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This is a special day for us. We’ve mentioned the next major release of Windows Phone—codenamed Mango—at various conferences during the past few months and provided some brief peeks. Today we’re throwing the official welcome party.
Andy Lees, president of Microsoft’s mobile communication business, is kicking off things in New York City this morning with a keynote and series of Mango demos you won’t want to miss. He’ll be covering new phone features and languages, new countries for Windows Phone Marketplace, a new web-based Marketplace, and new handset partners.
You can watch the replay here. Then, at 5:30 p.m. Eastern (21:30 GMT), make sure to head over to Facebook, where we’re hosting a 30-minute live chat about Mango and giving you a chance to ask our experts questions about the next release of Windows Phone.
Mango, which will be available this fall, includes hundreds of new features and improvements organized around three key themes: easier communications, smarter apps, and the Internet. Andy will cover these in greater detail, but here are the highlights:
The next version of Windows Phone keeps pace with the many different ways people connect and share—whether its calls, texts, emails, IMs, tweets, check-ins, or posting tagged photos or status updates. Some of the new features include:
Windows Phone will challenge the way people think about apps. Mango brings improved app notifications and updates on the Start screen. Apps are also more integrated in search results and hubs. Highlights include:
Mango packs a mobile version of Internet Explorer 9 and leverages built-in phone capabilities like location awareness and the camera to supply more relevant search results, local info, and suggestions. Highlights:
This fall Windows Phone and its apps will also be available to more people around the world.
Mango will support languages including Chinese (simplified and traditional), Czech, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, Greek, Hungarian, Japanese, Korean, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, and Swedish.
And Marketplace, which now has more than 17,000 apps, will be available in 35 countries starting this fall, nearly double its current footprint. You’ll also be able to buy apps online. (Matt Bencke has more to say on Marketplace expansion plans and the beta release of the free Windows Phone Developer Tools on the Developer Blog today.)
Finally, there will also be more phones to choose from. Many of you probably already know about our exciting alliance with Nokia. Today we’re also announcing new partnerships with Acer, Fujitsu Limited, and ZTE Corporation to deliver new Windows Phones handsets.
Haven’t seen enough yet? I’ll leave you with the always-interesting Joe Belfiore, vice president for Windows Phone program management, who recently shot a video demoing some of the new features coming in Mango. Also, make sure to check the blog frequently in the weeks and months ahead for more in-depth features on Mango and the people who created it.
That sounds awesome, multitasking and IE9 are BIG on my list, Please make sure that Omnia 7s also get the Mango in right time. All the best to WP7 team! Cheers!!!
Well I was anxiously waiting to watch the live stream of the webcast, but alas, I can't connect to it.....
@torsus: Here's a direct link to the live feed. This help?
www.microsoft.com/.../liveevent.aspx
@Michael Stroh: Thanks Mike! Really appreciate it. I knew the webcast was going to get hammered, but not this bad. But that goes to show just how much excitement is surrounding the next version of Windows Phone, and how much we love it.
I just can't win with Windows Phone. I have rev 1.4 Focus, I can't find a Microsoft employee anywhere that can tell me why I get error code 85010004 when trying to sync to my corporate OWA email when using the exact same settings that work on Iphone and Android and I can't connect to the press conference.
I am about to give up
Amazing job, i hope it will come in time
@jburch: Sorry to hear you're having trouble. Did you check Answers or post a question there? That's the support forum and they have folks monitoring it.
answers.microsoft.com/.../wp7
So... this mango will be released in the fall. Which means prior to December 22nd. Does that mean it will be released for all in the fall? Or will most of us still be waiting for it in 2012?
@Michael Stroh: Yes, a couple of times. Nothing has worked. I love the phone but not being able to get my work email really has me in a bind. The only way I can get it on the phone is to log into our OWA website through IE.
all features of Mango are amazing! cant wait to get it. great work WP7 team
but i still did not get may security update to my orange uk omnia 7...
Yet i still haven't received pre-NoDo. I expect to have Mango in ... 2015
Really great news on the features list - delivers what I was hoping for plus more!! Hope you're not pre-announcing too early though, don't wait to wait too long for this stuff.
So we keep hearing there's over 500 new features in Mango. Can we see that list please?
