Microsoft has previewed the next major release of Windows Phone, code name “Mango,” for the Gulf region which coincided with a series of media events around the world. “Mango” will deliver more than 500 new features to push the boundaries of the smartphone experience around communications, apps and the Internet.
The Mango release will be available for free to Windows Phone 7 customers and is scheduled to ship on new phones beginning this fall; More details on device update timing will be provided closer to availability. Windows Phone will also add support for additional languages, expand access to apps by launching Marketplace in new countries, and partner with new OEMs to enable expansion to new markets.
“Seven months ago we started our mission to make smartphones smarter and easier for people to do more. With ‘Mango’, Windows Phone takes a major step forward in redefining how people communicate and use apps and the Internet, giving you better results with less effort.” said, Gustavo Fuchs, director, Mobility, Microsoft Middle East and Africa.
The smartphone experience can be complicated by a sea of disconnected apps and accounts as people attempt to keep pace with all the ways they communicate – from calls, texts, email and IM to status updates, tweets, check-ins, photo posting and tagging. To help people stay on top of that growing complexity, the Mango release organises information around the person or group people want to interact with, not the app they have to use.
The Windows Phone ecosystem has grown steadily since Windows Phone 7 first launched in October, with more than 17,000 apps currently available on Marketplace and Windows Phone handsets available from a range of partners worldwide and Microsoft’s recently announced partnership with Nokia. Mango will further expand and strengthen the Windows Phone ecosystem through new partnerships with Acer, Fujitsu and ZTE which recently revealed plans to deliver new Windows Phone devices in markets around the world.
