Liveblog: Windows Phone Update 2011
May 24, 2011, 8:56 AM by Rich Brome @richbrome
We're on the scene in NYC for Microsoft's spring event revealing new Windows Phone features and partnerships. Tune in to our liveblog at 10am eastern for the blow-by-blow.
The show starts at 10am eastern on Tuesday, May 24. Boomark this page!
May 24, 2011, 9:44 AM: This concludes our liveblog of the MIcrosoft Mango press announcement.
May 24, 2011, 9:43 AM: Windows Phone 7 Mango will be referred to as WP7.1.
May 24, 2011, 9:43 AM: The first Nokia WP7 device will run WP7.1 Mango.
May 24, 2011, 9:43 AM: Microsoft said today that its existing hardware partners -- Samsung, LG, and HTC -- will be shipping new phones with Mango this fall, and they will include 4G. Microsoft didn't say what type of 4G would be supported.
May 24, 2011, 9:41 AM: MSFT says Mango will support more languages, and will be supported by more carriers in more countries. The addressable market for Mango is four times larger than the initial release of WP7.
May 24, 2011, 9:41 AM: Microsoft is making all the developer tools available to developers starting today. This should help developers optimize their applications in time for the Mango release.
May 24, 2011, 9:40 AM: MSFT expects to see a "significant acceleration" of support from its partners when Mango is released this fall.
May 24, 2011, 9:39 AM: Microsoft says there are so many hundreds of new features that it can't name them all today. Users will get all the new features via upgrade. All WP7 devices will receive this upgrade.
May 24, 2011, 9:38 AM: App connect is really neat and its high level of integration opens up a lot of possibilities for using the device fluidly and quickly.
May 24, 2011, 9:37 AM: Lees: Finally, the Phone is a full-class citizen on the Internet. With Mango and IE9, you can find things faster, and act on them with fewer steps with the quick cards.
May 24, 2011, 9:37 AM: MSFT demos how to search for a book based on the cover, find it on Amazon Kindle app, and then buy it. With App Connect, it was possible to jump between apps for the different functions.
May 24, 2011, 9:36 AM: Bing can also do visual search. It can, for example, use the camera to scan a book cover and then deliver information / search results for that book on a card.
May 24, 2011, 9:35 AM: Bing also uses "Cards" that present information on a given subject. For example, Bing searches will return results, but also these cards with a collective of information about a given query.
May 24, 2011, 9:34 AM: Bing Maps is adding indoor maps so that it is easier to navigate large, public, indoor spaces.
May 24, 2011, 9:33 AM: It will also help find and organize user favorites so that when users return to a given area, it is easier to find those items and information about them.
May 24, 2011, 9:33 AM: Local Scout really dives down into the neighborhood level and lets even those who don't live in a given area experience that area like a local.
May 24, 2011, 9:32 AM: App Connect can head-off searches that are performed in Bing and the applications that are most suited to those results. For example, search for a movie, and the app connect feature will hand off the results to IMDB.
May 24, 2011, 9:31 AM: MSFT is showing off the deeper intergration with Bing. Bing works much faster and better in the demo that MSFT is showing. It uses a new thing called "Local Scout" for delivering the best possible local results.
May 24, 2011, 9:26 AM: Microsoft is also targeting developers with the apps.
May 24, 2011, 9:26 AM: Microsoft demonstarted a near traveling application that works with flyers, offering notifications, a boarding pass and so on. Integartion across features of the phone makes for a more powerful device.
May 24, 2011, 9:23 AM: The phone being demo'd can definitely switch fast between applications with near instantaneous app resuming.
May 24, 2011, 9:23 AM: MSFT is demonstrating a lot of applications and how notifications and multitasking all work together to provide for a more seamless user experience.
May 24, 2011, 9:21 AM: MSFT is showing off the fast-app-resume, which is its version of multitasking.
May 24, 2011, 9:18 AM: WIth Office, Mangp now supports SkyDrive for connecting, sharing documents online. (Similar to Google Docs).
May 24, 2011, 9:18 AM: MSFT has enhanced the Hubs in the phone, such as Office, Pictures, and XBox. Making it easier to tag and share photos. Uploading to services such as Facebook is built into the Photo application rather than limited to just the Facebook app.
May 24, 2011, 9:17 AM: MSFT has upgraded all the applications in the phone so that they can work with one another better.
May 24, 2011, 9:16 AM: MSFT is bad-mouthing the approach of apps taken by its competitors. Saying they aren't integrated into the phone, but are all silo'd and separate from one another. And that the info inside each app is locked in that application and it can't necessarily interact with others.
May 24, 2011, 9:15 AM: MSFT is now talking about its focus on application support and how it is working with developers, including games, etc.
