Hardware

Samsung has become surprisingly adept at putting out quality smartphone hardware, even on the low-end of its range. In general build and quality, the Focus 2 feels like a shrunken version of the white Galaxy S II: compact, light, glossy and very solid. The hard plastic shell isn’t the thinnest available, but there’s nearly zero flex, and its gentle curves feel comfortable in the hand. Controls are found mounted within the silver ring surrounding the phone: volume on the left side, power and two-stage camera button (yes!) on the right.

The front of the device is dominated by a 4-inch, 480×800 Super AMOLED display. Margins on the side are small, but fatten out on the top and bottom to accommodate the speaker, front-facing camera and Windows Phone controls. The screen itself is rather typical of Samsung – if you like bright, saturated colors, you’ll be right at home, but if you’re more used to a 720p display or can’t stand the slight fuzziness of PenTile panels, you probably won’t be convinced.

Around the back you’ll find a battery door that uses Samsung’s “snap-on” technique, beneath which is the 1750mAh battery, MicroSIM card slot and not much else. The 5.0 megapixel camera sits next to a tiny speaker. There’s a clever little loop in the speaker grill that pushes up the back of the phone about a millimeter – this ensures that there’s always some space between the back of the phone and a flat surface for speakerphone or video calls. The speaker itself is a little weak, but not nearly so much as some of the others I’ve seen, such as the Galaxy S III.

Under the hood are some respectable specs, even if they won’t set the world on fire. A 1.4ghz single-core processor is paired to 512Mb of RAM – not the best out there, but as we’ll see later, plenty for Windows Phone 7.5 Mango. Internal storage is just 8GB, which you’ll have to make due with, since the Focus 2 lacks a MicroSD card slot. Naturally it’s got all the wireless bells and whistles with WiFi and Bluetooth accompanying 4G LTE. In the box you’ll get the standard wall-wart and data cable combo, plus a surprisingly nice headset with in-line music controls that matches the phone’s glossy white finish.

Software

If you’ve seen one Windows Phone, you’ve seen them all, at least from a software perspective. Aside from AT&T’s rather annoying additions (U-Verse, Navigator, Yellow Pages and more, all of which can be uninstalled) there are no surprises here. If you’re not already familiar with Mango, check out our review here.

The Focus 2 handles Mango with aplomb, even as a budget phone. Navigating the slick and unique interface was quick and fluid, and I didn’t start noticing any slowdown until I began running dozens of apps at once. Speaking of apps, there’s nothing to be done about the lack of them on WP7. While you should be able to find utilities for most tasks, the absence of big names like Pandora is hard to overlook.

Those who are familiar with Windows Phone, or perhaps more likely at this price point, those who haven’t used a smartphone before, will not be disappointed. If you’ve been spoiled for choice of apps on Android or iOS, or you just don’t live in a Windows world, you may want to look elsewhere. WP7 Mango is undeniably beautiful and it’ll handle all the basic tasks of the other big players, but a platform lives and dies on its software support.

Camera and Media

The 5-megapixel camera on the Focus 2 is pretty much what you’d expect: reliable enough for candid snapshots, but “serious” photographers (if the term can be applied to mobile phones at all) will be better served elsewhere. Even in good lighting, I found myself having to adjust the white balance settings for shots where the sun wasn’t directly visible. Colors were erratically over-saturated or muted.

Video is likewise lukewarm. With plenty of lighting the 720p sensor does well enough, but you’ll see some banding when moving around (and with a phone this light, it tends to happen a lot). The VGA front-facing camera is suitable only for video chat – self-pics will turn out better with the rear camera and a little guesswork.

All that said, the two-stage camera button is a fantastic addition (though standard on Windows Phone 7 devices). The shutter is quick to focus and it activated when pressed and held, even when the phone is off. I do not exaggerate when I say, I wish every single smartphone had a dedicated camera button, even when the camera itself is nothing to write home about.

Music is a standard experience, even if it is a little weak coming out of the phone’s speakers. It’s a good thing, then, that the pair of headphones included is a step above the general lot, with easy-to use in-line controls and a microphone. It’s nice to see this inclusion, which is all too often absent on more expensive devices. Video plays well enough, though if you’re constantly browsing YouTube or the like, you’ll want something with a larger screen.

