CNET - It was eight months ago that Microsoft launched its revamped mobile operating system,
Windows Phone 7. Overall, the platform was well-received both by users and the tech press, as they lauded the fresh, bold and, easy-to-use interface, thoughtful integration of features, and improved performance. However, it also had its fair share of shortcomings and pitfalls.
This fall, Microsoft will release its first major update for Windows Phone, bringing more than 500 new features to the OS. Known up till now as Mango, the update will formally go by the name of
Windows Phone 7.5 and focuses on improving three key areas: Communications, apps, and Internet.
We got a brief look at some of the enhancements during a
preview event in late May, but recently, Microsoft gave us a chance to dive deeper into Mango with a technical preview of the OS. Since the software wasn't final, we weren't able to test out everything, but below you'll find our hands-on impressions of some of the more major features you can expect from Windows Phone 7.5. (To see our final thoughts, skip to the end.)
Contacts
When developing Windows Phone 7.5, one of Microsoft's main goals was to deliver an experience that was "smarter and easier." In the area of communications, this meant offering a simpler way to connect with contacts and share information, and part of the solution was to add support for group contacts and dynamic live tiles.
Group contacts is pretty straightforward. Set up simply requires going into the People hub, tapping the + icon and following the prompts to create a group. Once saved, you can e-mail and text all the members of the group. What's even nicer is that group contacts allows you to see the status updates and photos of just those members in the group and not everyone in your entire address book, so it acts a great filter if you have a large number of friends in Facebook.
Like an individual contact, you can pin a group to the Start screen for easy access and with Mango, you'll be able to see more real-time information in these tiles. So, for example if you pin a contact to the Start screen you can see the contact's real-time status updates or any notifications, such as a missed call or message from that person. The tile is much more useful in that sense and no longer serves just as shortcut to an individual's contact card.
The enhanced features also extends to the Me tile (your profile), where you can now post a message, check in to places, see notifications, and set your chat status, instead of only seeing what's new in your profile. It's a welcome addition but more than contacts, we're excited that developers will also be able to tap into the new dynamic tiles for their apps.
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