Microsoft’s Windows Phone Mango is now live and going out to select devices and the company outlined a few new features of this massive software update.
This won’t be an OTA update, as you’ll have to plug your device into a computer to receive Mango and it won’t be coming to all phones immediately. There are still some carrier requirements which may delay the update on your phone, so keep an eye on Microsoft’s update tracker to see when it’s available for your device. Microsoft was very clear in insisting that users wait for the official version because downloading a non-official version may not allow you to get the official Mango update.
As for Mango itself, it’s a great software update which can breathe new life into your device – check out our full review here. We’ve already heard about many of the more than 500 features like full multitasking, Internet Explorer 9 built in, Twitter, LinkedIn and SkyDrive integration and the ability to personalize the device by creating custom ringtones but Microsoft also told us about another few features which should make like easier for Windows Phone users.
Windows Phone Mango features many improvements to the built-in Bing search engine and this is much-needed because I’ve felt that Bing on iOS was better than the version on Windows Phone in some respects. That’s definitely not the case anymore, as the Bing app now comes with a music-identifying program that’s similar to Shazam, a visual searching option that’s similar to Google Goggles and a location-based search program which helps you find local places to eat or events.
The Windows Marketplace for mobile has also been improved and it’s much easier to search for content and get the right thing – the mixing of apps versus music should no longer be an issue. Microsoft will also be rolling out a Windows Phone Web Marketplace, which will provide a web destination for discovering new apps. You’ll still have to download the app from your computer or directly on your device but let’s hope Microsoft takes some cues from Google and eventually enables users to push apps from the web to their devices.
Windows Phone Mango will also make the platform capable of creating a mobile hotspot, although that will be reliant on what hardware’s in the device and if the carrier will allow it and for what price. We’ve exhaustively gone over the pros and cons of Windows Phone Mango in our full review, so check it out. Watch the video below too and let us know what you think.