Microsoft has just released some details about the upcoming software update and it’s not very surprising, but it’s packed full of features that users should appreciated.
As expected, the Windows Phone 7 update will include copy and paste, which will put it on part with competing platforms. The company said:
Using copy and paste is easy and intuitive. In many cases you just tap a word, slide your finger to highlight any additional text, then tap the Copy icon. To insert this text in a message or app, just tap the spot where it should go, then tap the Paste icon.
We’ve seen examples of copy and paste in Windows Phone 7 already and it looks pretty solid and intuitive. It was definitely missing from the platform – we don’t use it all the time but those few instances where we needed it, this features was sorely missed.
The Windows Phone 7 update will also include faster apps and games, Microsoft said. This is good because I noticed that sometimes it would take quite a while for apps to resume when you unlock the phone, so any speed boost to this would be greatly appreciated.
When I reviewed the HTC Surround for AT&T, one of my biggest complaints was that the Windows Marketplace for Mobile had a terrible search interface. Searching for apps would routinely bring up songs or videos that were unrelated. Microsoft must have heard the complaints, as the Windows Phone 7 update will bring a faster search to the Marketplace.
That’s about all the company details, but you can expect a few other surprises. Microsoft may want to think about following Google’s lead and decoupling some of the core apps from the OS so that things can be updated faster.
For example, the on-board Bing search engine doesn’t even have all the features that the Bing iPhone app has.
[Via Microsoft]