Microsoft introduced the next installment of its Windows Phone 7 software at an event in NYC today. Codenamed "Mango", the update, which will be available to Windows Phone users this fall, focuses on communication and Internet browsing and searching.
Communication made easier and more social
Windows Phone 7 "Mango" will boast a number of features that make it super easy to stay in touch with your friends regardless of what platform or social service they are using. The "Threads" feature will let you switch between texting, Facebook chatting, and Windows Live Messenger all within the same message window. The "Groups" feature will let you put a group of friends together into a Live Tile so you can easily message them at once.
"Mango" will also make it easier for users to keep abreast of what their friends are doing regardless of what service they're using. Using the "Groups " feature you can check the status updates of a group of your friends from the aforementioned Live Tiles. Friend's Twitter feeds will also be able to be linked to their contact cards for easy viewing.
Enhanced Internet
"Mango" will come equipped with a version of the latest Microsoft Internet Explorer 9 for more powerful browsing, allowing users to take advantage of new web technologies like HTML 5 and hardware-accelerated graphics. There's also a more robust Bing integration that includes voice search and a new feature called Bing Vision which will let users take a picture of a product in order to search the Net for info on it.
Learn more
There's a bunch more features—Microsoft says there are hundreds—that you can learn more about by watching the above video or heading over to the Windows Phone Blog. For the select few Windows Phone 7 users out there, get excited.
