Steve Ballmer talking in Japan at the Microsoft Developer Forum 2011 revealed that Windows Phone 7.5 "Mango" will have 500 new features and come to Japan at the end of the year.

He additionally said tomorrow's Mango event will reveal details of the OEMs and carriers, lending some support to the hearsay that a variety of new units are set to be introduced tomorrow. Also revealed at the occasion was that the Mango improvement tools will likely be released on the finish of the week.

MIX11 since Mango is different from the route has been leaked, 500 new features are pretty amazing.  As far as which Windows Phone 7 Devices will be getting the Windows Phone 7.5 Mango update is still unknown, we will have to wait to see.

Ballmer said he will appear next year even which talks about Windows 8, let the audience excited. (According to subsequent follow-up, which seems to be a mouth slip)

source: wmpoweruser

Earlier this week, my less than 90 day old suffered an apparently self-induced meltdown (pics below).

The problem started when the phone started repeatedly making the sound that you make when you plug it in to charge or sync it. The phone was not plugged in at the time.

First I unlocked the phone and found that it seemed to be fully functional, but the repeated tone continued - almost as if there was some type of internal short which caused the phone to think it was being plugging and unplugged over and over. I rebooted the phone, thinking that might resolve the issue. After a few seconds up returning to the lock screen, the repeating tone started again.

I unlocked the phone again and noticed that the battery indicator icon was sort of flickering each time the tone sounded. Hmmm, maybe plugging the phone into the Samsung wall charger will help. Plugging the phone in did stop the repeating tones, but after ~30 seconds I smelled a strong smell that smelled like burning electronics.

I picked up the phone, realized that was where the smell was coming from, and quickly unplugged it. After doing so, I noticed that the USB/charge port in the phone was melted, as was the male end of the Samsung USB cable.

I took the phone to my local AT&T corporate store - they had not seen or were aware of a related issue. Since I've had the phone more than 30 days, I was not eligible for an in-store exchange.

The AT&T rep that I was working with gave me paperwork for the AT&T Device Service Center (DSC) in town, and told me that they'd likely be able to take care of my phone under warranty.

I went to the AT&T DSC and relayed the above story to them. After speaking with a technician, supervisor, and manager I was told that they had no record or service bulletins related to the issue. As a result, they could not warranty my phone. The manager told me that my phone fell into the "damaged phone" category, which is not covered by the warranty.

I argued that the damage which occurred to the phone was not due to my negligence (i.e., dropped it in a toilet, ran over it with my truck, etc) , but because I simply plugged it in. To no avail - my Focus was a "damaged phone which was not eligible for warrantly repair or replacement".

The manager said that I had two options - contact the AT&T warranty department who could "assist" me with a replacement phone, but would charge my account the full, no-contract price or submit an insurance claim with AT&T, pay the deductible, and get a "like-new" replacement phone.

I am currently awaiting a phone call from a supervisor with the AT&T warranty department, who is to contact me within 24-48 hours.

source: windows phone 7 forum

Microsoft Corp. outlined the progress of its mobile ambitions Thursday, as the company announced it has shipped only 2 million total Windows Phone 7 based devices since it launched the operating system six weeks ago.

The company announced 1.5 million WP7 devices shipped just one month ago, implying that only 500,000 were shipped (not necessarily sold to consumers) in December, the typically busy holiday-buying season. For comparison's sake, Google says there are 300,000 Android devices activated daily.

"We said all along that our first priority was to make a phone that people loved and to that end, we are pleased with the initial response," said CFO Peter Klein. According to Microsoft, 93 percent of customers are satisfied or very satisfied with WP7. "While we are encouraged by the early progress, we realize we have a lot of work ahead of us," Klein added.(See Microsoft Sells 1.5M WP7 Phones and OS Watch: Google Sees Dollar Signs in Mobile.)

That work includes delivering on updates Microsoft has promised for the OS for basic capabilities like cut and paste, and support for CDMA. So far, WP7 users are still waiting.  Klein also repeated stats that the OS is on nine devices in 30 countries and with 60 operators. Developers are adding WP7 apps to the marketplace at a rate of over 100 per day, and Microsoft boasts 24,000 developers building for its growing platform.

source: lightreading

It's price chopping season for Windows Phone 7 devices in North America, or so it would seem. If for some cause Amazon's providing of the AT&T Samsung Focus, LG Quantum and HTC Surround for one penny appeared too costly for you, NewEgg has achieved one better and outright provides the identical three devices for free.

Here are the details:

Some quick pricing news on the LG Optimus 7 for Canadian friends. Coming to us direct from TELUS, it appears like the carrier has dropped the value of the Windows Phone 7 powered LG Optimus 7 to $49.99 on a 3-12 months contract. Other contract and pricing options stay unchanged, at $399.ninety nine on a 2-12 months, $449.ninety nine on a 1-year, and no time period for $499.99. You'd suppose TELUS want you to sign a juicy new 3-year deal on the LG Optimus 7 by looking at these contract costs, now wouldn't you?

source: unwiredview

New just released WP7 MultiMedia Super ROM 3.14 base for advance TMOUSA HD2 Users ONLY...! It includes a WP7 short cut page with auto built in WP7 default home screen, also the WP7 Settings are also built IN for customizing the WP7 home screen the way you want it. You can get to the HTC Sense home screen by just tapping on the HOME button... It's also suggested, if you are not going to use the WP7 home screen as your default home screen, then it's best to kill it by using the built in MMTaskManager. Once the boot up is completed, you will asked two questions, just tap YES....

