WINDOWS PHONE MANGO NOW BEING DELIVERED TO ALL COMPATIBLE DEVICES

In a post on the Windows Phone blog today, Microsoft confirmed that it's "now delivering Mango to 100 percent of eligible phones around the world, regardless of carrier." That feat was reached less than a month after Microsoft announced that that Mango was available on half of Windows Phones, which certainly an improvement on the pace of the earlier NoDo update.

WINDOWS PHONE 7 MANGO RELEASING IN NEXT WEEK OR TWO

Microsoft general manager Eric Hautala wrote a blog post on Microsoft’s official Windows Team Blog on Wednesday in which he confirmed the Windows Phone Mango update will begin rolling out to devices “in the next week or two.” Hautala said Microsoft has been making solid progress on the update and advised any Windows Phone users not to install unofficial or leaked copies of Mango. “During the official Windows Phone 7.5 update process, every Windows Phone will also receive software from the handset manufacturer,” Hautala explained. “This matched and paired firmware has been painstakingly tuned so your phone—and apps—work with all the new features of Windows Phone 7.5.”

NOKIA GOES AFTER ANDROID TO GAIN US MARKET SHARE

Nokia’s head of North American sales Chris Weber sat down in an interview Business Insider recently and explained how the Finnish company will regain its market share in the United States by writing “one of the greatest turnaround stories in history.” Weber said that Nokia will release a number of new smartphone models running Microsoft’s Windows Phone Mango operating system and will compete with Android by pricing several of them lower than the cheapest Android models.

Weber reconfirmed that Nokia is still on track to release its first Windows Phone handset this year, likely the SeaRay device we’ve seen leaked, but said the majority of its phones will begin to land next year. Business Insider also said that Nokia is deeply integrated with Microsoft’s plans for a complete tablet, PC and mobile phone ecosystem, which loosely suggests Nokia may have a tablet in the works, too.

LEAK: WINDOWS PHONE MANGO RTM

For those who've longed for Twitter integration and multitasking capabilities on your Windows Phone, the folks at xda-developers have a weekend project you're bound to flip over: the final version of Mango has leaked, and it's available for download today. Internally, it's known as build 7720, and it requires the post-NoDo update dubbed 7392. Alternately, users of Mango beta versions 7661 and 7712 may hop on board, too. If you've got a couple hours to spare, a full list of instructions -- along with the operating system itself -- is included in the source. So far, the software has been confirmed to work on the HD7, Mozart, Trophy, Focus, Arrive, Venue Pro and Optimus 7. As always, proceed at your own risk, and best wishes for your tropical getaway.

WINDOWS PHONE MANGO RELEASED TO CARRIERS AND MANUFACTURERS

Microsoft’s final build of Windows Phone Mango has been rubber stamped and released to manufacturers and wireless carriers according to Windows Phone Dev Podcast. The move is among the final steps before Microsoft delivers the Mango release to customers. The most recent reports have suggested that Microsoft will update current Windows Phone devices in September, although winrumors says the update could be pushed out as soon as August. Microsoft’s Windows Phone partners include HTC, LG, Samsung, Dell, Acer, Fujitsu, ZTE Corporation and Nokia, and we should see a number of new devices from those companies in the fall time frame. Mango was officially announced in May and Microsoft has promised that it will deliver more than 500 new features to the platform.

LEAK: NOKIA'S FIRST WINDOWS PHONE PHONE

A video just surfaced showing Nokia CEO, Stephen Elop, foolishly asking a crowd of people to "put away their cameras" for the unveiling of something "super confidential," codenamed "Sea Ray." Naturally, a few people ignored the plea for "no pictures please" and, indeed, leaked the new device out to the blogosphere.

What is it? Why, it's Nokia's first Windows Phone. While it looks nearly identical to the just announced N9, the different LED placement on the back (in line with the same 8 megapixel Carl Zeiss lens) confirms it's a new device as does the additional hardware button (for shutter release, we presume) along the side. And the fact that it's running Windows Phone 7 Mango seals the deal.