Battery and radio

The 1750mAh battery on the Focus 2 is something more usually found in a much larger smartphone. The combination of an efficient screen and WP7′s generally un-demanding workload mean that the Focus 2 can ho surprisingly long without a charge. Despite some pretty heavy browsing and talking sessions, I couldn’t drain the Focus 2 to less than 40% of its capacity over a 12-hour workday. Those of you who are frustrated with puny run-times shouldn’t have a problem here.

Likewise, the call quality on the Focus 2 is surprising. Speaking with friends and family member across the country was sharp and clear, despite the generally spotty coverage in my mountainous area. While I don’t yet live in an AT&T 4G LTE coverage are, I was at full bars nearly all the time, though actual speeds were a bit disappointing in the 1 to 1.5mbps range, where other AT&T phones tend to get at least 2mbps.

Value

The Focus 2 is undeniably a good deal at $50 on contract. The combination of solid specs, great battery life and good ergonomics would make it an instant recommendation… if it weren’t for other AT&T phones too close to it in the price range. For $50 more you can get the excellent Nokia Lumia 900, which beats it in nearly every category and looks great to boot. If you’re wiling to switch to Android, the 4.5-inch HTC Vivid is just $49.99.

If you’re in an area without LTE or you simply don’t care about the faster data speeds, your options grow even more. There’s the still-respectable iPhone 3GS, currently going for a dollar on AT&T’s website, the original HTC Titan for just a penny, or the 720p LG Nitro HD for the same price. Don’t get me wrong, the Focus 2 is a solid phone… but if I had my heart set on it, I might wait a couple of months for the price to drop to free or practically so.

Wrap-up

The Samsung Focus 2 is a very tidy device, and currently the cheapest phone on AT&T to combine LTE and Windows Phone 7. Anyone who purchases it won’t be disappointed, especially those who require long battery life. That said, if a great camera or a big, high-res screen are in your list of must-haves, look elsewhere.

It’s also hard to recommend the Focus 2 above the Nokia Lumia 900. The extra fifty bones is worth it in basically every category. Likewise, the other alternatives mentioned above can get you access to more apps (if not such a polished OS) for the same or less money. The Focus 2 is ideal for those who want to get into Windows Phone 7 for as little money as possible, without sacrificing build quality or an LTE connection. The phone is on sale starting today for $49.99 with a two-year contract.

The Focus 2 would have been a high-end device about two years ago, and still manages to present a better front than most of the field below $100. Samsung’s been making touch-based smartphones for a long time (and a lot of them, too) and knows how to make a device feel welcoming. It”s not the thinnest phone around, but it is one of the lightest, and still manages to cram in a 4.0-inch screen with Samsung’s Super AMOLED technology. (PenTile haters beware: at 800×480, you can certainly tell the difference between this and a standard RGB display.)

Controls and layout are Samsung standard, with the power button on the upper right side and the volume controls opposite them. There’s also a camera button on the lower right side – always, always a welcome addition to any phone, thanks to quick and easy access to the camera app. The Focus 2′s 5-megapixel shooter probably won’t be beating out ny higher-end phones, but it’ll sub in for a point-and-shoot just fine thanks to an integrated flash. Speaking of cameras, there’ a new VGA front-facing cam for video calls and the like.

It’s all wrapped in glossy white plastic that feels surprisingly solid for a budget phone, and handily hides fingerprints. The shiny metal ring separating the front from the back breaks the icy aesthetic a bit, but it does handily include all the controls. Pop off the back and you’ve got easy access to the battery and MicroSIM card, but unfortunately, no SD card option. For storage you’ll have to settle for the *GB of internal – again, not bad at all considering the price.

