As with the initial release of Windows Phone, Microsoft have released a certain number of WP Devices running a pre release version of the next major update for Windows Phone code named ” Mango”. It seems like today, whatever non disclosure agreement Microsoft had with the people they were shipped to, as I predicted, prominent blogs in the US have today flooded the WWW with looks at the updated OS. This is finally the look at the OS that we really want to see, sans marketing hype. It would appear that most of the writers critiquing the OS today have had the phones for at least a week, and there is a variety of perspectives across the web. There’s plenty of video, and I’ll get to that, but first what I think is the most definitive look at the OS out there. Matt Miller from ZDNet, formerly the Mobile Gadgeteer, has produced what would be the most thorough look at this release that you will find. Matt was one of the bloggers that a year before was summoned discreetly to Redmond, and given one of the first developer devices. He notes that it’s not a complete version.
There are some backend servers to be turned on and some applications and utilities still missing from this current version. These missing features and functions include:
- Direct Twitter integration
- WiFi tethering
- Audio multi-tasking (I understand the Mango SDK is just getting into hands of developers so apps will have to be updated to provide this capability.)
Matt’s conclusion though is positive
Mango is what most people wanted to see from Windows Phone 7 when it was launched late last year and the 7.5 label is accurate. As a fan of Windows Phone I am excited about the update as it addresses nearly all of the issues I have with Windows Phone 7 and it is a pleasure to use. I plan to spend a lot more time with Mango over the coming months and will provided updated thoughts and experiences as more features are rolled out.
As are most of the other looks around the web
WinRumors has a deeper look at some of the functionality that is not so obvious
The Next Web says
Search, it’s everywhere
Microsoft is pushing soft search buttons in applications, as the dedicated search button on the phone is strictly for Bing. This is a very useful campaign. There is a search button now in between the homescreen and application list which reacts to each letter you type in, almost like Google Instant, but for installed apps and not web pages. If you enjoy testing apps, and have a slew installed, this is going to be a small, but consistent time saver.
Mango also features more siloed search, keeping apps, music, and so forth separate in the Marketplace, allowing for much cleaner searching. This is very useful for finding content without pulling your hair out, the experience that was quite the norm before Mango. I’m actually worried about going back to my NoDo’d phone when Microsoft asks for me to send back this loaner.
Overall the reviews are positive, Most surprising of all Paul Thurrot, at WinSuperSite
Many of the differences between the two releases would be lost on casual users, let alone those who spend more time with iPhones and Android handsets. But they’re everywhere, chipping away at Windows Phone’s tiny inadequacies, one screen at a time
and his conclusion
I’ll need to spend a lot more time with Mango, and with more feature-complete versions of the product, before I can make any kind of definitive assessment of this software. But I can say this right now. Mango will be provided as a free update to all existing Windows Phone handsets, so there’s some value in that. It very nicely improves the capabilities of the platform while utilizing the same basic user experience, so it will be a seamless and painless upgrade from a usage perspective. And while Mango doesn’t address some of the shortcomings from v1, it adds so many useful new features, and fixes so many of the early complaints, that I’m finding it hard to criticize this release with any enthusiasm. I’ll keep using it and report back when we get closer to the final release. But Mango looks great so far, and I’ve really only scratched the surface here.
That reads as pretty high praise, when coming from someone the makes their living criticising the OS. While a lot of us may be a little jealous, and not able to get our hands on this build yet, it seems MS may make good on their promise to get the build out to developers, over the air. An admin at the wpdev.uservoice.com, posted an interesting bit of information,
Obviously the devices that people are reviewing the OS on today are, more advanced hardware than the first gen devices most current users have, but an over the air update for all with a dev unlocked device, is probably a logistical nightmare that Microsoft doesn’t want to analyse right now. Getting a large amount of the new hardware into developer/commentators hands was the first step, and limited, you can see from the post pictures above says
“didn’t also discuss the software update portion.” BUT because current devices can/will update to “Mango”, this helps mitigate getting a massive number of [expensive] phones out to all devs
Is this an actual straw to cling on to? It looks like MS is trying to get Mango out to all developers OTA as well. We’ll have to wait and see!
