In the first of many Windows Phone 7 Series sessions here at Microsoft MIX10, Joe Belfiore showed off more details of the phone operating system that hasn’t been shown publically before.

Obviously being a phone, one point of focus was the actual calling experience. Making a call brings up an overlay that sits on top of the previous screen faded out, a nice touch over replacing the entire screen to provide some context of what you were looking at, a related email for example.

Those wondering where the usual status icons are – cell signal and provider name for example – it turns out they only appear when used. For example, when internet connectivity is used, the WiFi icon appears. As such, the signal and provider only appears when in a call.

It’s the first day at Microsoft’s MIX10 conference on all things design and hip in Las Vegas and to kick things off we anticipate a blockbuster keynote on all things Windows Phone 7 Series.

To bring you the event live, join Ed Bott, Mary Jo Foley, Kip Kniskern, Benjamin Rubenstein, Paul Thurrott and myself in our hallmark group liveblog. Audience participation will be enabled by default so feel free to ask questions and provide your thoughts on the announcements live.

Fans of the “Metro” user experience which made its debut on Windows Phone 7 Series will be pleased to know desktop applications featuring large fonts and simple shapes too are coming soon to a PC and Mac near you.

Ahead of the MIX10 event next week, Tim Heuer of the Silverlight team let out a sneak peek at some new application themes developed by Microsoft for Silverlight 4, including one inspired by the Zune desktop software appropriately called “Metro”.

Although themes support was introduced with Silverlight 3, none of the built-in themes have been any compelling. These new themes on the other hand are much more extensive and modern which should make it easier for Silverlight developers to create more polished Silverlight applications without much if any investment in customizing the UI. For users, it means more better looking applications.

I, for one, welcome our new Metro overlords.

As the release date for the Office 2010 suite trickled out last week without much fanfare, news about its younger sibling, Office Web Apps, was nowhere to be seen. This was rather odd in context of Microsoft’s announcement in the same week that it’s “all in” for cloud computing

In a briefing with Microsoft representatives this week I was assured the consumer version of Office Web Apps in Windows Live is indeed still coming, scheduled with the next version of Windows Live, Wave 4. Although no specific dates were disclosed, it’s likely Office Web Apps will be available at a separate time to the Office 2010 client and confirmed to be later according to a similar briefing by APC.

Although the initial version 1 release of Office Web Apps will not feature many changes to the technical preview secluded in SkyDrive today, albeit with the full editing functionality of Word Web App and the missing OneNote Web App, Microsoft was able to confirm updates to the Office Web Apps are not necessarily tied to Office client releases.

You can expect us to regularly update Web Apps. For consumers using Web Apps via Windows Live SkyDrive, you can expect us to roll-out features on a rolling basis consistent with the rest of our services including Messenger and Hotmail.

Personally I wouldn’t consider Messenger and Hotmail “regularly updated” but it’s good to know that Office Web Apps will not remain dormant between major Office releases which could take 3 to 4 years.

As the Microsoft representative also pointed out consumers over enterprises are much more comfortable with (and to a degree, expect) updates more frequently, I speculate it won’t be too far before we see new features introduced in Office Web Apps before it hits the client.

A promotional video shown to Microsoft sales staff has revealed a Microsoft wireless webcam codename “Sputnik” – a nod to the Sputnik 1, the first artificial satellite in space. Unlike its spacefaring counterpart however, it appears this product never quite made it off the ground.

Elements of the video including Windows XP, Windows Live Messenger 8 and a chunky CRT TV sets this product back to somewhere around 2004.

Although wireless webcams are not a new concept even at that time, but all of which are designed for security and surveillance purposes. Even till now, none have been designed and marketed specifically for the consumer space. Obvious technological limitations such as battery life, wireless quality and range might have attributed to the product’s demise.

Come to think of it, a wireless webcam still makes a lot of sense and smartphones today could easily duplicate its functionality with a combination of software on the PC and the phone. Windows Phone 7 Series app anyone?

Once in a while, what happens in Vegas gets liveblogged to the rest of the world. To bring you the thrill and spills of Microsoft’s MIX10 conference next week join Ed Bott, Mary Jo Foley, Kip Kniskern, Benjamin Rubenstein, Paul Thurrott and myself as we’re all in to group liveblog both keynotes where they’re expected to blow the lids off Windows Phone 7 Series and Internet Explorer 9.

Check back on Monday, March 15 9am PST and Tuesday, March 16 9am PST for the first and second keynote respectively to find the liveblog embed. For the organized among us, import this handy iCal file.

Audience participation will be enabled by default so feel free to ask questions and provide your thoughts on the announcements live.