Windows Phone 7.5 Mango Update Rolling Out Today [Microsoft Quietly Rolling Out Mango Update, With New Social Features, WiFi Tethering, Visual Search, Location Services & Group Contacts]

Tweet

The technology media is all worked up with various announcements and anticipated moves. But while we’re getting excited over the new Amazon Kindle, new Tizen OS and even the Samsung-Microsoft patent partnership, Microsoft has gone ahead and quietly launched the Windows Phone 7.5 Mango update.

Microsoft is rolling out the Mango update starting today. Yes, you read it right, Mango is available today, although this doesn’t necessarily mean everyone is getting the update all in one go. After about eight months waiting for Microsoft to come out with the promised updates to the Windows Phone 7 platform, everyone gets a few surprise features that were totally unexpected.

Microsoft lists a few dozen features in its announcement, but says hundreds of big and small improvements have been made. Here are a few noteworthy additions to WP7.5.

• WiFi tethering. A handy feature for road warriors with several devices, this lets you connect to mobile data via notebook, netbook, tablet or other device via the phone’s WiFi chip. This feature is chipset-dependent, though, and should work with WP7 handsets with Broadcom chips.
• Threaded conversation views. This comes in handy when you’re monitoring long email, IM or text exchanges. What’s great with this feature is that Windows Phone Mango actually gives you a unified inbox for your SMS, email, Facebook or other messaging media.
• Group contacts. Now you can send to a set of friends or contacts in one go. Windows Phone will remember your preferences, and let you easily broadcast IMs, texts or emails to a pre-set selection of contacts.
• Multitasking. Windows Phone can now run several tasks in the background while you work on the foreground app. It’s not “true” multitasking in the desktop sense of it, but allows users to switch between apps quickly and without having to completely exit background apps.
• Local Scout. This is a handy feature when traveling or looking for places to shop, or wine and dine. Mango also comes with driving directions.
• Speech recognition. Mango supports speech input in various applications, including text messaging and phone navigation. Text-to-speech also reads out messages and content. Still, don’t text and drive!
• Visual search. This feature is akin to Google Goggles, and will identify QR codes, book, CD or DVD covers, or just about any item and direct you to relevant pages or product information on the web.

Microsoft has just released the update, but says it might take some time for all carriers to roll out to the end-users. Also, some features may be carrier- or country-based. Some will also be handset dependent, so don’t expect to see everything when Mango ships to your phone.

If you’re one of the lucky ones who got the update early, tell us how Mango fares.

Tweet

You may also like:

Windows Phone 7.5 Mango Update Hitting 100% of Compatible...

Windows Phone Announces Tango Video Calling App...

Windows Phone 7 SMS Vulnerability Reboots Phone & Freezes...