This ROM is Android ready, works with just about all Android builds, it has all the MultiMedia Super ROM goodies, including the new 3.14 ROM NEW apps, plus all the stock apps, yes, WiFi Router is on board....

You can get this new ROM version HERE: http://www.mobileunderground.info/showthread.php?t=704&page=1 located in the lower section of the ROM description... Also they are apps for download at the bottom of post #'s 1, 2, and 3 that you maybe interested in too.....!

source: http://www.htchd2forum.com

I think Microsoft is on the right track. Just like the first Android will probably be a good start. Windows phone 7 will not be a full featured OS compared to the likes of Android, however it is going to be an OS that does what most individuals want quite well. Think about some details of their OS. It is far simpler to develop for Windows Phone 7 than say Android. They're going to have out of field great gaming capabilities, a great music service and great wonderful integration with online companies like Facebook.

For daily use they got most user case eventualities covered. This is certainly a smart phone that's oriented not to the Geek, but to the consumer that wishes something that is simple to make use of but permits to do what you want well. Just like the iPhone. Now features like tethering, true multitask, copy paste, these will are available in type of updates.

Microsoft is nicely aware that Windows phone 7 will not beat the iPhone or Android this Christmas. But it will put Microsoft again within the race. One year from now when they match all their aggressive OS features and on top of that provide not less than pretty much as good or better cell companies we could have a completely totally different opinion on the cellular market. Don't underestimate Microsoft.

Check out the youtube ads below

AT&T continues to back the platform wholeheartedly after endorsing it -- and Microsoft 's cellular efforts -- repeatedly over the past year. "We'll be the premier carrier for Home windows Cellphone 7," a spokeswoman stated by way of e-mail on Monday. "We haven't given guidance on timing."

The spokeswoman would not elaborate about what a premier provider would do to advertise WP7. Analysts have noted the value to Microsoft of getting as many carriers on board as possible, particularly given the failure of Microsoft Kin telephones sold by Verizon Wireless and Microsoft's transfer away from the Windows Cell 6.x platform.

Each Verizon and Sprint Nextel refused to remark about their plans for WP7, and the fourth-largest provider, T-Mobile USA, didn't reply to a question on its plans. A Microsoft spokeswoman final week stated neither Microsoft nor the cellular operators have any bulletins on whether they will have WP7 telephones when they develop into usually accessible this fall. She did observe, nonetheless, that Microsoft indicated at its WP7 announcement at Mobile World Congress in February that its US companions have been AT&T, T-Mobile, Sprint and Verizon.

AT&T has stood out in its reward for Microsoft and WP7 in current months. At the CTIA present in March, Jeff Bradley, senior vp of mobile units for AT&T, stated in an interview that the service was trying ahead to promoting WP7 telephones to be used on its network when they develop into available.

via: engadget

Verizon has cut the price of both Microsoft Kin models. The Kin Two, seen here, drops from $99 to $49.  Over the weekend, Verizon quietly cut the price of both Kins. The lower-end Kin One dropped from $49 to $29, while the Kin Two went from $99 to $49. Those prices require users to sign a new two-year contract and agree to a $29 or higher monthly data plan, in addition to voice service.

Despite a significant TV ad campaign, the phones have gotten comparatively scant attention since their launch. The Kin, designed to target a similar demographic as the Sidekick, has faced steep competition from the iPhone and other smartphones, which don't cost any more per month and offer the ability to run thousands of applications.

I think Microsoft needs to get its act together and produce better phones in order to have a chance in this super competive mobile world, otherwise I think they will be disappearing from the Smartphone chart by this time next year.

source: cnet

With no explaination, the VP of Skype was hesistant to explain why there would be no development taking place for the new Windows Mobile offerings. However, he said Skype is in development mode for iPhone, iPad and Android Based phones.

Another kick in the stomach for Microsoft I guess, they are facing great challenages in the mobile world, even with the Kin release.

source: wmpoweruser

Microsoft has announced two new features to Bing App for windows phones, first feature is a redesign of the home page, making it easy to navigate with common used shortcuts.

The second is turn-by-turn navigation for Windows Mobile 6 series phones. powering by Bing Maps.

Here are the list of phones will be able to get this update.

Windows phone

• HTC Fuze
• HTC Pure
• HTC HD2
• HTC Tilt 2
• HTC Touch Diamond 2
• HTC Touch HD
• HTC Touch Pro
• HTC Touch Pro 2
• Motorola Q9c
• Samsung Jack
• Samsung Omnia II
• Samsung Propel
• T-Mobile Dash 3G

source: bing.com