Windows Phone 7.1, a.k.a. Mango, goes official, here's what's new

Mango, a.k.a. Windows Phone 7.1, is served - along with 500 new features. Multitasking is among them, as is much deeper social networking integration, improved message handling and more.

The WP 7.1 update will be shipping on new phones this fall and it will be made available to existing Windows Phone 7 users for free at the same time. And there will be new devices to come - aside from the widely publicized deal with Nokia, Acer, Fujitsu and ZTE will be making Windows Phone 7.1 devices too. Nokia also confirmed their first Windows Phone devices will come with this edition of WP7, so the features listed below will be available on those phones as well.

We recently heard Nokia's WP7 phones will use ST-Ericsson's dual-core CPUs, however Microsoft today confirmed they are sticking with Qualcomm's Snapdragon CPUs for the new batch of smartphones. While that's not bad, we'd really like to see custom SoC solutions from manufacturers. With all the same hardware, manufacturers will find it really hard to differentiate their products but we guess, it makes sense from the software development point of view. It just remains to be seen whether Nokia will be the only maker to use chips of its own choice.

Getting back to the promised changes, Microsoft has added a long list of supported languages to greatly expand the reach of Windows Phone to new countries. The limited language localization offered so far has been cited as one of the reasons for the somewhat poor WP7 track record.

Multitasking is, of course, one of the most hotly expected features. It uses a card interface to switch between apps, very similar to what we've seen in WebOS.

Messaging is done on threads, combining various services - within a single conversation you can switch between SMS, Facebook chat and Windows Live Messenger seamlessly. Now that's new. We like innovation like that though the actual implementation by the users will be tricky, that's for sure.

Other messaging changes promise you will be able to dictate your messages or have an incoming text read to you, thanks to the text-to-speech and speech-to-text features.

Twitter and LinkedIn has joined the social networking prowess of Windows Phone too and Facebook check-in functionality as well as face tagging in photos are built-in. You can pin whole groups of people as live tiles and monitor updates from people in the group or message the whole group right from your Start screen.

Live tiles are improved in general - they will display much more info than their v7.0 counterparts.

App connect helps third-party apps integrate into the Hubs of Windows Phone 7.1 to enhance the core experience of the phone. Apps will also be included in search results, making search in Mango much more context aware and hopefully useful. Check out our coverage on the new search features here.

Internet Explorer 9 is coming with the Mango update too (it's based on the capable desktop browser). IE9 for Windows Phone 7.1 supports hardware acceleration.

Bing services have been extended - Bing Vision (think Google Goggles), Music Search and Voice offer new ways to search the web. A curious new feature, called Quick Cards, will give you instant access to key information (including related apps) whenever you search for a product, place, event or movie.

Local scout will help you find what you need nearby - shops, restaurants or activities will be recommended in an "easy-to-use guide".

Fujitsu LOOX F-07C dual-boots Windows 7 and Symbian

No, it's not Windows Phone 7 we meant with that title. Fujitsu’s LOOX F-07C for NTT DoCoMo is indeed capable of dual-booting Windows 7 and Symbian OS thanks to its clever dual hardware design. The Windows 7 side of things is run by an Intel Atom CPU, 1GB RAM and 32GB SSD. We guess that on the Symbian OS side (unknown version), there's some simpler phone hardware in charge of things. Do you hear that, Nokia?

The two chipsets on the LOOX F-07C share some parts of the hardware – the 4-inch 1024x600 pixels capacitive display, the sliding QWERTY keyboard, the 5 megapixel rear and the VGA front cameras, a common battery, etc.

Windows 7 (32-bit) is possible thanks to the 1.2GHz Intel Atom processor (with Hyper-Threading), 1GB DDR400 RAM and 32GB SSD. There's also GPS, Wi-Fi N and HSPA connectivity.

You can seamlessly switch between the Windows 7 and Symbian modes - it just takes a second. It seems that both OS's keep running until the battery power drops to certain level. When this happens, the phone switches automatically to Symbian, turning off the Windows 7 altogether.

Fujitsu LOOX F-07C

Most probably there is some kind of ARM processor inside to keep the Symbian alive. When in Symbian, you don’t have Wi-Fi access, but you get Bluetooth and Infra-Red connectivity instead. The SSD is reserved solely for Windows 7, but you have a microSD card slot (with a 2GB card pre-installed) to enjoy your Symbian apps. The GPS, HSPA and GSM connections seem to be available in both Windows/Symbian modes.

