Yesterday Microsoft made official a number of rumors that have been buzzing over the past few months. First, the “Mango” update to Windows Phone 7 will be Windows Phone 7.1, and not 7.5 as Microsoft previously announced. Additionally, Microsoft introduced a number of new and old hardware partners to the platform, including manufacturers like Acer, Fujitsu, and ZTE. Nokia even posted to their blog to announce that their first Windows Phone will run Mango.
Microsoft also took some time to outline a number of the new features coming in Mango, in addition to the ones we already knew about. For example, the update will include grouped contacts that are arranged into Live Tiles so you can quickly get to them, and the ability to switch between communication methods within the same thread. This means that you can create a “personal” group, and see everyone you frequently contact in one view. If you’re sending someone SMS messages while they ride the train to work, you can switch from SMS to e-mail or Facebook Chat as soon as they arrive and sit down at their computer.
Microsoft has also rolled in new text-to-speech support to allow Windows Phone 7 owners to send text and chat messages without touching their phones. The update will also bring the mobile version of Internet Explorer 9 to Windows Phones, and integrate Bing for everything, including contacts and file searches.
In addition to the software news, Microsoft trotted out a number of hardware partners working on Windows Phones. Acer even had some Windows Phone 7 devices to show off at the Developer Conference going on now in Japan. Additionally, Microsoft released the developer tools for Windows Phone 7.1 to members of the Windows Phone Developer Program, so app makers can get to work making sure they’re ready for Mango when it lands later this year.
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