Ballmer promises over 500 new features in Windows Phone Mango

By Tom Warren, on 23rd May 11 12:28 pm with 55 Comments

Steve Ballmer introduces Windows Phone 7

Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer has promised over 500 new features for Windows Phone Mango.

Speaking at Microsoft’s Developer Forum 2011, Ballmer promised the features at a VIP launch event tomorrow and hinted at new handsets. “Including some of the particulars about who is going to be building Windows Phones and which carriers will be offering them,” said Ballmer. WMPoweruser spotted Ballmer’s speech and provided a video recording (see below). The confirmation of a big feature set further confirms Microsoft’s plans of a big launch for Windows Phone 7.5 later this year.

Microsoft is holding a VIP Windows Phone Mango event tomorrow to unveil its plans for the point release later this year. The software giant is also expected to unveil new developer tools for Windows Phone applications. Microsoft is currently hard at work on “Mango”, its next major release of Windows Phone. Microsoft has promised to ship “Mango” later in the year. “Mango” is currently in the early beta stages at Microsoft, built as 7.1 currently. The company revealed a number of new features in February that will ship as part of its Windows Phone point release later this year. Nokia is also reportedly waiting for the next release of Windows Phone before it unveils its first Windows Phone device.

For a full feature list and video demos, please check out our overview of Windows Phone Mango here.

  • http://www.andrew-stockdale.co.uk Andrew Stockdale

    Be interesting to see some new handsets. There’s certainly noise to support them :)  

    • http://www.winrumors.com Tom W

      100% sure we’ll see new handsets tomorrow :)  

    • http://www.andrew-stockdale.co.uk Andrew Stockdale

      Sweet. I want a shiny new handset for Mango. Thinking of Dell!

    • http://twitter.com/s_a_r_k_i_s sarkis chamelian

      Dell suck. Stick with Samsung or HTC and of course Nokia !!  Dell have always sucked, and will keep sucking. Trust me I’m a Doctor !  :D 

    • http://www.andrew-stockdale.co.uk Andrew Stockdale

      Wow, haters gonna hate. I still think the DVP is a fantastic device! :)  

    • Anonymous

      Well you could say the same about Nokia, it’s not as if they have a record of releasing great smartphones. The last one I can think of is the N95 

    • tech_guy

       u don’t see all the trouble with the venue pro? ^^

    • http://www.andrew-stockdale.co.uk Andrew Stockdale

      Of course, I’m aware of the problems with the Venue Pro. It’s also meant to be receiving a firmware update to fix that. I also wouldn’t refuse to buy a Dell device simply because of problems with the Venue Pro. I mean, if you’re going to count negatives against a future decision, you have to count positives too, and the DVP is a damn fine device. I wish I had one, problems and all, and I reckon Dell will be able to get it right second time around.

    • tech_guy

       but if they don’t? the fw had to be release since february,until now nothing show off
      & i don’t know if the dell marketplace has few things inside?

    • http://www.andrew-stockdale.co.uk Andrew Stockdale

      To be fair, I’m not sure Dell ever have given a firm date. The community is partly to blame for inventing a date for an update, then holding a company accountable to a date never confirmed. I’m sure it will come (soon), I’m sure it will come before Mango, and I’m sure a subsequent device to the DVP will not have the same problems.

    • tech_guy

       i hope they’ll do ;)

    • tech_guy

       because DELL build great smartphone,just if they more reactive to the software & show off the venue pro & other in the rest of the world not only U.S

    • http://twitter.com/efjay01 Ef Jay

       Dell themselves gave dates to customers who called and besides that, these problems have been present since December 2010 without a hint of Dell trying to resolve them or even officially acknowledge them, but they continue to replace with the same faulty handset and sell them as working units. Thats almost 6 months of problems! Good luck to you buying a Dell, but dont say you werent warned.

    • http://www.andrew-stockdale.co.uk Andrew Stockdale

      I am aware of the known problems with Venue Pros. I originally placed an order for a DVP in October with Clove (UK). I cancelled it in February and ordered an Optimus 7 which is a fantastic device, and I haven’t looked back. I have however, always coveted the DVP’s aesthetics, but from the period of October to February, I was following DVP news quite closely, along with the unit’s problems.

