Microsoft has officially unveiled the next generation of Windows Phone, Windows Phone 7 Series.

“Today, I’m proud to introduce Windows Phone 7 Series, the next generation of Windows Phones,” said Steve Ballmer, chief executive officer at Microsoft. “In a crowded market filled with phones that look the same and do the same things, I challenged the team to deliver a different kind of mobile experience. Windows Phone 7 Series marks a turning point toward phones that truly reflect the speed of people’s lives and their need to connect to other people and all kinds of seamless experiences.”

The software was build from the ground up and will provide a new look and feel. Not only has the interface changed, but also the code it is built up has changed as well.

Microsoft says that every Windows Phone 7 Series phone will come with a dedicated hardware button for search providing one-click access to search from anywhere on the phone.

The start screen will feature a tile interface that have the ability to be updated in real time. This will allow for a living interface that is no longer static. For instance, you could set up a “picture of the day” and have it appear as a live tile, no longer will you have to go the the web site to view the image, the idea is that you’ll be able to get to all of your information from the home screen.

The tiles are built around six core “hubs” and in each hub, will have a dedicated base of information depending on the theme. The hubs that will debut on the platform are People, Pictures, Games, Music+Video, Marketplace, and Office.

People. This hub delivers an engaging social experience by bringing together relevant content based on the person, including his or her live feeds from social networks and photos. It also provides a central place from which to post updates to Facebook and Windows Live in one step.

Pictures. This hub makes it easy to share pictures and video to a social network in one step. Windows Phone 7 Series also brings together a user’s photos by integrating with the Web and PC, making the phone the ideal place to view a person’s entire picture and video collection.

Games. This hub delivers the first and only official Xbox LIVE experience on a phone, including Xbox LIVE games, Spotlight feed and the ability to see a gamer’s avatar, Achievements and gamer profile. With more than 23 million active members around the world, Xbox LIVE unlocks a world of friends, games and entertainment on Xbox 360, and now also on Windows Phone 7 Series.

 Music + Video. This hub creates an incredible media experience that brings the best of Zune, including content from a user’s PC, online music services and even a built-in FM radio into one simple place that is all about music and video. Users can turn their media experience into a social one with Zune Social on a PC and share their media recommendations with like-minded music lovers. The playback experience is rich and easy to navigate, and immerses the listener in the content.

 Marketplace. This hub allows the user to easily discover and load the phone with certified applications and games.

Office. This hub brings the familiar experience of the world’s leading productivity software to the Windows Phone. With access to Office, OneNote and SharePoint Workspace all in one place, users can easily read, edit and share documents. With the additional power of Outlook Mobile, users stay productive and up to date while on the go.

Also of note, Windows Phone 7 Series devices will be touch enabled, supporting the same functionality of Windows 7 on the desktop.

Microsoft also announced a number of partners that will include Windows Phone 7 Series in their devices. AT&T, Deutsche Telekom AG, Orange, SFR, Sprint, Telecom Italia, Telefónica, Telstra, T-Mobile USA, Verizon Wireless and Vodafone, and manufacturers Dell, Garmin-Asus, HTC Corp., HP, LG, Samsung, Sony Ericsson, Toshiba and Qualcomm Inc.

In addition, the company also said the first phones will be available before the end of the year, stating that they will be available before the holiday season of 2010.