The Fujitsu LOOX F-07C weighs 218 grams and measures at 125x61x19.8mm.

There is no official information on Symbian version or on the ability to make phone calls under Windows 7.

Upcoming WP7 Mango update to bring along turn-by-turn SatNav

The next update for Windows Phone 7, dubbed Mango will supposedly bring along cool features like music recognition, camera-integrated search (barcode and image scanning) and even turn-by-turn voice-guided navigation for the Bing Maps application.

These are all unconfirmed features but the images, enclosed with the scoop, suggest them to be legitimate.

The first feature is Bing Audio, which acts like a built-in Shazam-like music recognition. It's not like there aren't apps like this for almost every OS, Shazam is even available for Windows Phone 7, but this is a music recognition feature, integrated into the mobile OS.

There will also be a feature, dubbed Bing Vision. It will give the camera app the power to scan barcodes or shoot landmarks (kinda like Google Goggles) and find similar images and information on items. Such feature also hints of future augmented reality apps, which could interact with the camera app and use it.

Also, the most exciting rumored feature is the turn-by-turn navigation for Bing Maps. It's a must-have smartphone feature.

UPDATE: Voice-guided navigation on Windows Phone 7 has been confirmed via Twitter. It seems, though, that it won't be available everywhere, just in selected countries, according to @WindowsPhone8. Should this turn out to be true it looks just like Google's strategy with the Google Maps voice-guided navigation.

There will be a podcast app, which will give you the option to listen and even download podcasts. There's even a hint of video podcast support.

Finally the Voice Dictation feature, which basically lets you create and send messages, hands-free. It's a great concept, but one we hope Microsoft explores more widely as there are tons of other actions that would be great, done only by voice, apart from text messaging.

There's no official word on when this update will be released. But when we think about the NoDo update with copy-paste functionality and how long it actually took Microsoft to roll it out and the debacles, following the update for some Samsung owners, we get the feeling that Windows Phone 7 users will have to wait awhile for it.

HTC might have a 16 megapixel WP7 phone in the works

HTC has never been a competitor into the megapixel race, but this might change soon. According to e a short video ad HTC is preparing a 16 megapixel cameraphone running on Windows Phone 7.

The mysterious phone is similar to the Desire S, but it’s just the way HTC phones look these days.

The only other available detail concerns the phone’s flash – it’s a dual-LED one.

HTC might be on the way to start a mobile camera revolution. We guess we’ll have to wait and see how things will turn out. We wouldn't mind seeing one of those 16MP Sony backlit sensors in action.

Windows Phone 7 browser aces the HTML5 drawing test

Mangoes are apparently good for mobile web browsers – the Internet Explorer 9 that comes with the Mango update for Windows Phone 7 beat Mobile Safari and the Android Browser at a hardware-accelerated graphics rendering test, demonstrated at MIX11.

The test at hand is HTML5 Speed Reading – it uses a Canvas element to draw an animation. The Canvas element gives JavaScript a lot of flexibility when it comes to drawing and is often used in HTML5 games (ones that often claim to be as good as Flash but with no actual Flash required).

The test offers a framerate counter, which reveals a startling difference. The test was run simultaneously on an HTC Trophy, Google Nexus S and an iPhone 4 (actually, the iPhone had a head start).

The Windows Phone 7 browser goes at a breezy 20fps, the Android Browser manages 11fps or so, while Mobile Safari chugs along at just 2fps. Again, this test measures Canvas drawing performance, rather than general browsing speed, or JavaScript performance and such.

But still, it’s a very impressive demo that shows Microsoft has put a lot of work into the Mango update. There’s also quite a bit of other new functionality coming to Windows Phone 7 with the Mango update.

Nokia W7 and W8 will lead the Windows Phone 7 march

Mobile Review's one-man Nokia rumor mill Eldar Murtazin has pushed out some details regarding the first fruits from the 'Microkia' (Microsoft/Nokia) team up, in the form of two new devices bearing the names W7 and W8.

Not only are they not exactly the most original names but the devices in question will apparently resemble the Nokia X7 and the N8 respectively.

Nokia apparently already has one working Windows Phone prototype in their possession, the W7. This X7 lookalike differs from it's Symbian sibling by its WVGA display, 8MP camera with autofocus and a Qualcomm QSD8250 Chipset. This (or something very similar to this) is most likely going to be the company's first WP7 device. Nokia targets availability by Q4 of this year, but there's a good chance that it might take until Q1 of 2012 to see it in action. In its current state the W7 is quite reminiscent of the HTC Mozart in terms of functionality, at least.

