Here's a look at Orange's two Windows Phone 7-powered handsets (the HTC 7 Mozart and the Samsung Omnia 7) coming to the U.K. on Oct. 21. Microsoft held a Windows Phone 7 press event today in New York to talk up the Dell, HTC, Samsung and LG handsets coming to America on Nov. 8 via AT&T.

Microsoft also released its first Windows Phone commercials, one featuring Donovan's Season of the Witch (and a comment on our mobile-induced state of distraction) and another using "Really?" as a catchphrase — watch them after the jump — and the tagline, "It's time for a phone to save us from our phones." WP7 is also coming to Xbox Live.Continue reading...

Assuming they've had as many queries as we've had in the wake of its #singingtweetagrams Twitter marketing stunt, Orange gives a backstage glimpse at in a new video showing the Rockabellas in action.

Your challenge, should you choose to accept it: Come up with a clever Twitter message using the hashtag #singingtweetagrams and cross your fingers that your tweet gets the Rockabellas treatment. In shades of the Old Spice social media campaign, it's certainly a fresh twist (conceived by Orange) on engaging social media-savvy consumers. Scroll down here to hear some responses.

The news that Nokia had hired its first non-Finnish CEO in Microsoft executive Stephen Elop, who starts next week, continues to reverberate. Yesterday saw the resignation of Anssi Vanjoki, the head of its smartphone business.

Today its chairman, Jorma Ollila ("the executive credited with turning the Finnish company into the world's largest handset maker," notes the Wall Street Journal) revealed that he will step down too, although not until 2012. The Journal added that today's "surprise announcement, coming just days after Nokia said that it had hired Elop to replace its chief executive (Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo) signals that a deeper transformation could be in store at the company than many had anticipated."

Elop's challenges include restoring its former dominance in markets where it's slipping in the face of competitors (notably, Apple and Google) steadily whittling away at its share of the European market, where the Nokia brand still dominates.

The company is reporting record attendance at Nokia World — its annual meeting with developers, partners, analysts, investors and press — in London. Nokia unveiled new phones (such as the biz-friendly E7) and announced there it's bringing, with Orange, a new integrated Ovi service "that widens the developer ecosystem and gives Orange customers using Nokia handsets easier access to more content" to customers in the UK and France.

Increasingly, brands targeting youth (or the young at heart) are focusing on doing good as a strategy to keep a key target audience engaged. We recently highlighted the Pepsi Refresh project as one example of a noteworthy pro-social campaign looking to bring the power of its brand and brand advocates to help in the community.

In the UK, Orange has just announced an innovative pro-social effort to generate ideas for grassroots volunteer projects. Orange says it will take the best ideas and turn them into a mobile volunteering app.

In keeping with mobile's snack-size bits of content, Orange says it's looking to make minutes matter by introducing convenient, snack-size volunteering "so consumers can volunteer anywhere, anytime."Continue reading...

As Google and Verizon defend a net neutrality proposal that exempts wireless services, Google faces privacy questions over an alleged order of a “microdrone” from a German company.

BSkyB challenges Skype over logo.

BP nears a deal with U.S. government on guarantees for $20B compensation fund.

Dish Network experiences slippage in subscribers even while rival DirecTV posts gains.

H-P navigates its future after the resignation of CEO Mark Hurd in an ethics scandal, as customers by and large remain loyal – but investors knock down the company’s share price.Continue reading...

Read anything interesting on brands and branding lately? Post a link in the comments! Our recommendations:

The New Yorker on Haim Saban (the Guardian hears he's eyeing Newsweek).

Amazon to Drop Free Books from Kindle Bestseller List. [PW]

Tommy Hilfiger replants its American flag. [NYT]

How P&G weathered the recession. [Fortune]

(Gucci, Nivea, Nordstrom's and more.)Continue reading...

Executives from BP, Halliburton and Transocean defend themselves as hearing begins in Washington. Meanwhile, BP faces boycott as it prepares a second dome and considers stuffing uncapped oil well with golf balls and tires.

Paid brand blogging and "sponsored conversations" are on the rise.

P&G prepares branding campaign for London 2012 Olympic Games.

Claire's hit by recall of children's jewelry.

Coca-Cola China launches eco-friendly bottles for Ice Dew water brand.

Disney launches women's website with Teri Hatcher.Continue reading...