Wow can't wait for the update...oh wait, nevermind, I don't even have NoDo yet
To me as an app developer, the biggest new features are: Touch events and image decoding on separate threads (huge issue for me today). This is not an issue on the emulator though, however I will only be able to test Mango on the emulator. Camera, accelerometer and gyro are other things that the emulator just can't replace a real device. Before I actually get Mango on the phone (where I really need to be testing), we have already seen how that can easily take months with rolling releases and carrier hold-up. It's simply not acceptable that I as an app developer cannot test or take advantage of the new features before users are getting the updates.
You MUST provide developers a way to run and test these upcoming OS's before launch. The current state is simply not acceptable.
i was disappointed.
nothing big. like we already know all the things prior to this presentation? i was expecting something new, some new features that we would never expect n stuff...
is this it or we can expect some new major stuff till it ships?
and the guy said that "skype is doing an app." so this means that skype wont be completely integrated into phone?
@Michael Stroh - How much of this will be available in places outside the US (such as where I live in Australia)? I watched the live stream and loved all the features you demoed, but when it came to the entire Local Scout demo and the reply to text message using only your voice demo, it was in the back of my mind, "oh, we won't get that in Australia because we don't have Bing Local or Voice Support here :(". Was a real dampener on a great demo.
Can you put my mind at rest that we will get getting the entire feature set or will it be US/Europe only like it is currently?
@jburch Are you using a fully validated official certificate?
Didn't watch live but read the Engadget live blog and the speaker saying "you won't have to wait for mango" and then following that up with saying it's coming in the fall is one of the dumbest things I've read. I'm excited for Mango and love Windows Phone but that was just plain stupid. Four plus months definitely qualifies as waiting. So stupid.
what about right to left languages like farsi and arabic? you promised it in MIX 2011
I can't be too exicted since I don't even have NoDo, yet.
Microsoft's attempt to make fun of Android's Donut update sure looks stupid now, doesn't it?
Great work MS....Loving all the awesomeness you have in store for us all with Mango. Still keeping some things to tease out each month thru to SEP/OCT I see :)
Here's hoping (as Andrew says below) that you can overcome the "challenges" for full Mango feature list roll out to all your international markets (or if not all - at least Australia outside of the US lol)!
Developer Tools out today to! Nice. And Marketplace on the WEB outside of Zune client allows for heaps of extra functionality like regions etc (Yes - I'm a broken record!)...
Looking good. Please let us know if any of the team are coming to AUS for any launch events.
:)
I've been Microsoft's biggest fanboy. My Omnia 7 is still running version 7004. I'm extremely angry. I'm going to wait a few more hours and then i'll spam every blog that matters. Only Microsoft can make a fanboy angry. This is RIDICULOUS
@Schrank: I installed the certificates several times now and I have tried it from two different Focus phones. I put my settings into an Iphone and an Android phone and it works every time so I know I am not blocked at the server.
Great news...Exciting News...only problem is, this this is yet another post by MS that is not an announcement that they have, after over a month, figured out how to get NODO onto my wife's Samsung Focus. I also see MS still hasn't learned from their many mistakes with WP so far and have yet again given a time frame for the Mango release. Oh the disappointment and rage when in Januray 2012 we will still be waiting. For anyone who doesn't like my post, move on to the next one. For MS, will you ever learn?
Great features. I guess its time for me to move on from Android. Multi-tasking and Live tiles are what pulling me.
Your phone is up do date.
Current phone software version: 7.0(7004)
I HOPE HOPE HOPE, adjustable playback speeds were added to the media player for podcasts. Really can't switch to WP until that's there. iPhone has had since day 1 and there're many apps that can do that on Android...but nooooo...nothing like that in WP :( Please MS I beg you...get this little feature in there!!!!!
So, IE can't be updated outside the core OS then? Having to wait months yet for a proper/updated web browser on my Focus is testing my patience. You're killing my beer drinking social experience, Untappd, with the outdated IE7 in WP7. :( I was hoping for some type of IE9 love earlier than this "Fall." Booo.... Just release the browser already. I'll take a beta version even. Please.
I'm still reading through the blog, since I couldn't get anything live at work. But it all looks great, with even a few surprises here and there. After seeing how much Microsoft is really utilizing the HUB concept, I'm convinced more than ever that iPhone and Android will pale in comparison once we start thinking in this mode. It just makes SO much more sense. I said from day 1 that I felt the hub approach was revolutionary and not-too-well understood by most WP7 users (let alone all the non-users). I think the phrase used to describe the iPhone and Android approach was stovepipe, which is a concept I'm fully aware of in the Lean/Six Sigma world. That apps in WP7 are even more fully going to be "conversational" with each other is a dramatic departure. In business data mining we often use the term "drill down" and "drill through", which is what WP7 is really doing.
