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Microsoft Begins Windows Phone 7.5 (Mango) Rollout

Posted by samzenpus on from the new-way-to-talk dept.

MojoKid writes "While the news of late has focused on Apple's upcoming iPhone 5 launch, Microsoft has some news of their own on the mobile OS front. Windows Phone 7.5 is the first major overhaul of the system since the smaller, incremental NoDo updates began to roll out a few months ago. Starting this week, WP7 users should begin to see the v7.5 update roll their way. Microsoft claims that this release has a 'people-first' attitude, with a focus on multitasking, more integrated apps, and better mobile Web browsing, along with personalized tools, like integrated social networking and conversation threads for connecting with the people."

86 of 127 comments (clear)

  1. Re:BSOD by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    You obviously haven't used used WP7 at all. It's actually quite stable and well done. Please keep your knee-jerk memes to yourself. Competition is good - the more, the merrier.

  2. Re:BSOD by somersault · · Score: 1, Funny

    My question is, if this release is "people first", wtf was first in the other versions? "Smallest effort money grabs first"?

    --
    which is totally what she said
  3. Developer side-track: by gcnaddict · · Score: 3, Interesting

    What would be nice would be if we (the developers) could develop WP7 applications which also have the capability to run on ARM-built Windows 8. That said, from my knowledge of the means by which Metro development is being guided, I don't see this as a possibility.

    I just feel that it would open Windows 8 on ARM to many established Windows Phone 7 applications (giving it a base to tap into, much like what the iPad had going for it), but given the differences between WP7 and Windows 8, this is just a pipe dream for me. Oh well.

    --
    Viable Slashdot alternatives: https://pipedot.org/ and http://soylentnews.org/
    1. Re:Developer side-track: by Missing.Matter · · Score: 1

      Windows 8 is over a year away. Perhaps Windows Phone 8 will be out by then which will allow this kind of capability.

    2. Re:Developer side-track: by AliasMarlowe · · Score: 1

      Windows 8 is over a year away. Perhaps Windows Phone 8 will be out by then which will allow this kind of capability.

      The way the MS marketing guys play with version numbers, it'll probably be Windows Phone XIV or something. The new version is marketed as 7.5 but reports itself as 7.1 internally.

      --
      Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities. - Voltaire
    3. Re:Developer side-track: by bberens · · Score: 1

      Microsoft is taking the opposite approach of Apple. Apple puts the same OS on the phone and tablet but a different OS for the desktop/laptop. Microsoft has the tablet and desktop/laptop as the same OS and a different phone. We'll see which approach works out the best. Frankly, I'm interested in seeing how someone can approach the market differently to see what comes of it.

      --
      Check out my lame java blog at www.javachopshop.com
    4. Re:Developer side-track: by Shemmie · · Score: 1

      Windows Phone 14? I think you're confusing MS with Mozilla. :)

    5. Re:Developer side-track: by gcnaddict · · Score: 1

      I'll be honest, I totally did not expect this answer.

      --
      Viable Slashdot alternatives: https://pipedot.org/ and http://soylentnews.org/
    6. Re:Developer side-track: by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      I am sorry but it is totally vice versa.

      Apple has single operating system what it use in every device.
      Microsoft has two operating systems what it sells.

      Now you are trying to click "reply" or mod as troll etc. But hear out facts.

      The operating system is not the software system what you talk about. The operating system is lowest level of the software stack. The operating system operates hardware and allocates its resources to other software. The top layers of the software stack are application programs and user interfaces. While middleware is pack of system programs, system libraries and system services.

      There are two operating system architectures available. A first and the original architecture what every Unix were using since beginning and it is the monolithic, in other name, a kernel.
      Then there is few decades newer a modern architecture, a Server-Client, in other name, a microkernel.

      The difference with these two OS architectures are that other OS works as single binary, but can be still multiple binaries (modules are separated binaries in HD but when loaded, they work like they never were compiled to own binaries) and the whole OS works in kernel space (hense the name kernel space as kernel was original name for the software what we today call operating system), what is in user space, does not belong to OS.

