Microsoft Previews Next Release of Windows Phone
Poster: SySAdmin
Posted on May 24, 2011 at 9:14:01 AM
Microsoft Previews Next Release of Windows Phone
"Mango" to deliver smarter and easier communications, apps and Internet experiences and bring Windows Phone to more customers around the world.
REDMOND, Wash., May 24, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Microsoft Corp. today previewed the next major release of Windows Phone, code-named "Mango," through 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 Windows Phone Marketplace in new countries, and partner with new OEMs to enable expansion to new markets.*
(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20000822/MSFTLOGO)
"Seven months ago we started our mission to make smartphones smarter and easier for people to do more," said Andy Lees, president of the Mobile Communications Business at Microsoft. "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."
Communications: Easier to Connect and Share
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 instant messages (IM) to status updates, Tweets, check-ins, photo posting and tagging. To help people stay on top of that growing complexity, the "Mango" release organizes information around the person or group people want to interact with, not the app they have to use.
-- Threads. Switch between text, Facebook chat and Windows Live Messenger
within the same conversation.
-- Groups. Group contacts into personalized Live Tiles to see the latest
status updates right from the Start Screen and quickly send a text,
email or IM to the whole group.
-- Deeper social network integration. Twitter and LinkedIn feeds are now
integrated into contact cards, and "Mango" includes built-in Facebook
check-ins and new face detection software that makes it easier to
quickly tag photos and post to the Web.
-- Linked inbox. See multiple email accounts in one linked inbox.
Conversations are organized to make it easy to stay on top of the latest
mail.
-- Hands-free messaging. Built-in voice-to-text and text-to-voice support
enables hands-free texting or chatting.
A Smarter Approach to Apps
Windows Phone will challenge the way people think about apps. Today their usefulness is measured by what can be done within the app, but Microsoft sees the promise of apps in how they can be integrated directly into the core experiences of the phone. In addition to making it easy to get timely notifications and updates from apps right from the Start Screen, the "Mango" release also will surface apps as part of search results and within Windows Phone Hubs. As a result, a useful app is more likely to be right there when needed.
-- App Connect. By connecting apps to search results and deepening their
integration with Windows Phone Hubs, including Music and Video and
Pictures, "Mango" allows apps to be surfaced when and where they make
sense.
-- Improved Live Tiles. Get real-time information from apps without having
to open them. Live Tiles can be more dynamic and hold more information.
-- Multitasking. Quickly switch between apps in use and allow apps to run
in the background, helping to preserve battery life and performance.
Taking the Internet Beyond the Browser
In addition to including Internet Explorer, the "Mango release will connect the power of the Web to the unique capabilities of Windows Phones, such as location awareness, camera and access to apps, to present a way of viewing the Web that is more localized, actionable and relevant.
-- Internet Explorer 9. A browser based on the powerful Internet Explorer 9
and including support for HTML5 and full hardware acceleration.
-- Local Scout. Provides hyper local search results and recommends nearby
restaurants, shopping and activities in an easy-to-use guide.
-- Bing on Windows Phone. More ways to search the Web, including Bing
Vision, Music Search and Voice so it's easy to discover and decide.
-- Quick Cards. When searching for a product, movie, event or place, see a
quick summary of relevant information, including related apps.
Strengthening the Ecosystem
The Windows Phone ecosystem has grown steadily since Windows Phone 7 first launched in October, with more than 17,000 apps currently available on Windows Phone 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 Inc., Fujitsu Ltd. and ZTE Corp., which today announced plans to deliver new Windows Phone devices in markets around the world. Furthermore, Microsoft announced it will support additional languages, including Brazilian Portuguese, Simplified and Traditional Chinese, Czech, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, Greek, Hungarian, Japanese, Korean, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, and Swedish, and will greatly expand the list of countries where consumers have access to apps via Windows Phone Marketplace. As well, a beta release of the free Windows Phone Developer tools, which will be used to create the next generation of "Mango" apps and games, will be posted for public download to Microsoft's website within 24 hours of today's events. More information about what "Mango" means for developers, the tools and a link to the public download page is available at http://windowsteamblog.com/windows_phone/b/wpdev/archive/2011/05/24/developer-news-beta-mango-tools-available-today.aspx.
Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT) is the worldwide leader in software, services and solutions that help people and businesses realize their full potential.
Some information relates to pre-released product that may be substantially modified before it's commercially released. Microsoft makes no warranties, express or implied, with respect to the information provided here.
*Data plan required; carrier fees apply. Apps from Marketplace. Features and services vary by area, phone, carrier and service plan.
.
SOURCE Microsoft Corp.
Photo:http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20000822/MSFTLOGO
http://photoarchive.ap.org/
Microsoft Corp.