May 24, 2011, 9:15 AM: With Mango: "The Message Always Gets Through."
May 24, 2011, 9:15 AM: MSFT has added better support for things such as Twitter and LinkedIn in the People Hub to make communication as effective as possible.
May 24, 2011, 9:13 AM: After a message goes off, the music resumes.
May 24, 2011, 9:13 AM: WP7 Mango now supports voice actions and voice dictation.
May 24, 2011, 9:13 AM: MSFT demoing what it's like to listen to music, and what happens when communications arrive. Adding voice directions to and dicattion.
May 24, 2011, 9:12 AM: Email and calendar experience are now linked, it scans emails for scheduling conflicts, and will show users when they're free and when they have conflicts in meetings. They are also adding Facebook events to the WP7 calendar as well.
May 24, 2011, 9:11 AM: Now, email. Users can link any number of email accounts, but also leave some separate. MSFT also added better corporate support to the email program, supporting security features such as "do not forward" management tools.
May 24, 2011, 9:10 AM: Threads is another new feature for managing messaging. It works across applications, tying Facebook, SMS, email, etc in one thread for a real comprehensive view of communications with one person.
May 24, 2011, 9:09 AM: Groups can be pinned to the home screen with their own tiles, and the tiles will show everything from that group.
May 24, 2011, 9:08 AM: Windows Live Messenger and Facebook chat is supported in the Group feature of Mango for easier group communications. Microsoft implied that more services would be supported eventually, but didn't specify which or when.
May 24, 2011, 9:07 AM: Groups support live tiles, and can filter social networks and pictures based on the Groups and people tagged therein. Also some group communications: email, messaging (IM+SMS)
May 24, 2011, 9:07 AM: A new feature called "Groups" to help people mirror their real life relationships. Users can set up as many groups as they like.
May 24, 2011, 9:06 AM: Visual voicemail has been added to WP7 with the Mango release.
May 24, 2011, 9:06 AM: The people centric approach starts in the People Hub. Talking mostly about existing features of WP7.
May 24, 2011, 9:06 AM: The people centric approach starts in the People Hub. Talking mostly about existing features of WP7.
May 24, 2011, 9:05 AM: Demo time! "People centric" Improved the home screen experience bringing more information to the live tiles. Things will update better and more effectively.
May 24, 2011, 9:04 AM: Derek Snyder is taking the stage to talk about the communication features of Mango.
May 24, 2011, 9:04 AM: Microsoft is talking about all the different ways we reach out to one another, such as twitter, phone calls, IM, SMS, email, etc. MSFT believes people keep missing "the moment" because they are too busy interacting with apps.
May 24, 2011, 9:03 AM: MSFT is diving into Mango's new features. First up, communications.
May 24, 2011, 9:02 AM: Windows Phone Mango: Smarter and easier with respect to communications, apps, internet, and so on.
May 24, 2011, 9:02 AM: Microsoft is officially announcing Mango.
May 24, 2011, 9:02 AM: MSFT: In short, we wanted to provide innovation and choice instead of frustration.
May 24, 2011, 9:01 AM: MSFT also took an interesting approach with the ecosystem, with respect to hardware, carriers, developers, software, performance, etc.
May 24, 2011, 9:01 AM: MSFT wanted to put the user, and not the platform, at the center of the experience. Less clutter, more clarity.
May 24, 2011, 9:00 AM: Andy Lees is talking about the launch of WP7 seven months ago, saying that it set out on a new mission. TO make things smarter, easier, and have more fun while doing it.
May 24, 2011, 9:00 AM: Microsoft's Andy Lees is taking the stage and we're off!
May 24, 2011, 8:59 AM: Out in the lobby, a lot of software/developer partners were floating around and mingling. We're probably going to hear about new applications and/or services available to WP7.
May 24, 2011, 8:58 AM: Phone Scoop is on site and settled in to liveblog the Microsoft Mango announcement, which is set to kick off in just a few moments. The event is being hosted at the TriBeCa Grand Hotel, and a pretty small group of journalists have convened to cover it.
About the author, Rich Brome:Editor in Chief Rich became fascinated with cell phones in 1999, creating mobile web sites for phones with tiny black-and-white displays and obsessing over new phone models. Realizing a need for better info about phones, he started Phone Scoop in 2001, and has been helming the site ever since. Rich has spent two decades researching and covering every detail of the phone industry, traveling the world to tour factories, interview CEOs, and get every last spec and photo Phone Scoop readers have come to expect. As an industry veteran, Rich is a respected voice on phone technology of the past, present, and future.
Comments
Finally, chat
I'm also happy for Visual Voicemail. Its one of my most missed features since switching from BB Bold to HD7 last year.