      Then the other is modular by architecture, not just binary level. The core functions of the OS is in very tiny microkernel and other OS functions are in separated binaries what are ran separately from microkernel and each others. They are running in protected threads and controlled by the microkernel. That, will microkernel and server exist in same call space or differen call space does not matter at all the architecture.

      Apple has single operating system called XNU. It means "XNU is Not Unix", just like Linux means "Linux Is Not UniX". But difference is that XNU is real Unix operating system, while Linux is a Unix-Clone.

      XNU has microkernel called Mach 3.0. It has parts of FreeBSD and I/O Kit etc. It is Sercer-Client by architecture.
      And it is 100% Free Software as GNU foundation has approved the license.

      XNU is downloadable alone from Apples servers or then in package called Darwin. The Darwin is like GNU/Linux. It includes the XNU operating system (Linux part) and compilation tools (GNU parts) to get it compiled so it works with OS X technologies. So you can not modify it too much.
      Apple use XNU in OS X and in iOS. They both are ran by same operating system. Much easier to design hardware and get middleware technologies work in both software systems.

      Microsoft in other hand has totally different story. It has two operating systems. A NT from early 90's and a CE from same era. Both are Server-Client architecture OS's. NT has now version 6.1 and CE 7.1 now since Mango.
      They are both closed source and incompatible to each other. But it does not matter as software developers do not much get access to those OS's but to middleware parts only.

      In the end, it does not matter so much what OS is running in devices than for Hardware manufacturers. As application developers are working with high level API's and other softwares, many levels higher than where OS is located. So as long you get same API's and same libraries, you do not care what is under them.

    7. Re:Developer side-track: by jimmyfrank · · Score: 1

      It doesn't take much to convert a WP7 app to WP8. Well, that is if you follow MVVM and your apps aren't a code behind spaghetti mess.

    8. Re:Developer side-track: by davester666 · · Score: 1

      I believe marketing has been tasked with determining the best way to add "Live" and "Bing" to the Windows Phone brand.

      --
      Sleep your way to a whiter smile...date a dentist!
  4. Re:BSOD by AliasMarlowe · · Score: 1

    There's an app for that, and it's free!

    --
    Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities. - Voltaire
  5. ATT is pushing already by StormRider01 · · Score: 3, Informative

    I got the update today for my Samsung Focus, so far it looks like a solid upgrade.

  6. Way to be a day late! by Michael+O-P · · Score: 5, Interesting
    As the only Slashdot visitor with a WP7 (now 7.5) phone, I figure I'll chime in.

    I installed 7.5 yesterday and I haven't had a ton of time to play around with it, what I've seen so far, I like. The multitasking is smooth, and the full integration of social media is handy. I'm not sure when I'd use the Facebook chat feature, but it works. They made some changes to the Metro UI, the best part is related to searching and scrolling.

    What really blows me away are the integrated search features. Rather than having to jump to a specialized application for a restaurant, I'm able to quickly find what I'm looking for, with reviews and other information, right from the search.

    The reason I chose a windows phone in the first place was because of the clean interface that presents everything I need to know at a glance. 7.5 improves upon that while making significant changes under the hood. This won't convince anyone to buy a windows phone (not sure what will), but I've been very happy with my experience.

    --
    I'm Peggy.
    1. Re:Way to be a day late! by Michael+O-P · · Score: 1
      BTW, for those not on the early roll-out list (AT&T is moving slowly), there's an easy way to force the update:

      http://www.wpcentral.com/force-mango-update-early-through-zune-software

      --
      I'm Peggy.
    2. Re:Way to be a day late! by Riceballsan · · Score: 3, Informative

      Are people seriously modding this troll. I personally don't like the windows phone in what I've seen of it. I don't own one because quite frankly I have little use for it's prime features. That being said, having a different opinion from me and sharing it, is not trolling. Why the heck do those people have mod points seriously.

    3. Re:Way to be a day late! by RightSaidFred99 · · Score: 1

      I would love to get a WP7.5 phone, but stupid Sprint doesn't have any good ones. My kingdom for a 1280x720 4.5" Windows 7.5 phone with NFC hardware.

