Looks like the iPhone era is over at Microsoft.

OK, probably not entirely, but the company's decision to give every employee a new Windows Phone 7 device -- announced this afternoon at its big sales meetup in Atlanta, according to tweets from employees -- should at least reduce the odds that any of them trying to take Steve Ballmer's picture with an Apple device.

A Microsoft spokesman confirmed the news, saying that the specific devices will vary by market. And yes, they will be actual Windows Phone 7 devices -- this is not Microsoft's attempt to get rid of its surplus Kins.

Follow-up: Read the full text of the memo

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