Celebrity Stephen Fry, an Apple fanatic and Microsoft sceptic, has praised Microsoft’s new mobile operating system, called Windows Phone 7, saying the software giant got right with what it had been missing in its previous attempts.

Speaking at the launch of Windows Phone 7 operating system, special guest Stephen Fry added, "I never thought this day would come, to stand on this stage and praise Microsoft for doing something they can be proud of.”

At one point, Mr. Fry compared Microsoft with squad Leeds United and said company’s recent efforts elsewhere, including its new Windows 7 PC operating system which replaced notorious Vista, were worth-praising.

The Windows Phone 7 operating system brings new social networking features which allow updates and messages from social platforms such as Facebook to appear on screen automatically. In addition, it brings Zune music and video content, Xbox gaming platform, the Bing search engine and Microsoft’s OneNote software.

The Windows Phone 7 line-up includes Samsung Omnia 7, Samsung Focus, HTC HD7, HTC Mozart, HTC Pro and HTC Trophy, LG Quantum and Dell Venue Pro.

With the initial Windows Phone 7 line-up looking impressive, Microsoft may now become competent to snatch some market share from Apple and Google’s Android-based smartphones.