Other specs include a 1.4Ghz single-core processor, 512MB of RAM (in my experience, plenty for Windows Phone 7) and of course an AT&T LTE connection. Going over the software quickly revealed an adequately snappy Windows interface, though AT&T’s pack-in apps are here in abundance. We’ll have an in-depth review of the phone up before it launches on Sunday, May 20th for $49.99 on a two-year contract.In the meantime, check out the unboxing video below:

One obvious possibility is that the aftermarket ROM community could get newer versions of Windows Phone running on the Focus, long after Samsung has given up support for the first-gen device. However, it’s also likely that attentions will also turn to other popular mobile platforms, such as Android.

We’ve already seen Android and Windows Phone 7 running on unofficial hardware: the venerable HTC HD2 has been blessed with both Google and Microsoft‘s platforms at different times, and there’s a dual-boot hack out in the wild too. However, efforts to get dual-boot options running on current Windows Phone hardware have been less fruitful

Cotulla’s first release will apparently be for the Focus only, though future builds may add support for other Samsung handsets such as the Omnia 7. It’s unclear what work would be required to bring it to other devices, such as Nokia’s new Lumia 800; we can think of plenty of people who would jump at the opportunity to have Lumia hardware running both Windows Phone and Android.

[via WPCentral; via Steve Troughton-Smith]

Communications

Your entire communications network is centered around, if you want it, your People Hub. Instead of a contacts list, you have this hub which you’ll find on your Start Screen right when you turn your device on for the first time. This tile has, once you activate it, multiple little tiles inside of it flipping on and off with images of your contacts as lifted from several different places: Facebook, Outlook (Exchange and Office 365 included), Windows Live (Hotmail, Xbox LIVE, Messenger, and others included), Google (this has an email icon next to it, but this is connected to your greater Google account which includes Reader, Gmail, all that good stuff,) LinkedIn, and any 3rd party email accounts you may have. Twitter and LinkedIn integration right out of the box are new here in Mango.

One of the neatest features you can now take advantage of is the ability to take contact groups (which you make via your People Hub) and make them their own dedicated tile on your Start Screen. Your group tile (you can make several of them, mind you,) will then live flip through updates from random members of that group the same way a single person tile would, only the name of the Group appears every once in a while now as well. You can then, as per usual, do things like mass email these people if you want to, for instance, invite them to an email party. This can be exceedingly helpful, especially if you’re using your device for work (or if you’re a student, for class) and have a need for communicating with specific sets of individuals quite often.

You can also pin an individual to your Start screen, if you did not know, and communication with your people is now advanced to the point of absurd ease – if you want to take the time to configure each person with every account they own, that is. You can switch between Windows Live Messenger Chat, Facebook Chat, Messages, and more, all of it in a single conversation, but the time you must take is still in play: you must add a person to each of these services individually, linking them together under one profile, or the whole switching inside conversations thing doesn’t work out as slick as it should.

Messaging is improved as well if you just want to stay in that world – speech-to-text as well as text-to-speech are now both active and working quite well.

Applications

Multitasking – that ever-present goal for every mobile machine maker, that’s been improved here in Mango. This version of the OS makes it possible for apps to run in the background (they have to have that ability programmed in, of course, not every app works this way), switching between apps as simple as holding your dedicated BACK button down and flipping back and forth between windows. This is a really ingenious button / functionality combo when you think about it, so smooth in fact, that I’m surprised noone has thought of it before.

Applications and Hubs are now part of your Search results when its necessary, this bringing the Search function basically a level higher than any other mobile OS on the market today – do you need to search the entire contents of your phone right out of the box, though? Ask a hacker, they’ll know. Those having only worked with non-mobile operating systems will find this ability soothing to their claustrophobic senses.

Dynamic Live Tiles have been improved in some small ways that allow them to retrieve information and update themselves without the need for the user to open the app that corresponds with them. For example you can see small status updates from your friends in Facebook without opening a tile that contains your friend. This filters over to the aforementioned Group and individual tiles.

Internet

Your internet browsing has been upgraded with the newest version of Internet Explorer, that being IE9, complete with hardware acceleration and HTML 5. This sounds pretty awesome until you realize that Internet Explorer is no longer at the top of every web designer’s list of browsers to optimize for. What this means is that pieces of even the most well-visited websites in the world will be missing in action. On the other hand, this often results in nothing more than the absence of some banners and the missing list of “top posts” here and there. There was a question on one of the threads I was speaking in inside the past week on Facebook games – the answer is no – Facebook games still do not function inside this stock browser. You’ll still have to find alternate means, like a full-sized computer and non-mobile OS.