    4. Re:Way to be a day late! by kestasjk · · Score: 1

      So have I, but looks like I'll have to wait a while before the roll out works its way out to me :(

      --
      // MD_Update(&m,buf,j);
    5. Re:Way to be a day late! by koko · · Score: 1

      It's not really multitasking, though, not if you mean the task switch method. IF you mean the background tasks, those are periodic, in the glacial-event realm: a couple of times and hour to run very limited jobs as a separate process from your real app, which is sleeping like a baby, with zero CPU available to it until it comes back to the foreground. The only real difference there, between what you have there now and what you had before, is the memory is still yours. Before, everything you owned was released, now, most things you get to keep (of course sockets are gone, so is the main audio (and video but you're invisible) engine). This is the "intelligent multitasking" you may have read about. I may do for most, but you can never do better; it always will only be a task switcher.

      Android will still do more, and always will. That is good for those reading this. MS is betting on those that don't. Apparently, though, few don't. Very few.

    6. Re:Way to be a day late! by Locutus · · Score: 1

      it sounded like an ad to me and I was surprised it was mod'ed as 5:interesting and not troll.

      LoB

      --
      "Anyone who stands out in the middle of a road looks like roadkill to me." --Linus
    7. Re:Way to be a day late! by epp_b · · Score: 1

      Are you literally that woman on the airport walkway that Microsoft portrayed in their advertising for WP7?

    8. Re:Way to be a day late! by Kalriath · · Score: 1

      That would be because you can't possibly believe that anyone could like a Microsoft product over an Apple product. Seriously, people make personal choices and have individual opinions. Film at 11.

      --
      For a site about things like basic rights, Slashdot users sure do like to censor "dissent".
    9. Re:Way to be a day late! by Kalriath · · Score: 1

      You can install Google stuff on WP7 if you want (Google has made some available), but you can't bake them into the OS to replace Bing services - just like Android with Google services. Your "terrible feature" is bollocks.

      All credit to Apple though, at least you can swap to Ya.... yeah, sorry. I couldn't say it. Just too hard to say without disintegrating into fits of laughter.

      --
      For a site about things like basic rights, Slashdot users sure do like to censor "dissent".
    10. Re:Way to be a day late! by Kalriath · · Score: 1

      Um, if your app needs it, it can actually go into the background and keep processing - TuneIn Radio is probably the best example of this. Start it, select a stream, it starts playing and you can go back to the home screen and start something else or whatever.

      --
      For a site about things like basic rights, Slashdot users sure do like to censor "dissent".
    11. Re:Way to be a day late! by exomondo · · Score: 1

      Android offers much better "at glance" usability functionality and seamless search function as well.

      How so? I'm not saying it's wrong but i'm not sure how you're quantifying this.

      it does not work so well when you compare Bing and Google.

      What doesn't work so well? I've tried bing services like local scout across an europe and australia, seems to very well.

      And you can not install Google services to WP7.5 at all. What is terrible feature.

      Huh? Of course you can, have you actually used a WP7 device?

      About Android, every WP7 fan always leaves out the functionality of its multiple screens, widgets

      WP7 and iOS aren't designed for widgets, hence the reason they are left out, just the same as Android isn't designed for live tiles.

      global gestures and buttons

      global gestures? you mean the ability to use the same gesture to do the same thing in different places? pretty sure WP7 and iOS have this too, they also have buttons.

      Android actually gives less scrolling, more space for actual information and allows user to even build activities to different things, like for work, home and hobby. So user is never shown un-related information if not important.

      I think you'll need an example there of how that rambling sentence actually relates to Android vs WP7 & iOS.

    12. Re:Way to be a day late! by Locutus · · Score: 1

      yo Lemming, bull crap. This line, "the full integration of social media is handy" and this one too, "the clean interface that presents everything I need to know at a glance." just does not sound like what someone would write who's not in marketing. why are you Microserf's so twisted over Apple and think everything is about Apple?

      LoB

      --
      "Anyone who stands out in the middle of a road looks like roadkill to me." --Linus
    13. Re:Way to be a day late! by koko · · Score: 1

      That is not the app in the background, but a background agent. It is limited in what it can do (not the app, since it is sleeping, but the agent itself). Audio is a special-case background agent that continues to run. But it's not the app that's running. It is a background agent. This is not your father's multitasking. It's your grandfather's. It's like Win16's, the great taskswitcher.

