Windows Phone Services: The key to Microsoft’s success in the mobile market?

I was looking at Microsoft’s Jobs ads today and noticed a couple new openings in the E&D division related to a newly formed Windows Phone team called: Windows Phone Services. Here’s the description:

The WPS team is a newly formed team within Windows Phone Engineering focused on delivery of innovative services that light up Windows Phones. We are passionate about delivering world-class services to our users and partners. We take a long term view of engineering, and invest in software engineering quality and productivity along with service delivery consistency and scalability.

What kind of services are they talking about? The first thing that comes to mind is services similar to myPhone, Bing or the Marketplace, but there are already development teams dedicated to both of these services. Another piece of info can be found in a second Job posting:

The Windows Phone Services(WPS) is in charge of the next generation connected mobile services for Windows Phones. We’re going head to head with iPhone, Android and other key players in mobile – we’re all in to win and mobile services is will take us there. We’re on the cusp of a big release with Windows Phone 7 and planning for next release is well under way. This is an exciting time to join a stellar team with a big charter and make a difference that will echo through the world.

As you can see in the quote above Microsoft thinks that these new “next generation” services are going to help them go against the competition and one of the most intersting info is also the mention that the work/planning of the next Windows Phone (Windows Phone 8?) is already well underway.

Here’s another quote describing the Windows Phone Services:

The Windows Phone Service team is at the frontier of Microsoft’s effort to fight back and dominate the mobile market. Our goal is to create unprecedented mobile user experience powered by innovative services. We are passionate about delivering world-class services to our users and partners. We take a long term view of engineering, and invest in soft engineering quality and productivity along with service delivery consistency and scalability.

And a last one:

This team will develop the services to work with mobile operators to advance our commerce offerings. You will offer independent thinking and develop high quality services to work with worldwide network of mobile operators. You also will be exposed to the challenging opportunities that are part of being in a highly competitive industry for the phone services. You will create the software that your mom, grandma, friends, and the 5-year old niece will use and appreciate.

Now the question is: Will Microsoft talk about these services anytime soon and are some of them already included in Windows Phone 7? One thing is for sure though; Microsoft isn’t getting out of the mobile market any-time soon.

Source: Microsoft: 1, 2, 3, 4