Local Scout is a lovely new app that instantly gives you “highlights” for businesses around your GPS location including reccomendations for shops, activities, and of course restaurants. Each suggestion is displayed as either text or a tile that can then be opened to reveal items like address, directions (instantly through Bing), phone number, “neighborhood” – this being a general indicator of where it is, and category. You can also access “Quick Cards, these being reviews (if there are any) related apps (if there are any) and prices (when applicable). You can also pin the business to your Start Screen if you wish. When the GPS finds you, it finds you well within a big bunch of businesses, that’s for sure. On the other hand, I’ve not yet gotten the opportunity to take it all the way up to the sticks where businesses are light, so we’ll have to see how good it REALLY is.

Hitting your search button from, for example, your Start Screen, will launch Bing. From here you can access an expanded number of directories instantly, these including Bing Vision (for scanning products, bar codes, or QR codes,) Music Search and Voice search – these able to tell you what song you seek or get you what you need simply by letting it listen to your quandary. Both work fairly well, with the music searching function not able to figure out which Aphex Twin song I was listening to, but having no problem identifying a Dr Dre song. Music Search then shows you your album cover, title, album title, and allows you to head to the Zune music marketplace to purchase the song (or the whole album) if you’d like to do so.

Hands-on Video Tour

Anything I didn’t show in-depth above in images you’ll be able to see in the video below. Have a look and see how smooth it all is!

Wrap-Up

In all, the Windows Phone platform has been improved in a set of ways that will certainly be appreciated by those that already use Windows Phone devices. I’m not sure that these changes will be enough to attract new customers on their own, but tied in with the rest of the relatively easy to use system, Windows Phone should, by most means, continue to grow throughout the future. Without getting too analytical on the future of the platform, it is, as we’ve said before, dependent on the developer ecosystem that this platform will succeed in the near and distant future. The more we find developers attaching themselves to the Windows Phone platform, the more users will come with them.

It’s no longer just about creating a mobile OS that works, it’s about making one that people trust and love as well. Microsoft, continue with the improvements here and there, but direct your power beams at the developers full force if you want gains. That’s my best advice and has been my advice since the beginning. Windows Phone users, you’re in for a treat, because Windows Phone 7.5 Mango is a sweeter fruit than you’ve had before. Take a big bite and smile about it.

The Story So Far

Microsoft’s original plan for Windows Mobile was iterative, an update rather than a total reboot, but the company sensibly decided to start anew rather than attempt to drag its aging platform (complete with a less than glowing reputation) up to date. The first Windows Phone 7 handsets arrived in Europe in late October 2010 and in North America early the following month, with ten devices from HTC, Dell, Samsung and LG.

The platform had obvious promise, not least because Microsoft had stepped away from the existing paradigm of gridded icons and instead adopted a dramatically different “live tile” system and themed hubs. Windows Phone 7′s UI looked unique and clean in comparison to rivals, and a regimented minimum specification mandated to each OEM left handsets smooth and consistent.

However, consistency was only part of the problem. Compared to the by-then established Android and iOS, Windows Phone 7 missed obvious features like copy & paste, multitasking, voice-prompted GPS navigation and universal search. Microsoft’s constraints around hardware choices left all of the first-gen handsets very similar, with little to recommend one from the other, and with neither an entry-level “beginner’s Windows Phone” nor a class-leading flagship to aspire to.

The “NoDo” update addressed some of the software shortcomings toward the end of Q1, with copy & paste among other things, but it’s Mango that may well make or break Windows Phone. Set to arrive this fall, we’ve been using a pre-release version of v7.1 – 7661.EP7_5_Trial to be exact, on an AT&T Samsung Focus – to get an idea of how well it addresses the gaps in the Windows Phone experience.

