Mobile Technology upgrade, Windows "Mango" phone unveiled
(CBS) - Microsoft announced this morning that the next version of the Windows Phone operating system, dubbed "Mango," has been delivered to manufacturers. Now, they can begin testing it on their handsets for compatibility with their applications, reports CNET.
The update focuses on improving three key areas: communications, apps and Internet.
Soon, the software will arrive on new phones, such as the IS12T, which will have a 3.7" screen and 13.2 megapixel camera. Bluetooth and Wi-Fi will also be included on this gadget with a battery that could provide more than 11 days on standby and more than 6 hours of talk time. Plus, the phone will be waterproof! This mobile device, which was built by Fujitsu Toshiba Mobile Communicatoins, however, will only be available to Japanese consumers sometime in September or after.
"The phone is the first of several handsets due over the next few months, that Microsoft hopes will signal its return to the smartphone market as a serious player," says PC World. "If that wish sounds familiar, it is. This time last year the company was hoping the first version of the Windows Phone 7 would accomplish the same thing. But that didn't happen."
Fujitsu Toshiba Mobile Communicatoins is just one of several partners Microsoft is working with on Mango handsets. Add to the list, Taiwan's Acer, China's ZTE and Nokia.
Mango adds 500 improvements to the current Windows Phone 7 platform, says Microsoft.
IDC analyst Al Hilwa wrote in an email, "Mango is a substantial improvement bringing multi-tasking and other needed features. This really begins to close the gap and in a couple of ways exceeds its competitors."
