It was approximately 9 months ago that Microsoft launched its new operating system for mobile phones – Windows Phone 7. Overall, the OS was good and was appreciated by both users and the media. But it was incomplete in terms of matching up to the competition. This autumn, Microsoft is going to release a major update for WP7, known quite simply as ‘Mango’, claiming to add a total of 500+ new features.
Although there is a long list of features, the update is focused is on three key areas which include Communications, Apps, and Internet. Some of the highlighted features are:
- Threads: Switching between text, Facebook chat and Windows Live Messenger within the same conversation.
- Groups: Group contacts into personalized Live Tiles, to show the latest status updates right from the start screen and quickly send a text, email or IM to the whole group.
- Deeper social network integration: Twitter and LinkedIn feeds are now integrated into contact cards, built-in Facebook check-ins and a new face detection software that makes it easier to quickly tag photos and post to the Web.
- Linked inbox for email: To show multiple email accounts in a single inbox. Conversations are organized to make it easy to stay on top of the latest mails.
- Hands-free messaging: Built-in voice-to-text and text-to-voice support enables hands-free texting or chatting.
- Multitasking: Switching between apps and continuing from where you left off.
Although the update doesn’t arrive officially till September, the Developer Build is out in the open so that people can work with the updated OS and build apps for it. And the reviews have been overwhelmingly positive to say the least. Along with the partnership with Nokia for manufacturing handsets and cloud services in the form of Office 365, the folks at Redmond managed have to redefine the company’s position in this extremely competitive market. Now we just have to wait and watch how this translates into a larger market share for Microsoft.