One thing I couldn't help but notice was a mention about carriers providing more than connectivity, that they "add value" with software & services. Apparently, Microsoft has not hired any Lean/Six Sigma experts to look at their operation. I have yet to meet a customer who actually finds carrier software, etc. to be worthwhile. Value is ALWAYS expressed from the customer point of view, NOT the provider. As a customer, I pay AT&T for one thing, and one thing only---connectivity. Same as my cable internet provider. So, on that particular point, I vehemently disagree with the marketing Microsoft threw in there.
@Morton Nielsen, as was noted in the press conference, more will be coming out in the following weeks. However, I don't doubt that many leaks will happen between now and then. As the beta testing expands it will be next to impossible to completely contain "sharing". Also, laying out little bread crumbs just keeps the interest up and wets the appetite until fall.
please dont delay this update... PLEASEEE.......... THIS IS WHERE WE GET FRUSTRATED WHEN YOU DELAY UPDATES
I just had an interesting experience that showed just how natural WP7 is compared to iPhone. My wife, a devout iPhone 4 owner, has resisted joining Facebook until now. Family issues prompted the need. So, I assisted her in setting it up and downloading the FB app to her iPhone. She didn't have any photos on her desktop to upload as her profile pic, so I told her to upload one from her phone. Of course, the iterations she had to go through just to upload a photo were painful compared to how quickly I could select a photo and immediately upload it to FB. This seemlessness is exactly where I think that WP7 is going to ultimately trounce iPhone and Android.
While I'm looking forward to Mango I'm really concerned that all those cool Bing search features are going to end up being US only. Right now in Canada the only way to get semi-okay results is to set my region to US. This needs to be fixed. I'm seriously tired of waiting for this, and the full marketplace. Music + Videos still is a black background and the live tile never updates in Canada.
And I see that the "I need multiple calendars" crowd will see relief in Mango. Multiple calenders, color coded. Not a useful feature for me, since I send all my appointments, regardless of source, to a single calendar (only way to accurately see everywhere I need to be and avoid 100% of conflicts). But, clearly, the customers have been heard on that one. Now the waiting game begins ;)
This is welcome and awesome upgrade, just make sure to get it in our hand in time.. thanks for awesome work.
Scuba: Generally agree with you about the carriers, but I have to say that I've been using the AT&T code scanner app, although I deleted all of the AT&T apps that were installed on my Focus when I bought it. I've had more reliable results with the AT&T code scanner than any other one I've tried from the Marketplace.
That said, the comments about the carriers adding value was just good partner relations. Microsoft never publically criticized the carriers during the delays of delivering NoDo (partially because there was plenty of blame to go around among the carriers, Microsoft and the OEMs) and they never publically criticized Verizon for its major role in the Kin debacle.
On Mango: exciting stuff and I am looking forward to it. Two tidbits from the event: First, I noticed the name "Zune" appeared on a slide listing WP services. That still doesn't mean the name won't be going away, but it didn't appear at all during MIX. Second, Endgadget is reporting that Mango has been officially designated WP 7.1 and not 7.5 as we were expecting. This is quite a lot of new stuff for a .1 release.
I already gave up on any features on my WP,the only thing I'm expecting from mango,is a fix for the usability of bing maps in Canada,if its still the same,I'm definitely selling my phone the next day and dive into the android jungle.I'm not saying Android is any better overall,just that it does the basic things I need perfectly such as navigation or just the Google maps services.all these big Mango features and promises are no way exciting to me all I want is first a fix of the current version.
P.S,by the way nothing guarantee I'll be getting the update before January 2012
Now tell me, how much of the Mango features will be US only or limited to like 5 countries. I'm guessing all of the Bing stuff and everything Marketplace related.
@Strider_Auz - I Think I Answered My Own Question. This Is From An Image On A Microsoft Facebook Page: http://twitpic.com/51zkko (Check The Bottom Of The Pic - US/UK Only). :(
And will Gmail not be completely useless and counterproductive now?
I hope one of those 500 features is support for more than one calendar per account.
@Michael Stroh...im new to blogging and really just have a silly question: based on everything that I have read and viewed in videos on Mango, I just want to clarify that Mango is going to be infact a software update (in the fall) and not a option for new phones only? I am purchasing a Samsung Focus in a couple of weeks and I am really excited about all that Mango has to offer but would hate that its olny for specific phones. Again I realize that the answer seems pretty clear however reading through some blogs has confused me a little so i would rather be sure, thanks.
