Microsoft has regrouped and is charging back into the smart-phone wars with its Windows Phone 7 operating system (OS), which will be used in a whole new line of devices from multiple manufacturers and carriers.

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True, Microsoft has had an OS for cell phones almost from the beginning. It did moderately well, though Palm and Symbian were better. Then, Apple came along and beat everybody up, followed by Google Android. The smart-phone OS business has gotten much more competitive, and Microsoft was left behind. Playing catch-up isn’t the best way to do business, but Microsoft is going all out to be a major player.

When you use a smart-phone, you see its user interface (UI). The familiar iPhone interface starts with multiple icons and apps symbols. Microsoft has taken another approach, with tiles instead of icons (see the figure). Users can change and update these live tiles, which represent all of the usual smart-phone functions like talk, browse, and search as well as music and other media.

The coolness factor plays a major role in how successful a phone is. Microsoft’s tile UI looks great, and users can change its colors, arrangement, and what it initially displays. The new OS has tried to get away from the app-focused UI, instead going for an active and configurable interface that users can update on the fly. The UI also brings together other Microsoft platforms like Xbox, Zune, Office, and Bing—no small deal here. That should be popular.

Dell, HTC, LG, and Samsung, among other companies, will manufacture phones with the new OS. AT&T and T-Mobile will be the carriers in the U.S., with TELUS in Canada and O2, Orange, SFR, Movistar, Deutche Telekom AG, and Vodafone in Europe. The HTC Surround and HD7, LG Quantum, Samsung Focus, and Dell Venue Pro will be available in the U.S. starting November 8.

Available from AT&T, the HTC Surround smart phone uses Microsoft’s new Phone 7 OS. It features a user interface with configurable tiles for a fresh new look.

With the Apple and Android OSs so well established at this point, it will be interesting to see how well Microsoft does. With this fresh design, it has a good chance. Now if the apps makers will get to work, Microsoft Phone 7 potentially has a bright future.

Microsoft Corp.