      I would like to say thanks to all the users who have informed me of the problems. It’s nice to know Winrumor’s commenting community don’t want me to make a mistake with a device purchase :)

      I’m not going to make this decision blindly, and if I see major problems with the next Dell WP7 device, I’m not going to just purchase one regardly, but I certainly would like one.

    • Doompostor

      100% sure we won’t see any new handsets tomorrow - according to a reliable source from Engadget
      http://www.engadget.com/2011/05/23/steve-ballmer-promises-over-500-new-features-in-mango-teases/

  • GP007

    I just gotta do this…..

    IT’S OVER 500!

    It’s the new “over 9000″ for WP owners I guess.  

    • http://www.facebook.com/misak Misak Ghazaryan

       i was actually thinking the same thing when i read the article on wmpoweruser lol, its not the same effect but it works

  • Manish

    I think those 500 features will put WP7 at par with Android and iOS 

  • Anonymous

    500 features and its just 7.5? I *really* hate how microsoft decided to directly associate their phone operating system with their desktop. 

    For starters, I don’t think its that catchy for a phone and while most people use it, Windows hasn’t been “cool” since the 3.x or 95 days. Secondly, their phone OS is obviously going to evolve much more rapidly than the software they’ve been chipping away at for a few decades. They are obviously trying to avoid the phone getting ahead of the OS’s number otherwise this *should* have been a completely new release (2.0 … or 8).

    • Anonymous

      Well I think the 7.5 part is more of a sign that this is the release where they are “completing” their “core product”, next year they’ll start bringing us new stuff.

      It’s better then Google which gives Chrome a new release number when they add a new button. (Atleast that’s what it feels like)

    • Anonymous

       That’s probably the best argument for the iterative release number. I still believe that they would have been better suited going with a fresh increment though; public perception at this stage in the game is paramount.

    • Anonymous

      last version of there mobile os was version 6, so perhaps they did it for that reason… 

    • Anonymous

       Heh.. this kind of goes to my “wtf Microsoft” argument. 

      That was Windows MOBILE 6, Windows PHONE 7 is supposedly a rewrite (except for the core). People can not clearly distinguish between Microsoft’s old, dated mobile operating system and this newly produced beauty.

    • http://thounsell.co.uk/ Thomas Hounsell

      I don’t think that’s the case here. You have to look back and see how Microsoft has always categorised major and minor updates - major updates in the OS group essentially have to have breaking changes at a low level. “Mango” is still fundamentally an update, and they’re recognising it as such. It extends, but it doesn’t break – everything made for the current Windows Phone 7.0 will continue to work bug-free (that is, assuming it works bug-free on WP7).

    • Anonymous

       I dont think “whether it breaks something” is their bellwether to up the release increment. A one year release cycle is clean & easy for consumers to understand. 1500 API changes/additions,  500 new “features” and an undisclosed number of bug fixes more than justifies a new release cycle.

      My whole point is I dont think you can approach the mobile space the same way as the PC. In the PC market, people don’t like to see new cycles of releases every year (see Adobe) because for most, that means shilling out money for what is likely a small iteration of changes.

      In the mobile space where people are not paying for the update a shiny new release number is a clear sign of progress; it indicates that things are moving forward. When a new version of iOS drops, people *know* that there are going to be some cool new features; people that do not own an iphone *know* that theres a new version out. With Windows Phone 7, they may, but very likely will not, hear about a patch.

      With an mobile operating system that’s desperate for renewed vigor, not
      giving the public that perception was a miss in my humble opinion.

    • Anonymous

       I dont think “whether it breaks something” is their bellwether to up the release increment. A one year release cycle is clean & easy for consumers to understand. 1500 API changes/additions,  500 new “features” and an undisclosed number of bug fixes more than justifies a new release cycle.

      My whole point is I dont think you can approach the mobile space the same way as the PC. In the PC market, people don’t like to see new cycles of releases every year (see Adobe) because for most, that means shilling out money for what is likely a small iteration of changes.