Great stuff. Will the text-to-speech work for Outlook emails?
Hi. I am eager about mango update. I would like to ask you if there is going to be localization for the new supported languages. For example is there going to be a Greek interface, or only typing support? Thank you very much anyway
@telly0828: Hi and welcome--and thanks for buying a phone! I think you'll like what you see. Yes, you're correct. Mango will be available on new phones and as a free update to current Windows Phone owners starting later this fall.
Regarding the blog post:
1. "Mango, which will be available this fall..." needs clarification. Does that mean Mango will be available to the OEMs & carriers in the Fall or will it be pushed to consumer devices starting in the Fall?
Regarding Joe's video:
1. Multitasking - is that preemptive multitasking or switch tasking?
2. IE9 - it would have been nice if Acid3, Browsermark, and Sun Spider tests were performed on all of the phones for different (possibly better) metric
Bing, Local scout, Cards - are great! But how much of this will be available outside of USA?
My MS Exchange administrator at work tells me that the WP7 doesn't have enough security for them to feel comfortable allowing me to sync to their OWA via exchange. Will the upgrade have improved security?
I'm Really loving the Windows phone,
but where's arabic support?!
@nesher Local Scout is only US and UK. Bing Audio f.e. is only in like 5 countries too. I understand Local Scout since Bings Data in Europe sucks, but Bing Audio makes no sense.
I'm loving the commitment Microsoft is putting into this new platform - mango is packed with really interesting things for developers to explore. I'm very confident that this platform is going to succeed in a really big way!
I was hoping to hear news about being able to not only search for local and web results, but even search content that's on the phone (type a text phrase to find all contacts, messages, SMS, songs/videos, etc.) that match. Anyone heard any rumblings on this front?
Well, that's nice, but still no native C/C++ code :/
Guys, please read this:
www.pocketgamer.biz/.../news.asp
What exactly is that "political decision" ?
MS used to be cool and developers friendly.
What happened?
Yeah, lots of noise about Mango. Sounds great, but I'm barely even paying attention to it anymore, as I doubt I'll actually have it on my phone before 2012 anyway.
If past performance is any indication, the Microsoft/AT&T/Samsung "partnership" pretty much guarantees months of waiting with weekly "nothing to report" updates to hold us over. The NoDo nightmare all over again (and even worse, since Mango is actually a meaningful update)... fun fun fun
@Sogeman...The reason Bing Audio won't be in all locations is because not everyone speaks the same. When you are working with voice recognition, accents have to be INCREDIBLY hard to work around, and doing multiple languages would be even harder! Although with the US and UK under the umbrella, I would expect Canada and Aus to not be far behind as it would just be accent tweaks.
VERY excited to see the Xbox Games update! It was annoying in my eyes to have to open an app to use what I thought should be native features. (Glance and go, Glance and go!)
Very excited to see the avatar features and Gamerscore comparison brought into the main overall experience. The one last request I would HOPE made it in then is that the Xbox message system will include native WP spell check!
Windows Phone: You *don't need* an App for that!
Absolutely amazing stuff guys! Because I'm a huge fans most of what was demoed i already assumed would be true (thanks to leaks and rumors) but it does my heart well to know that everything i heard would be in the update would be in the update and much more. It was nice to see a "history" tab in the contatcs view. I saw that in a fan made mock up and it looked really nice and it seems you guys saw it too or were thinking along those lines. Being a social butterfly the twitter integration and new messaging experience is music to my ears. One question, in the demoes i saw that you could set your presence/status but it appeared that it was either only for msn messenger or that it set it for facebook chat as well. Is there seperate settings. like if you want to appear offline on facebook chat but be available on live messenger? i hope so.
I sincerely hope that the whole update fiasco process is behind us and mango will be a smooth TIMELY update. regardless i will have a focus 2 (or whatever samsung's Galaxy S II windowsphone variant will be called) on preorder or stand in line to get one. Focus 2 + Mango update= Old Spice guy level awesomeness
Again Microsoft did not support right to left languages , Again Microsoft neglect middle east customers
@Curtieson Pretty sure Bing Audio is that Shazam like stuff. Songs are the same everywhere. Also, I'm pretty sure there's voice recognition for somet things on my phone right now...
Guys I just got my Samsung Focus. Do you recommend updating it to March and February update or wait for the Mango update?
