It’s no secret that Microsoft’s Windows Phone 7 has had a tough time gaining a significant share of the mobile device market since its introduction late last year. Despite decent reviews and respectable performance, it’s been fighting an uphill battle when it comes to gaining acceptance with a wider audience. The latest update to the current WP7 iteration, nicknamed “Mango”, may go some way in alleviating that problem.

Major New Features

The new upgrades, which collectively constitute Windows Phone 7.5, make a number of interactive changes that users will notice right away. The biggest difference is that 7.5 allows for multi-tasking, a feature which was conspicuously missing in the debut version. In addition, Mango now features third-party app support for live tiles, as well as a host of major and minor usability tweaks for greater performance and productivity.

Emphasis On Networking and Social Media

Like or not, Twitter and Facebook define many people’s lives online. As such, no mobile OS can afford to ignore these platforms if they want to attract customers. Mango does a terrific job of integrating interactivity with both services into the grand scheme of things. For instance, the “Me” Hub gives users the ability to check their Facebook Wall, post messages, and get live status updates delivered directly to the main screen in real time. Mango also allows you to group your Facebook and Twitter contacts within your live tiles as you see fit, somewhat akin to how Google+ operates.

Improved Messaging and Search

While the engineers at Microsoft have gone out of their way to make WP 7.5 as social media-friendly as possible, they haven’t forgotten about the basics. E-mail on Mango has been drastically improved, allowing users to group all of their accounts under one live tile. That’s terrific in and of itself, but Bing Vision is what you should be really looking forward to from Mango. In addition to providing top-notch web search functionality, Bing Vision has a QR code and barcode reader built in by default. It can also scan, digitize, and translate any text you want to capture with the click of a button.

Final Thoughts

Mango looks a lot like the original stock version of WP7 which came before it. The Metro UI is largely the same, in most respects. But look a bit closer, and you’ll find that a lot has changed in the past few months. Microsoft seems to be quickly figuring out what it takes to make it in the mobile sphere. Though they’re a bit late to the party, WP7 actually has a serious shot at becoming a challenger to either iOS or Android in the next year or two if they maintain this pace of improvement and innovation.

About the Author:

Jeff Cavil is a silver commodity investor. He encourage fellow investors and consumers to invest in silver bullion bars while the market is white-hot. By adding precious metals such as silver and gold bullion, an investor is introducing tangible assets to his portfolio which also acts as a hedge against future fluctuations.