It was always unlikely Microsoft would allow its new partner Nokia to steal all the limelight at this year's Mobile World Congress.

Indeed, while the Finnish firm has had to address questions from commentators concerned as to the logistics of its link up with Windows Phone – the future of MeeGo and Symbian now up in the air – Microsoft's motivation for its alliance with the world's biggest OEM is self-evident.

Updates for all

As such, CEO Steve Ballmer was able to use the firm's press conference to look at the broader progression of Windows Phone – a progression that's set to be dominated by updates in 2011.

Most notable from a gaming perspective is the ability for Windows Phone 7 users to link up with those playing on Kinect – Microsoft's Xbox 360 peripheral, which has sold more than 8 million units to date.

Showcasing a game called Rally Ball, WP7 players will be able to direct play on the fly – the demo in question depicting a player on their phone tossing balls towards the avatar of someone playing the game on Xbox 360.

It's the first evidence of Microsoft delivering on its promise to integrate the two platforms.

Though more elaborate link ups will surely follow, associating WP7 with Kinect – which already has a powerful presence at retail – could provide Microsoft with a mighty marketing tool in 2011.

Twit attack

Twitter is another platform set for more extensive integration with the OS this year, with Ballmer stating the social network will weave its way into almost every hub on the platform – in much the same manner as Facebook currently enjoys.

It's likely Twitter will feature as part of a fairly major update to the OS later in the year.

While cut-and-paste is expected to roll out in the first refresh to the platform this March, Ballmer revealed multi-tasking is also coming to WP7 – a new task switcher tool providing live previews of the apps in use in much the same way as Windows 7's task bar.

IE9 is also in development, due to launch on WP7 later this year, equipped with HTML5's native support for video. Flash support, however, was not mentioned.

Future focus

Nevertheless, the decision to drive the platform forward is all good news for the developers who have already thrown their weight behind Windows Phone 7.

Indeed, Microsoft claims Windows Phone Marketplace currently boasts 8,000 apps in total – that's up 3,000 from the end of 2010 – with developers having downloaded the Visual Studio dev kit more than 1 million times.

Ballmer's key message, however, is that while WP7's start has been solid, Nokia's support (cemented by CEO Stephen Elop also offering his thoughts on stage during the presentation) is likely to accelerate the platform throughout 2011.

For Microsoft, Elop couldn't have chosen a better time to jump off that burning platform.