Honestly, I don't see any major new stuff or improvement except Live Messenger (FINALLY!!) and extra language support (since I am a Chinese).
Speaking about speedy browser, the current nodo browser is fast enough, but it's the missing features than drag us down greatly. e.g. missing password saving feature and it's primitive bookmark system. Giving us a instant loaded & 200fps browser doesn't help our productivity if we still have to retype our password every time and go thru an bookmark lists that couldn't be organized easily.
While MS is saying so many new features added (where is that 500+ listed?), they are totally silent about major issues or missing features that users need most.
1. It's ridiculous that location (currently saved as Hong Kong) of my primary Live account cannot be change and I have to create a dummy account just to use my phone since I am in US now. And it's one of my (and many others) major issue I never buy a single app in marketplace since I am not comfortable to associate my credit card info with a dummy account.
2.Fix the crappy BT: it's surely dump if the only feature on your BT stack is just to connect a headset. Not to mention video over A2DP is not working.
And where are other top listed features like tethering GPS Navigation?
I just got my new Android phone (Samsung Galaxy S II) and I am relief about the switch after my 10+ yrs with Windows Mobile (my first PDA is iPaq 2215). My Samsung Focus probably will sit in my drawer forever to collect dust given how WP team playing catch up with the competitors.
It would be awesome if under the share option while listening to music via Zune, if you could post the song you're listening to to your wall or a friends wall on Facebook. Or even, an artist, song, or album from your collection or the Marketplace on both the device and the Zune desktop software.
I am wondering about multi-tasking for CPS tracking, timer, etc apps. I use Runkeeper now and if I leave the app while in session, it will stop until I resume the app. Is this scenario being addressed with how Mango and the live agents manage background processes?
Michael - ALL - open plea to MS on Mango release: Sheeds' Blog http://bit.ly/imMM6B
PLEASE PLEASE manage the region restrictions re: "LOCAL" featureset differently!
Well finally got Update 7.0.7392.0, Omnia7 on T-Mobile UK.
I absolutely love my windows 7 phone - and Mango is very exciting! Will I get the update as a current WP7 user?
Not sure if this is being included in the next update, but basics should be considered in the next update such as:
1) being able to change the sounds that play as your alarm to music that you have on your phone
2) being able to set an end date for recurring events on your phone. Is this just me being silly? but I have to do this on windows live at the moment
3) Use of Windows Live tasks in WP7 would make it a better "business" phone. There is no where on the phone where I can write memos to myself or have to-do notes. Using live tiles to do have a "to-do" would make to-do lists better than what is seen on most Nokia phones.....
Answered my own question about getting current users getting the update... already.... Oops!
Are you guys adding capability to copy documents from zune to the phone? Maybe I am missing something, but currently there is no way other than to email a document to myself and open it on the phone to have it locally on the phone. Please add this feature.
Are we going to be able to back-up the phone data yet? All the bells and whistles are nice, but I want a back-up ability more than anything. .....and not just for pictures on Zune. I'd also like the ability to update and connect the phone to the computer without Zune. Zune doesn't support XP64bit, so I have to use a different computer for this phone.
@jburch - Enter your email address and password, email server address without the /exchange or /owa at the end (for Exchange Online I use red001.mail.microsoftonline.com) and ensure you select SSL required. You might have to install the SSL certificate first. I use Exchange Online and the SSL cert is done seamlessly. Don't assume that the same settings tht work on Android or iPhone is recommended on WP7, those device implement ActiveSync in weird ways, especially the myriad Android phones out there.
why microsoft didn't add the ARABIC language ??? middle east is a huge marketing and I bet NOKIA knows that ..
I just bought omnia 7 a month ago and I hoped they'll add ARABIC but now I'm very disappointed...
This is wonderful and I cannot wait to develop for Windows Phone.
Desirable Magazine, LLC http://desirablemag.com
Does anyone know if Screen Capture will be added in "Mango"? Also why was Yahoo Messenger left out of the integrated IMs in "Mango"?
Since i have a rev 1.4 Samsung Focus am on version 7.0.7004 and cannot update, will I have to purchase a new phone in the fall to get Mango?
Thanks.
Romania still missing from supported countries! Shame-you Micro$oft !
Great work guys. But we all know it will not make a difference if no one knows about them. So, up the ante on TV ads, ALL WP7 ADs SUCK big time; nobody want to watch ads that show you how to put a phone away. The public is not getting ANY message form the ads and would it kill to have ads that do not involve any humans but simple faceless ads with just a pair of hands and a voice-over on a white background showing off all WP7 features in various everyday scenarios. There is a reason why it works for competitors; its plain, simple, uncluttered, and straigh to the point.