      In the mobile space where people are not paying for the update a shiny new release number is a clear sign of progress; it indicates that things are moving forward. When a new version of iOS drops, people *know* that there are going to be some cool new features; people that do not own an iphone *know* that theres a new version out. With Windows Phone 7, they may, but very likely will not, hear about a patch.

      With an mobile operating system that’s desperate for renewed vigor, not
      giving the public that perception was a miss in my humble opinion.

  • http://twitter.com/ondraster Ondra Moravek

     Did I hear correctly on the end something about 3rd party extensions for lockscreen? Or did I misheard.

    • Anonymous

      i think that’s been announced already, for instance being able to see album art on the lock screen. 

    • http://twitter.com/JLancaster3 J Lancaster

      @ondra Moravek I don’t mean to sound rude, but can’t you just go and play it back to make sure.  Why would you ask us? 

      Excited about the 500 features.  Hopefully there is movie and tv show rentals in marketplace.  Front facing cameras. Custom ring tones.  I love the idea of more dynamic live tiles from 3rd parties.  4G windows phone?

    • http://twitter.com/ondraster Ondra Moravek

      Because it is too quiet and I am not native English speaker, so it is way harder for me to recognize words when it is so quiet. 

      // and yes, I turned volume to the right.

    • http://twitter.com/furdworetzky Fur Dworetzky

      It sounds like he said home screen, not lock screen:

      “But we’re pushing a different approach to UI design. An approach in which literally right on the home screen of the Windows Phone, you, our developers, can provide integrated experiences across your own and third party applications that are alive and vibrant in real time…”

      I couldn’t catch the last couple words myself, and English IS my native language, so it’s completely understandable that you were having problems hearing it. The audio quality on the recording is not the best.

    • http://twitter.com/furdworetzky Fur Dworetzky

      It sounds like he said home screen, not lock screen:

      “But we’re pushing a different approach to UI design. An approach in which literally right on the home screen of the Windows Phone, you, our developers, can provide integrated experiences across your own and third party applications that are alive and vibrant in real time…”

      I couldn’t catch the last couple words myself, and English IS my native language, so it’s completely understandable that you were having problems hearing it. The audio quality on the recording is not the best.

    • http://twitter.com/ondraster Ondra Moravek

      Thanks :) . 

  • Badtrigger

    I hope that Mango will not be the last big update. These 500 new features are awesome, But it doesn’t mean the phone couldn’t be even more improved. These features are also very needed and maybe they are coming in Mango but I think they won’t.
    - Like a button for the flashlight?!
    - Camera still doesn’t remember it settings.
    - Paying with Paypal account (where you put money on) and not your Paypal credit card!
    - Paying with Microsoft Points.
    - Avatar should be directly live in the Xbox hub together with the edit avatar option. And not in some extras app.
    - Xbox Messages should be directly readable from the Xbox hub itself. (with pictures and voice)
    - Xbox Friends should be viewable in the Xbox hub itself

    - More language support (Maybe is these already for Mango)
    - A better marketplace for other countries like Belgium (French marketplace for Belgium is really frustrating!)
    * Please put us together with the Netherlands it’s marketplace and put French people in Belgium on France it’s marketplace!
    I already bought many games on demand. And some are French, some are English.
    I accidentally bought a French game (NFS: Carbon), And Microsoft doesn’t want to do anything about it!
    So now I have a game I don’t now what to do with…

  • StarSystemDevelopment

    500 new features or 499 things that should have been there from the start?   Steve always the salesman trying to make people feel better about what they bought by promising better sometime in the future, ” Yes we know we kind of sold you and incomplete product but think how great it will be when it gets the update (just do not expect it to be on time)!”  Well it worked for the PC all these years, maybe people with be as gullible when it come to smartphone OS.    

    • zzz

      Just thinking the same thing! GREAT POST!

    • http://twitter.com/efjay01 Ef Jay

      So I guess they shouldnt bother and leave WP7 the way it is, or should they actually be proud that they are still improving the OS and making it even more different than the competiton?

    • STARtone

       They should have made WP7 more complete from the start rather then offering promises about how good it one day will be then my APPS would not being dying on the vine.  

