With the protracted roll out of the platform's first two updates still fresh in the mind, Microsoft has detailed the features on board for Windows Phone 7's next major refresh, dubbed 'Mango'.
The firm made the splash during its MIX11 conference in Las Vegas, informing developers that they will be party to a beta release of Mango's featureset before it reaches consumers.
Building momentum
Speeding up the platform appears to be Microsoft's main target.
As well delivering faster app switching (an aim the most recent update also had at its core), Mango will serve up app multitasking for background processing, audio and file transfer.
This doesn't appear to be what's generally regarded as 'full multitasking', but it is a significant step forward from the current approach, where only Microsoft apps are able to function in such a way.
Deeper integration with third party apps is also on the cards, allowing developers to make better use of live tiles a feature much pushed by Microsoft in promotional material, but, to date, scarcely used by most developers.
That's a theme that runs through to the greater access to core features such as the camera and motion sensor library that's been proposed, specifically designed to aid augmented reality apps.
Rovio and co.
Microsoft is also keen to talk up developer support, flying in the face of recent criticisms that have been laid at the company's door.
As well as new apps from the the likes of Skype, Spotify, Layar, Qantas, Amazon Shopping and Kik Messenger making an appearance, Microsoft also revealed that Rovio's Angry Birds will hit Windows Phone 7 on March 25.
The franchise, which is already available on iOS, Android, Symbian, and webOS, amongst others, recently surpassed total downloads of 100 million.
[source: WinRumors]
News
With a fine eye for detail, Keith Andrew is fuelled by strong coffee, Kylie Minogue and the shapely curve of a san serif font.
Top Stories
News
8 hours, 40 minutes ago
Niantic celebrate Earth Day success with 3.4 million players taking part
Feature
May 16th, 2024
Behind the scenes: How adding sandwich offers to an idle merge game boosted three metrics at once
as
Feature
May 16th, 2024
Honor of Kings set for June 20th global launch after $15 billion+ revenue in China
Feature
May 14th, 2024
Matej Lančarič's Squad Busters deep dive: Under the skin of 2024's biggest launch yet
Events
Valencia Indie Summit 2024 | Europe | May 16th |
Digital Dragons | Europe | May 19th |
GamesBeat Summit 2024 | North America | May 20th |
Mobidictum Meetup Tallinn May 2024 | Europe | May 21st |
Nordic Game Spring 2024 | Nordic | May 21st |
Impact 2024 - Indie Games | May 23rd | |
Morocco Gaming Expo | Africa | May 24th |
MomoCon 2024 | North America | May 24th |