Twitter and SkyDrive

Microsoft is claiming around 500 new features in Mango, though many of which won’t be noticed by everyday users. It’s also worth noting that, in its pre-release form, there are some aspects still non-functional. The much-anticipated Twitter integration – which follows a similar path as the existing Facebook system, in adding tweets to the People hub as well as hashtags, @-mentions and link support – is missing from our test build.

Similarly, Microsoft’s SkyDrive integration – which will see users storing photos, video and documents in cloud storage, including background uploads, remote access as if the content was local, easy sharing and access to files shared with you by others, and support for cloud searching – is also not yet ready for us to test. We’ll revisit these features when a commercial Mango device is available.

Multitasking and Live Tiles

Like iOS a few versions back, Windows Phone 7 launched without multitasking support. Rather than jumping between apps, users had to return to the homescreen and then navigate back out again. Mango changes all that: a long-press on the Back button and a side-scrolling list of recently-used apps are shown, each with a preview of their last state. Unlike the default Android switcher, which shows the six most recent titles, every app used is presented; similar to webOS’ cards, you get a useful preview, though this isn’t “live” as on HP’s phones.

Rather than allowing software to run of its own accord in the background, as on Android and webOS, Microsoft has followed a more structured path like on the iPhone, with apps left in a “frozen” state when not at the fore. This means a reduction in unnecessary power consumption and no CPU-hogging, though it does mean developers need to implement Mango’s new Live Agents and APIs if they want key background elements of their apps to continue operating while the user does something else.

Currently, these Live Agents include support for background audio – continuing to play music while the user does something else, including integration of playback controls and track ID into the Music hub – along with the camera, GPS, the accelerometer, compass and gyroscope. In addition, there are APIs for boosted notification support – such as setting Windows Phone alarms and reminders from third-party apps – together with the handset’s calendar and other local content.

It works, and for a consumer-centric device – rather than, as Android arguably is, something with half an eye on the technically-minded – Microsoft’s decision to give developers a more structured environment does make sense. Unfortunately, it also demands that they work their apps to suit the multitasking system, which meant the titles we tried from the Windows Marketplace didn’t necessarily support it.

Still, there’s considerably motivation for developers to go to that effort, not least because Microsoft has opened up its Live Tiles system to greater third-party integration. Live Tiles, a key element of the Windows Phone homescreen, are dynamically updating, customizable blocks that can show notifications, image previews and other content. In Mango, the flexibility of that dynamic updating has been extended, and third-party apps have a similar range of options to the core software on the phone.

So, now you can have a weather app with a Live Tile that shows the current conditions, evolving as the day goes on and as you move around. Or, retailers can offer promotional Live Tiles, with the latest discounts flagged up. The system was one of our favorite parts of the original Windows Phone 7, an interesting hybrid of widgets and icons, and we’re glad to see Microsoft capitalize on that. There’s also more native functionality for them, which we’ll cover in a moment.

Email

One thing you could say about Windows Mobile: it handled Exchange integration very well. Still, with both being the handiwork of Microsoft that should come as little surprise. In the meantime, though smartphones have evolved from being the preserve of enterprise to consumer devices, and most consumers don’t come to the table with a single Exchange account.

Out of the box there’s the usual support for multiple POP, IMAP and Exchange accounts, with presets for Gmail, Yahoo! and other providers. Using Gmail’s ActiveSync support, you can have push-email as on an Android device, too. Of course, Microsoft would prefer you to have a Windows Live email address, and you’ll still need a Live account to use features like the Marketplace.

New to Mango is the Linked Inbox, and it’s a great addition. Rather than limiting you to either separate inboxes – one per account – or combining every account into a single inbox, Windows Phone 7.1 allows you to group different selections of accounts individually. So, if you have a number of personal email addresses, as well as a handful of work addresses, you can link the former and the latter independently, viewing only the amalgamated personal inbox or the work inbox.

We already liked the way Windows Phone 7 handled email – the layout is clean and clear, the app swift and triaging a heavy inbox is very straightforward – and the Linked Inbox makes it even better. Another useful addition is Conversation View, which pulls together threaded conversations for easier reading. Multiple inboxes can be pinned to the homescreen as Live Tiles, with unread message counters.