    • Morgan Wisbey

      So iPhone was complete when it was first released?  It didn’t even support exchange until version 2 which made it useless for most business users. We don’t even have to mention how awful Droid was in the beginning. I don’t think anyone in this age expects version 1 of any OS to be “complete”. WP7 has been quite usable for me both professionaly and personally. Sure there are little things that I have missed but nothing has made me want to go back to iPhone. I will take Steve B selling a product promising features in the future over Steve J telling us that the product is complete and that we are simply using it wrong.

    • HeatherT

      Compete enough to cause a market disruption rather then the collective market yawn for WP7.  Sadly it is not still 2007, WP7 is not competing with OSi or 2008 Android.  It time to stop making excuses.

    • Oscar G.

      It’s not excuses, it’s the nature of a 1.0 product development cycle. Read my post replying to Steve above.

    • WJB

      So your saying that if I wanted to develop a new PC OS and these new OS 1.0 development cycle is on par with windows 95 then consumers should embrace because given enough time I am promising that in 2.0 or 3.0 it is going to be better then the competition?  

      Great products exceed the market expectation, good products meet market expectation, poor products miss market expectation.  If 1.0 development cycle does not minimally hit either the first two then it is a fails in the market through low sales.  If the latter happens then the nature of that 1.0 product was not  compete enough to be good enough and excuses follows.  

    • http://www.facebook.com/people/Mitch-Foster/100000527225418 Mitch Foster

       I agree with Heather, the age-old argument of “was this complete when whenever?” is not a really good position.

    • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_VGQMRQOQYPZHFOGRIZ53F646KU Not ice_fusion.

      Your argument would be much more valid if they left out something like text messaging. I don’t see Windows Phone as an incomplete product.

      Hell, if you look at the updates for Android and iOS, Windows Phone already has a lot of what they added to their operating systems over the course of their first year on the market, and I didn’t see them as incomplete either.

    • Steve

      You might not see it is incomplete but customer do which is why it is not selling.   Other OS systems are market leaders rather then a market follower, leaders are innovating, followers try to catch up.   

    • Oscar G.

      So after Mango what will your next complaint be? Because that would be a real complaint, not this bandwagon “it’s not complete” nonsense. As a developer I can tell you that no Version 1.0 of ANY product from ANY company is ever feature complete, there is just no such thing in development. Now if the OS were broken I would be more inclined to agree with you, but it’s not.

      Case study: ever heard of a game called Duke Nukem Forever and the development hell it went though? That’s the end-result of a rogue developer obsessed with being “feature complete”.

    • Steve

      “Complete” as to what the market expects.  If WP7 came out 3 years ago it would have been, heck if it came out, like Ballmer admit it would have been better, a year ago it would have close, but for a 2011 OS incomplete.   MS was hoping it was good enough, but they was wrong proving by dismal sales numbers.  

  • HeatherL

     I hope then my friends will stop making fun of me for buying WP7 phone instead of and Android or iPhone :(

    • Oscar G.

      From my experiences, subconsciously, teasing just means they’re jealous and/or super curious ;-)

    • QualitySoft

      I suspect that what your mom told you that help you try to get over your inadequacy, she is a good mom but in sadly the kids were right.  

  • Msisdying

    You’re missing the biggest story of the decade. IBM just passed MS market cap. First time since 1996.  

  • Msisdying

    You’re missing the biggest story of the decade. IBM just passed MS market cap. First time since 1996.  

  • Robinmacspinks

    Let’s hope this new version is accessible. Windows Phone currently has no accessibility features.

  • Robinmacspinks

    Let’s hope this new version is accessible. Windows Phone currently has no accessibility features.

  • http://www.espow.com/wholesale-security-surveillance-jammer.html mobile phone jammer

    As opposed to Apple: “And it’s shipping today.” apple ships today and you’ll be able to buy it in four months… once they learn how to crank out more than 100/day that pass quality control. We could have said the same thing about Android when it first came out. The developers should get their tools tomorrow on which they can build and emulate Mango applications. That’s why the announcement now.