The followup to the W7 is naturally, the W8 and there is far greater speculation as this device won't be making an appearance until Q2 2012. However plans to make this a flagship imaging handset mean it has to have a strong skill set to stand out from the crowd. Using the N8 as the basis this one is said to pack a 12MP camera, a Qualcomm dual-core CPU and an Adreno 320 GPU. Specs are most likely going to change before the official release, but this one certainly looks promising.

In total Nokia plan to push 12 new devices out across 2012 (whether this includes the W7 is unclear) with mentions of the third and fourth WP7 handsets in the lineup consisting of a QWERTY candybar with a touchscreen, akin to the E71 or E6, and a 'cheap' touchscreen device probably mimicking the abilities of the W7 but featuring lesser build quality, and weaker imaging capabilities.

The Windows Phone 7 Nokia concept from MWC 2011

It seems they could try to make a bigger impression with some completely fresh designs to really shout about the birth of the WP7 Nokia but what we actually receive could still impress. Perhaps the concept they mocked up for MWC 2011, (a concept that so well embodied both Nokia and WP7) will make a reappearance as something more tangible soon.

Here is what 2011 holds for Windows Phone 7 - on video

MIX11, Microsoft's developer conference devoted to all things Windows Phone, announced the latest features that developers will be able to get their hands on for free from May.

Among other things, Joe Belfiore (Corporate VP for Windows Phone Program Management) spoke of the new functionality made open to devs including multitasking for background programming, audio and file transfer and fast app switching (including audio playback for HTML5 webpages).

Deep phone integration is also on the cards meaning, WP7 users will get to see more apps making use of Live Tiles and push notifications via Live Agents running in the background. Hardware access is more readily available as well with new access to the camera and sensors (the gyroscope and compass) via the Motion Sensor library meaning apps can make greater use of your Windows Phone's hardware.

Belfiore also made a brief mention of the Windows Phone update issues that had plagued some users (namely those with Omnia 7's) before welcoming Nokia's Symbian developers and going on to demo accelerated webpage rendering against iOS and Android.

To show just how useful all these new tools could potentially be they followed up the announcement with some demos, including concepts of Spotify, Layar, Qantas and even Skype.

The VoIP giant that was initially cited as being "nowhere near" Windows Phone 7, now looks to be coming to users as soon as summer this year. Belfiore was quoted saying, "Skype will be coming to the Windows Phone 7 platform this fall" so there's no doubt that it's on the way and this all means another step to making Windows Phone a stronger OS contender.

Amazon Kindle app now available for Windows Phone 7 devices

If you have one of the new Windows Phone 7 devices and are an avid reader then you’ll be thrilled that the Amazon Kindle app is finally available. The app is free and you can search over 750,000 books (read the first chapter before buying titles), view in either portrait or landscape mode, sync the last page you’ve read, choose font size and colour, bookmark plus the ability to make notes.

Microsoft shows Windows Phone developers love with “App Wall”

The Windows Marketplace is now bustling above the 13,000 app mark and Microsoft took some time during the MIX11 to recognize their developer community. Check out the “wall” off apps they constructed with a few choice app icon… sure it’s not as sexy as Apple’s recent electronic app wall at their developer conference but the recognition is still a good move.

Windows Phone 7 Series WP7 Emulator Cracked

During the MIX 10, Microsoft made available Windows Phone 7 Emulator to developers and the general public for software application development. Now it has been checked out to reveal some interesting details. In the original emulator, you cannot access certain applications or graphical environment.

Nevertheless, the emulator can be used to explore the platform features altogether and access features like posting Photos, Videos, etc. Inspite of some limitations and restriction to access some features, Dan Ardelean managed to break the protection to access the hidden areas of the system. On his blog, you can read a step by step tutorial how you can break into the restricted features of Windows Phone 7 Emulator.

Windows Phone 7 Series emulator ROM has been completely unlocked, allowing users to access the full OS, rather that just the settings and web browser as previously. The Modified version allows one to interact with the live tiles,hubs, use the elusive voice search feature, and even the basic apps that are preloaded.

Among the functions that are exposed Zune application to find and download music playback, Or the Office tools interface for camera. Since Microsoft has insisted that this is an emulator based on initial developments from the environment and hence restrictions have been implemented.