Enough about how to put your phone away, and more about what WP7 can do for you when you actually want/need to use it and not put it away And with all the leaks we've all heard about on the news, I'm sure enterprises and the government will love the new Information Rights management (IRM) to help keep their data in-house even on mobile devices with full SCCM 2012 management and security support in addition to current on-premise and cloud solutions support.
I really hope one of the 500 new features is when you plug your WP7 into your PC, with Zune installed that you are given an option to 'Charge Only' via USB.
This feature would be so handy + available on the other mobile platforms.
@Michael Stroh,picture this scenario:you are in a park(outside town) on a sunny day to take advantage of the beautiful weather and you are working on a document on your laptop which you have to send immediately,you don't have any Wifi network around,but you have a windows phone with a 3G connection,first you can't transfer the file directly from your PC to your phone by USB and secondly you can't even theder to upload the file to the cloud, so conclusion you are screwed.
Now ask yourself and your team is this more important than having an intergrated bing with all the fancy features which as a whole work in the US only??and are completely useless just North of the USA,I mean just here in Canada!
Surely Local Scout will work in Canada out of the box. It is not an accent problem like one poster alluded to because there is no accent difference between most of Canada and the US. I'm on a conference with a bunch of Americans and Canadians every week and the only ones you tell where they are from by their accent are from the deep south.
Is Microsoft Canada completely spineless--I haven't heard a peep from them in pushing for more Bing/WP7 services in Canada nor have the taken up the cause to get Microsoft's Gouge-All-Foreigners marketplace surcharge more even and fair--I'll grudginly pay the 12% gouge on $0.99 but I stopping buying any apps beyond that where the gouge is as much as 23% such as on a $1.99 app. And I used to buy a lot of them.
@Code Layer, it would really be unrealistic to expect Skype integration in time for Mango. Remember, Mango is still in beta and at some point you have to draw the line and say "no more additions" in order to fully stress the update to make sure the bugs are worked out and all the features you DO have in there will work to the fullest extent you intended. Microsoft only just acquired Skype (remember, announcing acquisition is only the beginning of the process). I would imagine it would be months before Microsoft would have full access to the Skype ecosystem and coding. That Skype will be available as an app by Mango launch is enough for now. I believe we'll likely see integrated Skype and things like tethering (aside from us lucky folks who can already tether with the Samsung Focus) will show up early or mid 2012 (depending on, among other things, how well the Mango deployment goes).
I'm sorry you're disappointed with what's going to be in Mango. I don't understand the insistance on being "wow'd" by some surprise feature. I'm extremely happy so many of the features that other devices already have will be added. I'm also excited by how seriously Microsoft is taking the hub/integration meme. I remain convinced that most people don't really comprehend the potential of this idea. That apps will be interacting with each other in such a unique way--and often without our interference--is something that neither iPhone nor Android can touch. Their apps and their OS's are very much stovepipe driven. Not so with WP7, particularly after Mango.
Hopefully it will be available on my Samsung Omnia 7 in the same time as for others - also 2011? However Bing, local scout and so on are fantastic! But how much of this will be available outside of USA?
At the moment I'm in Austria with Live Search instead of Bing Search and also there is no navigation on Bing Maps in Austria!
@robtani.......adjusting playback speeds? What is that? And what's the practical use? I can't imagine wanting to change my music speeds or video speeds. What do you use that feature in? (I suspect, if there really is significant demand for such a feature someone will build it into a third party media player once Mango is out).
@rlintw....I guess I'm glad you found SOMEthing from AT&T that's useful. I actually found that particular app the most useless of all the stuff they had out there. Just goes to show you that everyone has different needs. And, quite frankly, I despise carrier interference so badly that even IF AT&T had a useful app I would intentionally NOT use it for that reason alone. I just can't express how much I HATE carriers doing anything other than provide robust connectivity. When I buy a new desktop (unless I've built it myself) I immediately remove every single piece of vendor-added software. I buy a PC for the OS and the hardware set---not the junk vendors mistakenly believe is "value-added". On the Zune issue, I think I saw on another site where the Zune "identity" is being split up so that Zune will be a much smaller footprint and the spinoffs will be integrated with the areas they really should be (e.g., games). If I can find the link again I'll post it. Personally, I do like the Zune name, and it's my opinion that Microsoft usually doesn't have a great track record with naming conventions. I like names like Lync, Azure, Zune. But then you have Windows Live <insert sub-feature-here> or "Windows Phone Series 7". And on the 7.1 vs 7.5 thing, I just saw on EverythingWM that apparently when viewed via browser check that Mango is advertising itself as 7.5. Not that this is really of any importance whatsoever, but I had a conversation with a friend over this last night and we both thought this was way too big of a release (particularly when you see their ad says it "changes everything") to be just a .1 release.