For those who do use Exchange, Microsoft has added some more enterprise-friendly abilities, like control over Out of Office messages and the ability to search the email server. There’s also support for synchronizing to-do lists and multiple Exchange calendars. It’s unlikely to make much of an impression on regular consumers, but it should help Windows Phone reclaim some of its market in businesses.

Messaging

Windows Phone always allowed you to pin individual contacts to the homescreen, showing previews of their latest photo uploads, Facebook status messages, missed calls and more. With Mango, that’s enhanced to support Groups: linked sets of contacts. A “Family” group is automatically created, based on those people with the same surname as the user – great if you have a distinctive last name, but “Smiths” should probably expect to do some pruning – but you can create multiple groups of your own, such as work colleagues or school friends.

Just as with individual contacts, groups show combined status updates from Facebook and Twitter, and photos they’ve uploaded. They can be pinned to the homescreen, too, and you can fire off a group email, SMS or IM over Facebook Chat or Windows Live Messenger (the latter supported by Xbox consoles as well as PCs and phones, of course). Unfortunately there’s no way to send Twitter direct messages to a group of people.

Messaging overall has had a boost in Mango, with the new Threads feature. Rather than having a separate page for each method of IM – SMS, MMS, Live Messenger or Facebook Chat – your conversations are merged into one. As before there’s a chunky speech bubble UI, only now each update shows not only time/date but also the route by which it arrived on your device. By default, your reply uses the same route as the most recent message, but you can switch in-line to different phone numbers, to Live Messenger or to Facebook Chat. Status updates for the latter two services are included, so if your friend logs out of Facebook then you can ping them over SMS instead. Again, the only frustrating omission right now is Twitter direct messaging.

What’s still unclear – and what could make the difference between Threads being a real selling point or not – is whether Microsoft will allow third-party apps to integrate too. SMS and MMS are common standards, but there are plenty of people using Google Chat or other IM systems rather than Windows Live Messenger and Facebook Chat. Meanwhile, there’s recent Microsoft acquisition Skype to consider, itself offering IM alongside VoIP. It’s obviously far too late for Microsoft to comprehensively integrate Skype into Mango, but we’d like to see some commitmentit’ to including it – and other services like it – into Threads. As it stands, it’s a great way to handle communication across a number of platforms, but it’ll only ever be as useful as the services it supports.

Internet Explorer 9

The IE7-based browser in the original version of Windows Phone was solid but lacked support for increasingly common web standards like HTML5. For Mango, Microsoft has switched to the same Trident/5.0 layout engine as in IE9 on the desktop, adding in support for hardware acceleration taking advantage of the increasingly powerful GPUs on mobile chipsets.

That engine update means IE9 on Mango plays nicely with HTML5, CSS3, SVG, DOM, XHTML, ECMAScript, HTML5: Video, audio, geolocation, canvas, local storage and more. There’s support for sites that access the phone’s location services, camera, microphone and local apps, along with easy sharing through whichever social networks you’re logged into.

Like the desktop version there’s Protected Mode and Hang Resistance, the latter promising to prevent crashed sites from taking down the rest of your tabs. We did find IE9 on Windows Phone was difficult to crash, but while the browser seems faster than the version it replaces, page loading still lagged in side-by-side testing with an Android handset. Once loaded, pinch-zooming was smooth and panning lag-free. There’s no Flash Player support still.

Search, Maps and Shopping

Microsoft has always been keen to stress Windows Phone’s ability to not just offer up the same content you’d find on the desktop, only on a smaller display, but to better format information so that it’s easier to consume on the move. There’s speech-to-text, with reasonably accuracy (though requiring a data connection in order to work) to trigger voice-prompted searches, and then text-to-speech to read the results back out to you. IE9 gives the full web, but Local Scout offers search results from within a 25 mile radius of your location. Operating, at Mango’s launch, in the US, UK and France, Local Scout splits activities down into three categories – “Eat+Drink” for restaurants, “See+Do” for nearby attractions, and “Shop” for stores – together with a “Highlights” list of the top ranked from each category.

