Earlier this morning, the Windows Phone development team officially
signed off on the release to manufacturing (RTM) build of "Mango" -
the latest version of the Windows Phone operating system.
This marks the point in the development process where Microsoft
hands code to its handset and mobile operator partners to optimize
Mango for their specific phone and network configurations. The
Windows Phone team is now turn to preparing for the update process.
The Mango update for current Windows Phone handsets will be ready
this fall, and of course will come pre-installed on new Windows
Phones.
In May, Microsoft officially took the wraps off of Mango, a release
including hundreds of new features that create a smarter and easier
approach to communications and apps. These include:
- A new email Conversation View which helps users to participate in
long email discussions with their friends and co-workers.
- Threads that bring together my text, IM, and Facebook chat all
into one conversation.
- App Multitasking, enabling users to efficiently work on their
emails, listen to music, and then pop in and out of Words By Post
games. Mango also connects apps to search results and deepens
integration within the Hubs like Music and Video and Pictures.
- Internet Explorer 9 for fast web browsing and support for new HTML
5 web sites.