You can also check out two videos published on the Tech Au blog which makes a tour of the main features of Windows Phone 7 thanks to the unlocked emulator.

Windows Phone 7 NoDo update is out, brings copy and paste

Well, it's finally here - the Copy and Paste functionality has been brought to Windows Phone 7 by the first major update for the platform. And the story doesn't end here.

The update brings faster app and game performance, stremlined Marketplace search, improved Wi-Fi connectivity, Outlook and MMS as well as some tweaks for the Facebook account sync experience.

Copy and paste should be very simple. Just touch a word and tap the copy icon, then tap a place you want to paste the word and hit the paste icon. It works the same way with highlighting more that one word. You just tap and then slide your finger.

Microsoft says that the response time of games and apps has been reduced too. Once you update, you will also be able to filter the Marketplace and see only apps or only games.

According to Win Rumors, Microsoft is already working on the next big software version for its Windows Phone platform. It's codenamed Mango and should actually come with its own version number, most likely 7.5.

Mango should brings a host of new features, including multitasking, Internet Explorer 9, SkyDrive integration and Twitter people hub support

Three HTC phones leak: Pyramid, Prime and Ignite

HTC's S lineup from the MWC wasn't particularly exciting, but three leaked phones just might spark your interest. Two Windows Phone 7 handhelds and one Android 3.0 phone leaked in rendered form along with some specs.

The HTC Pyramid, the Android 3.0 Honeycomb phone, we've heard of before but now we have a face to put to the specs. Here are the interesting specs - a 1.2GHz processor (probably dual-core), 768MB RAM and two cameras (8MP primary, 1.3MP secondary).

HTC Pyramid render

The HTC Pyramid reportedly also has a 4.3" Super-LCD with qHD resolution (that's 540x960 pixels).

The two Windows Phone 7 devices stick to the more common 3.7" WVGA combo. The HTC Prime is a QWERTY-enabled slider with a 5MP camera with LED flash and 512MB RAM.

The other WP7 phone, the HTC Ignite, will have 512MB of RAM too coupled with an 800MHz CPU (which will be a first for WP7). It also packs a 5MP camera and 7.2Mbps/2Mbps 3G connectivity.

HTC Prime render • HTC Ignite render

There's no info on any launch dates so we'll have to wait and see.

Copy/paste update for Windows Phone 7 in second half of March

The first update for Windows Phone 7 is already out but the first one with merit - well, with copy and paste anyway - is coming this month (though not as fast as expected). Hopefully, Microsoft has learned from their mistake with the first one and this one will go smoother.

The first update was supposed to improve the update process itself to make the phones ready for the future updates. That didn't go very smoothly as Samsung Windows Phone 7 owners will attest, but the issue was fixed and WP7 phones should be all ready to get one of those small but "I can't believe it doesn't have it" features.

We're talking about copy and paste - we've seen it on video and there's a new video out too. The update is also expected to speed up performance of apps and revamp the Marketplace.

The update was officially confirmed for March and Microsoft France's public relations blog says the update will come in the second half of March (instead of the first half as originally planned). Either way, you'll receive a notification when it's available.

Microsoft has promised a lot more for Windows Phone 7 - Internet Explorer 9 mobile browser, Twitter integration, cloud support for Office and of course multitasking. These features should come later this year, bringing Windows Phone 7 up to speed with the competing OSes before the WP7-running Nokias come out.

Spy shots reveal a Sony Ericsson Windows Phone 7 prototype

Sony Ericson is getting back in shape in increasingly larger leaps. Their Android lineup is getting more and more competitive and now it seems that Windows Phone 7 is in the cards. Some blurry spy shots reveal a Windows Phone 7 device with a full QWERTY keyboard.

Apart from the photos, there's really no further information. Could this be the XPERIA Pro 7?

Update 08 March: Multiple industry sources claim that the phone pictured here is a canceled prototype. Sony Ericsson is most probably not working on any Windows Phone 7 device at the moment.

We can safely assume that this Windows Phone 7 device is running on at least a 1GHz processor of some sort and will offer 512MB RAM, at minimum. The display is surely over 3.5" and there is a full four-row QWERTY slide-out keyboard.

Sony Ericsson Windows Phone 7 device

It is hard to say whether this is a real project or just some mockup but we can't think of a reason for someone to go to all this trouble just to start a rumor. And it probably seems logical that Sony Ericsson will venture out in expanding its portfolio with a second smartphone OS.

We have the feeling more information will surface on this rumor. Stay tuned.