    14. Re:Way to be a day late! by Locutus · · Score: 1

      hey AC weenie, I must have said it could be nothing but marketing. Oh wait, no I did not.

      LoB

      --
      "Anyone who stands out in the middle of a road looks like roadkill to me." --Linus
    15. Re:Way to be a day late! by Michael+O-P · · Score: 1
      I tend to think too much when I write, so much of my output is bland and marketing-like. My initial post did sound like an ad. My apologies. I am a techie, but normal people prefer to talk to me because I can translate.

      I just don't want people to dismiss WP out-of-hand because it's Microsoft. They have foisted plenty of crap products on an unwitting public, but the WP7 is not one of them. It's a good product, that isn't for everyone, but it doesn't suck.

      --
      I'm Peggy.
    16. Re:Way to be a day late! by Michael+O-P · · Score: 1

      Yes, literally. Except I'm not a woman, and I'm rarely in an airport. But I do wear the same clothes as she.

      --
      I'm Peggy.
    17. Re:Way to be a day late! by Kalriath · · Score: 1

      Ah, I see. I'll confess I've not had need to write any backgrounding stuff, so hadn't fully looked into it.

      --
      For a site about things like basic rights, Slashdot users sure do like to censor "dissent".
    18. Re:Way to be a day late! by Locutus · · Score: 1

      people tend to dismiss MS products around here because they have not changed the way they do business. It really is a philosophy since many of the techies around these parts have seen many of their project axed because of Microsoft shenanigans.

      So that's what you're up against around here and if you don't know, Microsoft has been caught red handed many times feeding bloggers and forums via paid employees and "associates". It's all these years of tricks and treats by MS you're dealing with so when you sound like a marketing machine you've already lost the effect you were going for.

      And it could be a good interface since they pretty much started by saying it can't look like iOS no Android so it has to be different. Sometimes that does create something useful. But again, MS is MS so even giving them an inch means you could lose all innovation on from the people supporting the competitors products if Microsoft was allowed to have any kind of control. Lots of people already fear their patent licensing deals are going to limit the number of Android devices released. They have been known to pay companies to ship their product in greater numbers than the competitors with devastating results to the competition.

      If I ever see a Windows phone I will take a look but I will never put any money down on one.

      LoB

      --
      "Anyone who stands out in the middle of a road looks like roadkill to me." --Linus
    19. Re:Way to be a day late! by Locutus · · Score: 1

      who said anything about Android, it was about WP7. So what part of "it sounded like an ad to me" do you not get? Oh wait, you've probably never read any print ads nor see many ads which aren't "real shit" on youtube or facebook. And I've never heard anyone talk about android no apple like that. too smooth and not what I'm used to hearing people write or say about the products they use.

      LoB

      --
      "Anyone who stands out in the middle of a road looks like roadkill to me." --Linus
  7. Re:BSOD by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    riiiight, if a company needs the word "actually" in front of "stable" then maybe there is a reason not to trust 'em.

  8. Hardware by faldore · · Score: 1

    I will only be interested in Windows Phone once it is released on modern hardware. (dual core 1.2ghz+)
    Current and planned Windows Phone devices have pathetic hardware.

    1. Re:Hardware by Missing.Matter · · Score: 2

      Current and planned Windows Phone devices have pathetic hardware.

      And yet they are performs generally better (scrolling, zooming, animations, loading times) compared to those "modern" phones.

    2. Re:Hardware by Pieroxy · · Score: 1

      I have to agree that Android is very very slow. iOS is much more snappy in this regard. But if WP7 is really as optimized as you say it is, I might take a look someday. Not today though. My pain from my last Windows 6.5 is still way too fresh in my mind. I know they've redone it all, but I just can't get my mind to getting a Windows Phone. Not yet.

      --
      Write boring code, not shiny code!
    3. Re:Hardware by plasmana · · Score: 1

      I used to have a Palm Treo running Windows Mobile. I hated it so much I bought my first Apple product. The iPhone was infinitely better! Traded the iPhone in for a Windows Phone. Now I could never go back to the iPhone, the Windows Phone is a significant upgrade! Haven't tried Android yet, but I have no complaints with my Focus so I can't see switching.