Individual records get a new Quick Card view – as do apps, movies, events and products – which combines various sources of information into one easily-scanned pane. Content depends on what, exactly, you’ve looked up; for a restaurant, say, you might get a breakdown of ratings, a list of reviews both by regular customers and any “expert” content Bing can find online. There are also options to favorite or share the information with others. At launch, Place Quick Cards and Movie Quick Cards will be US-only, while Product Quick Cards will work in the US, UK and France.

It’s obviously only as successful as the data it uses, and we did find some omissions during testing where we knew there was a restaurant or cafe nearby but Bing didn’t. Local Scout ties into Bing Maps, through which you can pull up a list of directions though not the same turn-by-turn navigation as Google offers free on Android devices. If you have OpenTable or Fandango installed from the Marketplace, the Places and Movie Quick Cards will offer the option to book restaurant tables or tickets using App Connect, Microsoft’s system to pull together relevant content from across the Windows Phone device.

Finally, there’s Bing Vision, perhaps the most eye-catching of Microsoft’s additions in Mango. In reality, it’s camera-based searching as we’ve seen in similar forms on other platforms, only baked into the core OS. Scan a barcode on a book, CD, DVD or magazine (in the US only, at launch) and Mango will pull up relevant information like reviews and online shopping results. QR codes (or “2D barcodes”) and Microsoft’s own Tag system can also be used. Meanwhile, there’s a translation system which can recognize printed text in English, French, Italian, German or Spanish using the Windows Phone’s camera, and translate it on-screen.

In practice, it all works though it lacks some of Google Maps’ flexibility. It’s not just Google Maps Navigation: the Android mapping app now has Latitude support for tracking friends’ locations, Places for reading and leaving POI reviews, custom layers, public transport information and other niceties that, while the UI isn’t perhaps as minimalistically slick as on Mango, still offer greater functionality.

Change, though, is afoot. As part of Microsoft’s deal with Nokia, Windows Phone will gain access to the NAVTEQ mapping system and Nokia Maps, the Finnish company’s comprehensive navigation, POI, review and recommendation system. Nokia handsets have already been enjoying turn-by-turn navigation with voice guidance for walk, bike and drive journeys, Trip Advisor and Lonely Planet content, and even offline mapping to avoid roaming fees while abroad; at some point, many of those abilities will come to Windows Phones, and not just those bearing the Nokia brand.

Apps and Sharing

Third-party software arguably remains Windows Phone’s Achille’s Heal. Microsoft claims there are now over 18,000 titles in the Marketplace, a far cry from Apple or Google’s well-stocked app stores. Part of the problem has been Windows Phone’s minimal footprint in the market, something analysts suggest will change over the next 3-5 years, and the addition of Nokia as a hardware vendor should help certainly increase that. The new APIs, meanwhile, and things like App Connect and background processes should pave the way for more imaginative titles.

Microsoft isn’t resting on its laurels while that happens, though. There are some neat touches like face detection and easy tagging, which is compatible with both SkyDrive and Facebook galleries, and the same system extends to any online photo too. The Marketplace is also more sensibly laid out than the somewhat overwhelming Apple App Store and Android Market (perhaps aided by its relatively sparse content, of course) with content-filtered searches that are contextually sensitive.

For instance, starting a search from the games Marketplace automatically presents the results from the gaming pivot, figuring that’s the filtering you’ll likely be wanting. Music search results are flagged up by artist, album, song or playlist. There’s also a Web Marketplace, set to launch by the time Mango hits devices, which will allow for online purchases from your desktop browser.

Games and Multimedia

Mango takes the fledgling Xbox LIVE integration from the original Windows Phone, and makes it more graphically impressive overall. A player’s Xbox Avatar is now 3D, and links into the Avatar Marketplace announced earlier this month so that they can be dressed up in exclusive clothes and otherwise customized. Meanwhile, Achievement records and the list of recently played games are brought to the fore, and it’s easier to compare those Achievements with other Xbox LIVE gamers. Friends’ statuses are shown, and you can read LIVE messages and respond to friend requests.

