joe Belfiore, manager of the Windows Phone program.
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