    4. Re:Hardware by oakgrove · · Score: 1

      I have to agree that Android is very very slow.

      And as an owner of several Android handsets, a Xoom, an iPad, and an HD7, I have to disagree. There is nothing inherently slow about Android.

      --
      The soylentnews experiment has been a dismal failure.
    5. Re:Hardware by oakgrove · · Score: 1

      I have a Motorola Droid and an HD7. Despite the age of the Droid, it launches apps faster than the Windows Phone. Furthermore, there are many small ways that the HD7 falls down that are just inexplicable. One is text reflow. When I zoom in on a web page, I expect the text to reflow so that I don't have to scroll side to side. This is a solved problem on iOS and Android since antiquity yet windows phone doesn't do it. Also, why can't I input a url into the browser in landscape mode? Why doesn't flash work? Why is the launcher stuck in portrait? Why can't I side-load apps on my own device without having to pay a fee? Why can't I tether? Why can't I hook my HD7 up to my computer without having to go through the Zune software? Why not just USB drive mode? Why does it take 3 times as long on it to load a web page vs my Droid? Why are third party apps so choppy (Engadget anyone?)? And on and on. This says it best.

      --
      The soylentnews experiment has been a dismal failure.
    6. Re:Hardware by Pieroxy · · Score: 1

      The Xoom has a dual core processor. I have an iPhone 3GS which is a piece of crap compared to that and my UI feels as snappy as the Xoom's (I know, I have a few friends with a Xoom) Every piece of Android I've seen on comparable hardware as the 3GS is laggy and feels just horribly slow.

      It might be me though.

      --
      Write boring code, not shiny code!
    7. Re:Hardware by oakgrove · · Score: 1

      Honeycomb was a complete rush job and it shows. No argument there. Hopefully the upcoming Ice Cream Sandwich will solve Android tablet issues. However, vanilla Gingerbread like what is shown on both of the handsets in the videos I posted is blazing on iPhone 3GS era hardware. The Droid in the first second video has a much slower processor than the 3GS yet it isn't slow at all and the Vibrant in the first video with 1 GHz single core proc and 512 MB of RAM is completely lag free and is rendering web pages faster than any mobile device I have ever seen. The issue with Android is the crap that the OEM's plaster on it. The OS in and of itself is not at all slow.

      --
      The soylentnews experiment has been a dismal failure.
    8. Re:Hardware by 0ld_d0g · · Score: 1

      Thats not the reason Android feels laggy. It is due to the fact that the UI is not full hardware accelerated.

      http://code.google.com/p/android/issues/detail?id=6914

      An example of that can be seen here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MZEdxqZt6uw

    9. Re:Hardware by oakgrove · · Score: 1
      The reason the Motorola Atrix in your video is suffering lag is because of the Motoblur overlay. Motoblur is notorious for causing this issue. Vanilla android does not suffer from that issue as evidenced by the smoothness enjoyed by owners of the Nexus S which spec-wise is much less than the Atrix. The Vibrant in the video I posted above is perfectly liquid smooth because it is vanilla Android.

      As for GUI acceleration, Gingerbread is much farther along in that respect and ICS will be better still. Again, I direct you to the video of the Samsung Vibrant above running Gingerbread with no lag or chop at all.

      --
      The soylentnews experiment has been a dismal failure.
    10. Re:Hardware by shutdown+-p+now · · Score: 1

      That was true in Android 2.x. It is (supposedly) no longer true in Honeycomb.

    11. Re:Hardware by 0ld_d0g · · Score: 1

      Well isn't Honeycomb restricted to tablets? Also the Xoom while nice on features, still lags a bit on stuff like pinch-to-zoom compared to the ipad2. Lets see what icecreamsandwich brings..

      Google made a mistake in dropping GPU h/w requirements for android logo branding in phones. It has allowed too many cheap android phones on weak hardware. They should just lay down the hammer before it damages the brand.