MICROSOFT TO LAUNCH WINDOWS PHONE 7 MARKETPLACE ON WEB

We're not quite sure why Microsoft didn't make mention of it during its big event yesterday, but the company has now confirmed that its forthcoming "Mango" update will also bring with it another significant addition to the Windows Phone scene: a web-based Marketplace. That will of course let you browse and buy apps right from your favorite web browser, and then have them installed on your phone over-the-air. You'll also be able to take advantage of various social networking tie-ins to share apps with your friends, and the Marketplace will hang onto your download history so you can easily reinstall all of your apps if you switch phones -- and, yes, you can count on plenty of Bing integration as well.

WINDOWS PHONE 7.1, 'MANGO', COMING THIS FALL

Microsoft on Tuesday unveiled its forthcoming major update to its Windows Phone platform — Windows Phone 7.1 “Mango.” We gave you live coverage of the event as well a hands-on look at the update, and now that the dust has cleared we can finally sit down and collect ourselves. In short, Mango looks awesome. We’ve seen plenty of promise in the Windows Phone platform right from the start, but we also thought Microsoft rushed the OS to market — understandably — and a lot of key features and functionality were missing as a result. Mango goes a very, very long way in bringing the emerging platform up to date, and Microsoft has named HTC, LG, Samsung, Dell, Acer, Fujitsu Limited, ZTE Corporation and of course Nokia as partners moving forward. Windows Phone 7.1 will be the launch platform for upcoming Windows Phones from Nokia, by the way, and Microsoft confirmed that Nokia has already built devices running Windows Phone 7.1 that are currently being tested in its labs. Mango will add more robust multitasking support, messaging threads, deeper social integration, a unified email inbox, voice-to-text and text-to-voice support, and about 500 other enhancements to the Windows Phone platform when it launches this fall.

BALLMER SAYS OVER 500 NEW FEATURES IN WP7 'MANGO' UPDATE

Steve Ballmer revealed the Windows Phone 7 'Mango' update will have "over 500 new features" in a speech over in Japan today, where he also said that additional information about "who's going to be building Windows Phones" will be forthcoming at tomorrow's preview event as well. Combine that with an otherwise unsubstantiated rumor about Microsoft showing nine new Windows Phone handsets tomorrow, and it does seem like there'll be fresh hardware to go with the ripening software.

Neither the Mango release nor any devices on show will be coming to market any time soon, mind you, but it's nice to think we'll get to see what the future of Windows Phone will look like in physical as well as digital form.

WINDOWS PHONE 7 UPDATE TO BRING OFFICE 365, FACEBOOK CHAT AND BETTER XBOX LIVE INTEGRATION

The Windows Phone Dev Podcast unearthed some seemingly legit Windows Phone 7 screenshots last week that revealed a few new features apparently headed to the mobile OS, and it's now back with another batch that show yet more additions said to be included with the so-called "Mango" update.

That includes support for Facebook Chat and Office 365 (plus SkyDrive and SharePoint), as well as a revamped Games hub that suggests even more Xbox Live integration (including a rather interesting new "Automatic Sync" option). What's more, the lock screen will apparently now show the album art if there is a song currently playing, and it seems there will be some new group messaging options as well.

Of course, all that's still unconfirmed by Microsoft.

MICROSOFT TO UNVEIL NEXT MAJOR RELEASE OF WINDOWS PHONE MAY 24TH

Microsoft has scheduled a Windows Phone event in New York City on May 24th, 2011, during which the company will “lift the curtain on the next major release of Windows Phone.” We know Mango will offer Internet Explorer 9 with an integrated Twitter experience, better multitasking, and new apps such as Angry Birds, Skype, and Spotify. We’ve also heard that Microsoft will add Bing Audio for identifying music, Bing Vision for scanning bar codes, and voice-guided turn-by-turn navigation with Bing Maps, although none of these features have been confirmed by Microsoft just yet.

DUELING WINDOWS PHONE 7 'MANGO' UPDATE RUMORS

Paul Thurrott, Microsoft guru, published an article in Windows IT Pro and stated that the Windows Phone 7 (WP7) update, dubbed 'Mango', that will bring multi-tasking, IE9 and Twitter integration into the WP7 OS, will be delayed until 2012. He writes Mango won't be finalized until the end of the year, making a 2011 release nearly impossible.

Mary Jo Foley, a Microsoft watcher/writer at ZDNet, says Microsoft is promising OEMs and carriers Mango by "early fall at the latest." This would put the update out just in time for the holiday shopping season.

Both writers are highly regarded on Microsoft, so it will be interesting to see who is right on this one.