CONTACT: Rapid Response Team of Waggener Edstrom Worldwide, +1-503-443-7070, rrt@waggeneredstrom.com
Web Site: http://www.microsoft.com
"Mango" to deliver smarter and easier communications, apps and Internet experiences and bring Windows Phone to more customers around the world.
REDMOND, Wash., May 24, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Microsoft Corp. today previewed the next major release of Windows Phone, code-named "Mango," through 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 Windows Phone Marketplace in new countries, and partner with new OEMs to enable expansion to new markets.*
(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20000822/MSFTLOGO)
"Seven months ago we started our mission to make smartphones smarter and easier for people to do more," said Andy Lees, president of the Mobile Communications Business at Microsoft. "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."
Communications: Easier to Connect and Share
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 instant messages (IM) to status updates, Tweets, check-ins, photo posting and tagging. To help people stay on top of that growing complexity, the "Mango" release organizes information around the person or group people want to interact with, not the app they have to use.
-- Threads. Switch between text, Facebook chat and Windows Live Messenger
within the same conversation.
-- Groups. Group contacts into personalized Live Tiles to see the latest
status updates right from the Start Screen and quickly send a text,
email or IM to the whole group.
-- Deeper social network integration. Twitter and LinkedIn feeds are now
integrated into contact cards, and "Mango" includes built-in Facebook
check-ins and new face detection software that makes it easier to
quickly tag photos and post to the Web.
-- Linked inbox. See multiple email accounts in one linked inbox.
Conversations are organized to make it easy to stay on top of the latest
mail.
-- Hands-free messaging. Built-in voice-to-text and text-to-voice support
enables hands-free texting or chatting.
A Smarter Approach to Apps
Windows Phone will challenge the way people think about apps. Today their usefulness is measured by what can be done within the app, but Microsoft sees the promise of apps in how they can be integrated directly into the core experiences of the phone. In addition to making it easy to get timely notifications and updates from apps right from the Start Screen, the "Mango" release also will surface apps as part of search results and within Windows Phone Hubs. As a result, a useful app is more likely to be right there when needed.
-- App Connect. By connecting apps to search results and deepening their
integration with Windows Phone Hubs, including Music and Video and
Pictures, "Mango" allows apps to be surfaced when and where they make
sense.
-- Improved Live Tiles. Get real-time information from apps without having
to open them. Live Tiles can be more dynamic and hold more information.
-- Multitasking. Quickly switch between apps in use and allow apps to run
in the background, helping to preserve battery life and performance.
Taking the Internet Beyond the Browser
In addition to including Internet Explorer, the "Mango release will connect the power of the Web to the unique capabilities of Windows Phones, such as location awareness, camera and access to apps, to present a way of viewing the Web that is more localized, actionable and relevant.
-- Internet Explorer 9. A browser based on the powerful Internet Explorer 9
and including support for HTML5 and full hardware acceleration.
-- Local Scout. Provides hyper local search results and recommends nearby
restaurants, shopping and activities in an easy-to-use guide.
-- Bing on Windows Phone. More ways to search the Web, including Bing
Vision, Music Search and Voice so it's easy to discover and decide.
-- Quick Cards. When searching for a product, movie, event or place, see a
quick summary of relevant information, including related apps.
Strengthening the Ecosystem
The Windows Phone ecosystem has grown steadily since Windows Phone 7 first launched in October, with more than 17,000 apps currently available on Windows Phone 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 Inc., Fujitsu Ltd. and ZTE Corp., which today announced plans to deliver new Windows Phone devices in markets around the world. Furthermore, Microsoft announced it will support additional languages, including Brazilian Portuguese, Simplified and Traditional Chinese, Czech, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, Greek, Hungarian, Japanese, Korean, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, and Swedish, and will greatly expand the list of countries where consumers have access to apps via Windows Phone Marketplace. As well, a beta release of the free Windows Phone Developer tools, which will be used to create the next generation of "Mango" apps and games, will be posted for public download to Microsoft's website within 24 hours of today's events. More information about what "Mango" means for developers, the tools and a link to the public download page is available at http://windowsteamblog.com/windows_phone/b/wpdev/archive/2011/05/24/developer-news-beta-mango-tools-available-today.aspx.
Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT) is the worldwide leader in software, services and solutions that help people and businesses realize their full potential.
Some information relates to pre-released product that may be substantially modified before it's commercially released. Microsoft makes no warranties, express or implied, with respect to the information provided here.
*Data plan required; carrier fees apply. Apps from Marketplace. Features and services vary by area, phone, carrier and service plan.
.
SOURCE Microsoft Corp.
Photo:http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20000822/MSFTLOGO
http://photoarchive.ap.org/
Microsoft Corp.
CONTACT: Rapid Response Team of Waggener Edstrom Worldwide, +1-503-443-7070, rrt@waggeneredstrom.com
Web Site: http://www.microsoft.com