  9. Re:BSOD by ByOhTek · · Score: 1

    I have a win phone 7, and it (never in 8 months) has crashed less than my android phones did (once every month or two), and has had no issues requiring a reboot (other than running out of battery) vs the androids which required a reboot every two weeks to one month. Battery life is the same. Mind you it's an HTC, and the androids were Samsung. Still, that kind of "windows BSODs" Crap really went out with the 90s unless you buy crap hardware, in which case, no OS will save you.

    --
    Self proclaimed typo king, and inventor of the bear destroying coffee table (patent not pending).
  10. fortune cookie say by wukka · · Score: 2

    A rolling mango gathers no moss.

  11. Update from MS or provider? by sunderland56 · · Score: 1

    From TFA: "The update will be gradually rolled out to existing Windows Phone owners".

    Is the update coming direct from Microsoft (like all desktop Windows updates do), or from the cell provider (ATT/Verizon/etc)? It would be nice if it came from Microsoft, to avoid the (days/months/years) of delay for the provider to supply it.

    1. Re:Update from MS or provider? by Chaos+Incarnate · · Score: 3, Informative

      It comes from Microsoft, but the cell provider can delay it. So far, only a few specific models are delayed (at least in the US).

      That leaves the timetable up to Microsoft for most users; however, Microsoft is deliberately delaying it for everybody. If you get it early, great, but you can't count on the update being available to you until a month after the "release date". And even if you get an update notification on the phone it will still sometimes refuse to update. I've tried three different desktops—no joy.

      --
      Benford's Corollary to Clarke's Law: "Any technology distinguishable from magic is insufficiently advanced."
    2. Re:Update from MS or provider? by Michael+O-P · · Score: 1

      It comes from the providers to allow for firmware updates and device-specific testing, since the providers will get the complaint calls. But they are doing a coordinated push from all providers to have 98% upgraded within a month.

      --
      I'm Peggy.
    3. Re:Update from MS or provider? by sunderland56 · · Score: 1
      Chaos Incarnate says:

      It comes from the providers

      Michael O-P says:

      It comes from Microsoft

      sigh.

    4. Re:Update from MS or provider? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Seeing as how you get the update via the Zune desktop application, it most certainly comes from Microsoft.

    5. Re:Update from MS or provider? by Siberwulf · · Score: 1

      You can actually force it down to your phone. This worked on my Focus.

      http://www.wpcentral.com/force-mango-update-early-through-zune-software

    6. Re:Update from MS or provider? by Mia'cova · · Score: 3, Informative

      Microsoft includes updates from the provider. But it is Microsoft that's delivering the update itself. It comes through zune and is downloaded from MS servers.

    7. Re:Update from MS or provider? by PARENA · · Score: 1

      Unless your provider doesn't mess with the phone. I live in Finland and got my Saunalahti subscription with a Desire HD and I got my Android update straight from HTC, not the provider.

      --
      Here's the secret to immortality: ...oh dang, I forgot.
  12. Re:BSOD by ByOhTek · · Score: 1

    I think by "people" they mean social networking.

    Why does MS seem to think only social networking obsessives use their phones?

    --
    Self proclaimed typo king, and inventor of the bear destroying coffee table (patent not pending).
  13. Re:BSOD by tripleevenfall · · Score: 1

    This is the Edsel of mobile OSs, apparently

  14. Re:BSOD by tripleevenfall · · Score: 1

    Bullied on by the success of the KIN, they are fancying themselves the new kings of social networking.

    Soon to come, Bingbook lets you and your friends star in your own lame commercials!

  15. Re:How do I get it quicker? by Siberwulf · · Score: 2

    http://www.wpcentral.com/force-mango-update-early-through-zune-software

    Worked on my Samsung Focus

  16. Re:astroturfing by StormRider01 · · Score: 1

    Oh my, you certainly caught me!

  17. Re:BSOD by Siberwulf · · Score: 1

    Even my Samsung Focus hasn't had any issues, and I've been running it since Day 1. It's not an iPhone, but it's pretty damn stable and does everything I need a phone to do.

  18. Make that one of two... by HerculesMO · · Score: 5, Interesting

    I have a Dell Venue Pro (unlocked), and I'm extremely happy with it. This is after two years of an iPhone, and 6 months of an Android phone.

