CN is live at the Windows Phone 8 launch being held at Shangri La’s Blue Bar in Sydney.

9:01am: Ben MIller, Director Operator Channel at Microsoft, has taken the stand.

“We want to show you why Windows Phone 8 is the best phone to use with Windows’ operating system,” began Ben.

9:02am: Megan Howard (Microsoft’s Business Group Lead) is now presenting. One of the updates is greater integration and greater development of WP8’s live tiles and live apps.

“The only phone with a people hub.”

9:05am: Microsoft believes this phone is great for “people who have kids” by including a feature called “Kid’s Corner.” It’s a part of the phone that is partitioned from the rest. The parent can pick which games, videos and apps a child has permission to use

9:07am: “The smart screen is alive.” Comprised of live tiles, information relevant to the user is displayed from different apps on one unified screen.

9:09am: Contacts can be grouped, feeding social network updates and other communications to one live tile found on the home screen.

9:13am: Brett Murray has been summoned to the stand. “I love how unique and personal windows phone 8 is.” There’s a lot of talk about how much WP8 can be tweeked to suit the individual.

9:16am: Murray is showing off Microsoft’s Office suite. Documents are shared across the Microsoft ecosystem, allowing users to access documents on smartphones, tablets and computers seamlessly.

9:17am: Office isn’t the only thing that synchronises across the Windows Ecosystem. Purchased songs from Microsoft’s music store will be downloaded to your range of Microsoft devices.

9:17am: WP8 has a wallet! Your Visa card, flybuys and other forms of digital currency can be securely stored in the Wallet application on WP8.

9:19am: Steve Lewis from Nokia has taken the stand. “The industry is moving from a battle of devices to a battle of ecosystems.”

Nokia’s Lumia 920 and 820 will be on Australian store shelves in November. Telstra will be ranging the flagship, with Vodafone and Optus stocking the 820.

Nokia’s Lumia 820 and Lumia 920

9:20am: Nokia’s maps are used across the Windows ecosystem. Nokia is spruiking its mapping, wireless charging and its pureview capabilities.

9:21am: On the accessory front, Nokia is teaming up with Monster and JBL.

9:23am: A HTC representative has taken the stand to introduce the “signature” Windows Phone: The HTC One 8X. He’s boasting its Beats by Dre audio capabilities and its ‘beautiful’ design. 

“It’s about creating this magical experience.”

“We were inspired…by the colour of the whole Windows ecosystem.”

HTC’s One 8X (above). The company is also launching the One 8S

9:26am: Here’s the Beats lowdown. Both HTC Windows Phones come with a Beats amplifier for the speaker and another amplifier for the 3.5mm jack.

The rear camera has strong low light capabilities with f/2.0 aperture.

The front facing camera has the same aperture sensitivity and a wide angle lens, allowing you to capture up to four people in a front-facing shot. The front camera has 2.1MP resolution.

9:28am: The 4.3 inch screen has a HD 720p resolution, resulting in a 341ppi density.

9:29am: The 8X is launching as a 4G device. HTC don’t have an estimated launch date, other than saying ‘Coming Soon.’

9:29am: Samsung’s VP of Telecommunications, Tyler McGee, is now addressing us.

9:30am: “We’re probably the only company who can create an entire range of Windows products.”

9:32am: The Samsung Ativ S: Dual core 1.5GHz processor, 8MP camera (Full HD recording), expandable memory, 2,300mAh battery and a removable cover.

Click to enlarge

Unlike the phones before it, it feature a metal casing.

It has a 4.8inch Super AMOLED HD screen.

9:33am: Samsung is bringing their Navigon GPS device to Windows Phone 8. Navigon is used on 1 million Samsung devices.

9:34am: The Ativ S will be available exclusive from Optus in December, or can be purchased outright from Samsung’s Experience store.

9:35am: Ben Miller has taken the stand and has revealed DataSense, a feature WP8 users in the US, will be coming to Australia following negotiations with carriers.

9:36am: Windows Phone 7.8 for existing users will be coming “in a couple of weeks.”

9:37am: Windows Phone has 120,000 apps in the Windows Marketplace today and is growing “rapidly.”

9:40am: “We believe the market share we hold in the PC area will impact people’s purchasing decision,”–Megan Howard.

9:43am: The WP8 SDK will be released tomorrow and existing applications will be compatible with WP8.

9:50am: That’s a wrap guys and girls, I hope you enjoyed the live feed. Smarthouse out.