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BILL RADKE: Microsoft might still be king of the PC, but it’s way behind in the smartphone game. Today the company hopes to change that with the release of its Windows 7 operating system for mobile devices.

Marketplace’s John Dimsdale has the story.

JOHN DIMSDALE: Smartphone sales are growing at a 30 percent clip. But Microsoft’s share of the software that operates phones has fallen by half to just 5 percent. To try to take back the market from Google’s Android and Apple’s iPhone, Microsoft today will unveil a group of smartphones that run on Windows Phone 7.

Software analyst Rob Enderle says for WP 7 to be successful, it’ll have to look stunning and work well.

ROB ENDERLE: It has to stand out as something that’s different and desirable. And it has to show up on attractive hardware and on carriers that are beyond AT&T.

That won’t be the case at first. But analysts expect the software will make downloading and watching videos and movies on phones easier. Still, Microsoft is so far behind the competition that some analysts think it might be better for Microsoft to just buy a more successful phone company, like maybe the one that makes Blackberry.

In Washington, I’m John Dimsdale for Marketplace.