I wonder where people are getting the idea that the Mango update will cost them $$$. At no point have I ever seen any official statement OR rumor that people would have to pay for the update. I noticed on the latest podcast that they made a pointed statement about it being free---you only have to do that if people are spreading a rumor to the contrary. Silliness.
@Vala Zadeh, if it didn't already come updated then I suggest you update it the next time you sync up in Zune. HOWEVER, be aware that it looks like all updates to the Samsung Focus are on hold because there is a problem with hardware revision 1.4 (you can see if yours is 1.3 or 1.4 by looking under the battery). I have NoDo but the 7392 update for the security certificate issue has not been deploying. So, try it. If you get updated, you're good to go. Likely, though, you'll just get the "Your phone is up to date" message.
@WP7Star, you need to start thinking "Skydrive". Zune is not designed to be your document interface. The integration with the Skydrive is going to be fantastic. I can't stress enough to folks that you really need to quit thinking of your desktop as your core. If you absolutely insist on placing some degree of reliance on the desktop I urge you to use Microsoft Mesh to establish a sync folder on your desktop (and you can setup the same thing across multiple desktops so that all sync). Any files you place in the Mesh folder will sync to the Skydrive. Once Mango is release we'll have full access to the Skydrive (I can already hit most of it now, but it's a little painful at the moment).
@ThaRebeliouZ....why not just switch to Windows Messenger? Really, what's the difference? Besides, because of how tightly integrated it's going to be, I don't see that it makes sense to have multiple messengers woven in. Windows Messenger is clearly the preferred platform. I totally understand why Yahoo! wasn't chosen.
@Kenny Rawlins, WiFi hotspot is supposed to be supported in Mango, according to some of the websites. So, I believe your issue will be solved. But, keep in mind that this may be an obviously significant issue for you but not for others. I'm not one of those people driving around with my laptop doing stuff. I'd much prefer to be able to do more on my phone than be forced to drag my laptop around. Different people, different needs.
PLEASE..........!!!! Please let non-developer phone have the choice of upgrading to mango even if it is in beta... even for a small fee.... even when there's still bugs... please let us have it soon....
@Michael Stroh, Can Microsoft not make Outlook work without the Activesync bit? My employers are a bit stroppy about enabling Activesync on my account :(
When will support Arabic??
22 countries of the language is Arabic in the Middle East and North Africa
Why ignore this??
Okay, in the Mildly Disappointing Department, I see that voice-to-text is only for messaging, not for email. The LG Voice to Text app does Twitter, Messaging, Email and memos (and works well on the Focus). Not a show stopper, but I'm kind of surprised the Mango V2T capability is limited to message only. Maybe a third party developer will create one that everyone can use.
Still waiting for Microsoft to deliver on the statements made during the leadup to the release of WP7 devices back in September and October. Still waiting for the phone to have equivalent features to WM6.5, let alone any other smartphone OS. Still waiting for some straight talk out of Microsoft over the device rather than statements shrouded in PR speak. You have yet to be able to deliver on original statements from 8 months ago. Why, then, should I be excited about Mango? As far as I'm concerned, these are just more statements that you probably won't/can't deliver on - overreaching promises that existing owners won't even begin to see until early 2012, if the carriers even care at that time to bother with updates.
As it stands, WP7 is inferior to previous WM versions, inferior to iOS and Android, and by the time Mango comes out Android's Ice Cream Sandwich and iOS 5 will be out. You'll still be months, if not years, behind. Mango still doesn't bring feature parity to WP7 and iOS4 or Android 2.3.3. It's no wonder developers are running away from this platform, OEMs have repeatedly disparaged it, and the only way the marketplace can keep boosting their apps numbers is by having dozens of crappy apps like Quotes apps - which barely qualify as apps at all.
