Microsoft Unveils Mango, the Latest Version of Windows Phone
Microsoft held dual events in New York City and London on Tuesday to introduce the latest version of Windows Phone 7 — codename “Mango” — to the world. Mashable attended the New York City event and got a firsthand look at what is next for the software giant and its mobile operating system.
Microsoft introduced Windows Phone 7 to the world seven months ago in an attempt to reboot its mobile strategies. With Mango, Microsoft is hoping to use Windows Phone 7 as a base, building out features and capabilities in the OS to make phones “smarter and easier.”
The company outlined its three focus areas for Mango:
- Communications
- Apps
- Internet
We’ll be discussing Microsoft’s strategy more thoroughly in a later post, but the big takeaway is that Mango will be an evolution of the Windows Phone 7 strategy. Features like multitasking, better cloud integration and better platform tools are all part of Mango’s roadmap.
Mango tools will be available for developers today and is slated for a fall release. In addition to continuing its hardware partnerships with LG, HTC and Samsung, the company announced that Acer, Fujitsu and ZTE will also release Mango handsets. The biggest hardware maker, however, will be Nokia. The first Nokia phone to run Windows Phone will run Mango. Microsoft didn’t explicitly promise a fall debut, but says that Nokia handsets running Mango are already in the lab.
Many of the best ideas in Windows Phone 7 are being carried to fruition in Mango and with developer support; this could be Microsoft’s shot to take on some of the bigger players.