    Android felt like a basic copy of the iPhone in a lot of ways, and the battery life was so bad I couldn't keep using it. Windows Phone came out and I checked it out, seemed pretty good and different, and the battery goes on for two days with regular use. While I don't think I'll be convincing anybody here, I have to say that I've found this phone the best one so far, and with the cloud integration I find it extremely handy in a pinch.

    --
    The price is always right if someone else is paying.
    1. Re:Make that one of two... by Shorts+Eater · · Score: 2

      As the third (and probably final) owner of a WP7 on /., I have been extremely satisfied with the OS. Having played with my coworker's androids and iSheep, I wasn't impressed with the usability of those OSs. I know there are a ton of anti-microsoft fan boys here. But, the little bit of usage of mango I have seen has been nice. Let us 3 people enjoy our phones in peace. They work for us.

      --
      Don't allow yourself to dream away time. Be productive. -- Some fortune cookie
    2. Re:Make that one of two... by shutdown+-p+now · · Score: 1

      I also have a Dell Venue Pro, but it ends up being used primarily as a PDA at various meetings at work. To become my primary phone, it would need a decent GTalk client (with push notifications!), and Skype.

      It's actually kinda annoying... it's touted as a phone with integrated IM - which is true, it does seamlessly integrate SMS / Live Messenger / Facebook Chat in a single view with threaded conversations across all three - but this seems to be hardcoded and not extensible with other services. And there's no way I'm switching from GTalk to anything else; so the feature is, effectively, useless.

      Oh, and what's up with wireless hotspot being disabled for existing phones, even though the OS can do it?

    3. Re:Make that one of two... by Aydsman · · Score: 1

      Oh, and what's up with wireless hotspot being disabled for existing phones, even though the OS can do it?

      Not every Windows Phone hardware contains a wireless chipset which supports acting as an access point, others may require a firmware update.

      The other reason is, of course, that your friendly telecommunications carrier wishes to give you the opportunity to pay them more money to have it enabled.

    4. Re:Make that one of two... by Kalriath · · Score: 1

      Every phone can do it - there's no such thing these days as a chipset that can't - but new drivers need to be made available in an OEM update and your carrier needs to prop a webservice allowing the phone to check up if you're provisioned for tethering (i.e. whether you have paid the appropriate tithes for using your laptop via your phone).

      Most WP7 phones if dropped into engineering mode allow you to use them as USB modems though.

      --
      For a site about things like basic rights, Slashdot users sure do like to censor "dissent".
  19. Re:BSOD by artor3 · · Score: 1

    *sigh*

    What makes you think other releases weren't also "people first"? Or maybe "core functionality first"? Or "business applications first"?

    I know, it's Microsoft, and this is Slashdot, thus you feel obligated to find something to bitch about. But really, you don't have to. Just this once, you can say "oh, good on MS, updating their product instead of abandoning it the way so many companies do".

  20. Re:How do I get it quicker? by plasmana · · Score: 1

    Mine too! Also worked on my brothers HD7.

  21. Re:BSOD by drodal · · Score: 1

    Microsoft claims that this release has a 'people-first' attitude...

  22. Fast track by symbolset · · Score: 1

    I hear they are fast tracking it. If all goes well, 4/2012.

    --
    Help stamp out iliturcy.
  23. Re:BSOD by somersault · · Score: 1

    I'm not sure of the first parts, but they end in @Microsoft.com

    --
    which is totally what she said
  24. Switched to WP7 from iPhone 4, Still enjoying WP7 by WolfgangPG · · Score: 2

    Scott Adams likes WP7 more than iOS and Android. http://dilbert.com/blog/entry/windows_phone_challenge/ I think slowly it will catch on and will certainly be the #3 player in the mobile space. Maybe #2 eventually. They also made the marketplace available on the web so you can push apps to your phone. In addition to skydrive storage, find my phone, etc... that has been there since launch. http://www.windowsphone.com/en-US/marketplace

  25. Re:BSOD by somersault · · Score: 1

    Hmm yeah, I suppose I should give credit where credit is due for 7. They stayed committed, and eventually 5 months after release, they figured out how to do cut and paste. Good job guys! Sorry that I wasn't more positive.