Office Mobile 7 will still be very user unfriendly - the lack of any local sync is a total joke, go ask Sony how secure the Cloud is. Sorry, I'm not uploading a critical work document to SkyDrive just because we don't have Sharepoint Server. Xbox Live integration is showing that it's increasingly poor (when it doesn't have multiplayer, can we really call it "Xbox Live"?) with overpriced games, including ones that are inferior to iOS and Android counterparts (research Angry Birds for WP7, an older version of the game). IE9 Hardware Acceleration? Who cares? HA on the web on desktop is still, mostly, in its infancy and mobile web providers certainly aren't making their mobile content need hardware acceleration. If you believe people are going to try to do everything on their phones that they do on a desktop or laptop, you're deluding yourselves.
I was really hoping you'd live up to your press releases and make this phone competitive, but I can see now my hope was misplaced. Most carriers don't even care about you now. They're not going to care about you by the end of the year. Your platform is a joke to them - they don't even try to sell customers on it. And you're not helping change their minds - hidden sales numbers, shoddy support, lame update cycle, et cetera. By the time Mango comes out, WP7 will be locked solidly in dead last place.
@ScubaDog - Stop thinking of the desktop as our "core"? Give me a freakin break. In every company, nearly everywhere, the desktop - including the server - is STILL the core. For most consumers, the desktop is STILL the core. The cloud is NOT being embraced eagerly or rapidly by all. It may be for you, but every day I still have to deal with storage solutions, servers, user desktops and user laptops.
Honestly, you sound like Apple trying to spout off this Post-PC nonsense. We are NOT Post-PC. You might be, but the rest of the 90% of the world is not. Stop acting like the cloud is currently a viable alternative. IT IS NOT. Look at Sony's troubles, look at the troubles of data centers in disaster zones, etc etc. The lack of local sync in Office, to include Outlook, IS APPALLING. Microsoft is clearly trying to lock-in sales of Sharepoint Server for companies that want to use WP7.
I'm kinda with Captiosus on this one. Skydrive integration is a MUST, and I do want it (if anything so I can pull down stuff I've sync'd with Windows Live Mesh.) But there's the rub, it's sorta 1 way syncing. If I pull down a document to my phone from....let's say...email. I make a few edits, I put it in my pocket. When I get home I can't just pull it off my phone via the software, I have to go back to the phone, upload it to Skydrive, then pull it back down to my computer. I have 2 computers (a desktop and a netbook) I keep in sync with Mesh One of which still uses Office 2k7, so editing files straight from skydrive is out of the question (2k7 didn't support it that I can find.)
This is what Stepto called the "Redmond Reality Distortion field" MS is assuming everyone jumped on the newest coolest tech (Office 2k10 with skydrive, Sharepoint, whatever) rather than adding in some support to help people who haven't caught up yet. The Cloud just isn't ready yet, sometimes I won't have internet access, sometimes I just want to edit a document locally, a whole host of things. Mesh allows me to have the best of both worlds, but WP7 currently doesn't.
That being said, I still do like my WP7, and I can't wait for mango, I just wish they had better user focus groups to work out the tiny kinks.
@ Captiousus - I feel your pain... truly feel your pain...
@Cap - Its behind? It depends what you consider behind... - WP7 will never match every single feature IOS and Android have and it doesn't need to...Windows Phone is a new way of doing things, its a different approach and it sounds like its not the phone for you as you keep comparing it to what everyone else has. You will continue to be disappointed if you think this way. It will not have features previously that 6.5 had because of new requirements and conditions with smartphones.
Also the cloud is what the selling point is for wp7, if the cloud is not your bag, this phone is not for you...
Well i am with @Cap on this one. Maybe this phone is not for me also. I like wp7 a lot. But in the future if USB local thing dont come up, i guess i will
jump to Android on my next phone.
I love wp7 cloud integration but a complete phone should embrace all, cloud, local, etc... If wp7 decides that they just want to stick with cloud, i know
Android already have all, and eventually start to integrate everything in the OS and refine the UI.
I dont get how companies are all Cloud thing even when users just dont want embrace it. They just dont give a damn about cloud. Cloud is nice and convinient but not the whole thing. The perfection is having both together for different uses...
Another thing, Marini said that IE wont have plug-ins (flash) because of 2 things, security and because we dont need it. We who? We him? We him and a couple of Redmonds iluminated people who think HTML5 is the thing now and not only from 3,5+ years? We dont need Flash, really?
4th most wanted feature:
windowsphone7community.uservoice.com/.../1189865-ability-to-play-flash-video-and-flash-media
Thank you Windows Phone Team, we are waiting for Mango update.