The new Windows Phone (News - Alert) 7 series won't run any applications written for older versions of Microsoft’s phone software, Microsoft executive Charlie Kindel said in a blog posted Thursday.

 

Kindel, who handles contact with outside software developers, reportedly said that jettisoning support for older applications was necessary to make the new operating system as powerful and user-friendly as possible.

 

The news also leaves software developers in a bit of a crux, say observers: Developers can write applications for Windows Mobile 6.5, which will soon be moot, or they’ll have to wait to write them for Windows Phone 7 – which isn’t expected to hit stores until holiday time.

 

But for those of you who’ve been paying attention to Microsoft’s (News - Alert) latest mobile moves, the decision to bury the past shouldn’t come as too much of a surprise.

 

Microsoft unveiled the Windows Phone 7 series last month at Mobile World Congress (News - Alert) 2010. With this new platform, Microsoft said it offers a fresh approach to phone software, distinguished by smart design and truly integrated experiences that bring to the surface the content people care about from the Web and applications.

 

For the first time ever, Microsoft will bring together Xbox LIVE games and the Zune music and video experience on a mobile phone, exclusively on Windows Phone 7 Series.

 

“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,” Steve Ballmer (News - Alert), CEO at Microsoft. “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.”