    --
    which is totally what she said
  26. Re:BSOD by somersault · · Score: 1

    Thankyou, first useful answer. It's good that they're now getting a clue, but they're a couple of years late for keeping my custom.

    --
    which is totally what she said
  27. Re:BSOD by ozmanjusri · · Score: 1

    You obviously haven't used used WP7 at all.

    Well duh!

    Nobody's bothering to use it, 'cos it's dull, colourless and boring.

    --
    "I've got more toys than Teruhisa Kitahara."
  28. Re:Switched to WP7 from iPhone 4, Still enjoying W by kirkb · · Score: 1

    Heresy! Scott Adams is a treasured geek icon.

    Sure, he could have taken Bill Watterson's ethical, cowardly route: quit after you're popular but before you become a sell-out. But no, he bravely followed Jim Davis' lead: phoning it in week after week, merchandising everything, and cashing big fat paychecks. If the man wants to say nice things about an expensive smartphone that some company gave him for free, let him ride that gravy train!

    --
    Slashdot: come for the pedantry, stay for the condescension.
  29. Re:Switched to WP7 from iPhone 4, Still enjoying W by Locutus · · Score: 1

    read the article and it appears he had hardware problems with the Android phone he had and as he stated at the end of his post, he just wanted the phone to make calls, do email, and a tad of browsing without locking up. Sounds like he didn't pick his phone model very well and confuses Android with a phone(hardware).

    and since most think that one counter example is proof of something being incorrect, my Android phone has been making phone calls, getting and sending emails and even browsing the web for a long time.

    LoB

    --
    "Anyone who stands out in the middle of a road looks like roadkill to me." --Linus
  30. Re:How do I get it quicker? by Merls+the+Sneaky · · Score: 1

    Updating mine now, it's a matter of timing. You have to disconnect after the Zune software sees the update but before Authorization is checked. Zune will then tell you the update is available. Reconnect your internet and press update.

  31. Mango? by Kagetsuki · · Score: 1

    Really? Mango? Is there some deeper meaning in that like "Apple is a fruit and they were successful so let's use a fruit name?" Or to someone does Mango sound fast and cool? Is there target market South America/Africa/SE Asia?

    1. Re:Mango? by WolfgangPG · · Score: 1

      Apparently with Windows Phone -- Microsoft is trying to make all internal milestone builds end in an "O". Next is Tango followed by Apollo.

  32. 96 comments... by crhylove · · Score: 1

    ...and the sweet sound of crickets as MS loses their hegemony to google.

    --
    I hold very few opinions. I hold information based on observation and fact. If you wish to disagree, please use facts.
  33. Re:BSOD by somersault · · Score: 1

    Yes. In the same way that having a hand chopped off is better than losing your penis.

    --
    which is totally what she said
  34. Re:BSOD by gbjbaanb · · Score: 1

    crashed less than my android phones did (once every month or two), .... . Still, that kind of "windows BSODs" Crap really went out with the 90s unless you buy crap hardware, in which case, no OS will save you.

    So you first blame the crashes on the OS, and then say how it's hardware that causes crashes. You probably had a dodgy phone - my Android has crashed twice since I had it, and I think they were battery/hardware issues anyway. So think about your criticisms of something that you already admit are incorrect.

  35. Re:BSOD by fiddley · · Score: 1

    Your android has still crashed more than his WP7, and mine for that matter. I've got a galaxy S too, and if its battery would last more than 4 hours, I probably still wouldn't use it because android is a slow buggy unresponsive sack of shit when compared to WP7 and IOS.

    --
    If medicine were ever perfected, we'd all be the same.
  36. Re:BSOD by ByOhTek · · Score: 1

    Reading Comprehension: EPIC FAIL.

    I stated my previous two phones, which were android, crashed more than my windows phone. I never said it was the OS, in fact, when I did finally assign blame, I placed it on Samsung.

    It was a point to emphasize the importance of hardware/manufacturer quality and the fact that something ostensibly good (such as android) can have problems on crap hardware (or if the manufacturer has crap drivers).

    --
    Self proclaimed typo king, and inventor of the bear destroying coffee table (patent not pending).