Nonetheless, there’s still a sense that there’s still a lot of untapped potential for Microsoft with its Xbox implementation on Windows Phone. Sony Ericsson has already shown, with the XPERIA Play, how gaming and mobiles can mix, with dedicated controls and a catalog of challenging (if in many case retro) titles.
Microsoft’s new APIs will hopefully encourage developers to make exclusive titles for Windows Phone, rather than sluggishly port across existing games that have already made a splash on iOS and Android.

Hopefully those developers will also explore the potential for cross-platform gaming with titles that integrate Windows Phone and Xbox 360 somehow, whether that’s pushing mini- or casual-games to the phone, using it as a peripheral controller, or otherwise augmenting the gameplay. What we’re yet to see is a true integration between gaming on a phone and gaming on an Xbox 360: in short, a compelling reason for a 360 owner to make a Windows Phone top of their list when they’re shopping for a new handset.

Zune is Microsoft’s other big entertainment brand, and the company continues to push music and video on Windows Phone. Mango brings background playback for third-party streaming apps like Slacker, which goes a long way on its own to boosting usability. Smart DJ, meanwhile, takes a single “seed” track and then – by analyzing its mood, tempo and other components – builds a playlist of similar music stored locally on the handset. It’ll be available in Zune Marketplace locations (US, UK, France, Spain, Italy and Germany) at launch. If you have a Zune Pass subscription – available in the US, UK, France, Spain and Italy – then Smart DJ will not only comb through local music but the entire Zune catalog online, creating a streaming playlist of themed tracks. Unfortunately there’s still no native DLNA support to stream those creations to nearby speakers.

Podcasts can now be managed directly on the handset, rather than having to sideload them via the Zune software on the desktop. A new Podcasts option in the Marketplace hub offers downloads sorted by popularity, featured, freshness or genre, as well as a search option. There’s also the ability to filter between audio or video podcasts. Similarly, there’s the option to download music via the Windows Phone Marketplace, including a Bing track-ID search which can identify the currently playing song and then automatically take you to its download page (if available).

Office

Whether or not consumers are swayed my Microsoft Office support on their potential smartphone is an ongoing argument, but WIndows Phone continues to offer perhaps the most complete out-of-the-box experience if creating and editing documents is a priority. We were unable to test SkyDrive synchronization as the cloud service was not yet ready for action, though by the time Mango hits retail handsets it will allow photos and documents – including OneNote notes – to be stored online and accessed from your PC and other devices.

Word, Excel and PowerPoint support is present, as before, but Mango adds Office 365 to the array. The subscription-based online app suite automatically keeps Windows Phone up to date with contacts, calendar, email and Sharepoint files, while a Lync app – not yet available to test – will do the same for online meetings and intra-organization IMs.

Hardware

Mango will only take Microsoft so far; the company needs a broader range of hardware if it wants Windows Phone to succeed. Thankfully that looks to be in the works as well. The second wave of devices – which manufacturers have been holding off until Mango arrives – should benefit from more flexibly hardware guidelines, allowing a more attractive range of form-factors and functionality that will hopefully mimic some of the diversity we’ve seen with Android.

Nokia will play a huge part in that. While the abandonment of Symbian and marginalization of MeeGo has prompted no shortage of angst among the Nokia faithful, the Finnish company’s strengths in hardware design, existing carrier relations and cost-effective production should give both it and Windows Phone a considerable boost. Vitally, that will include not only the range-topping handsets – with high-resolution cameras, sturdy metal chassis and superlative connectivity like pentaband UMTS/WCDMA – but entry-level models giving Windows Phone a foot in the door of the low-cost market where Android is currently flourishing.

Wrap Up

Back in October 2010 we described Windows Phone 7 as a solid first effort, but one that would likely take three or four iterations to catch up to its rivals. Whether it could afford to take that long, with iOS and Android hardly holding back, was the lingering question.

Mango has certainly shifted Microsoft’s game forward considerably. The social networking integration and elements like Smart DJ, Conversation View and the Quick Cards have been slotted in without detracting from the overall design ethos, while essential additions like multitasking and the usable task-switcher help Windows Phone from feeling passé in comparison to its more established rivals. There are even elements where Android and iOS could do well to learn from Microsoft’s example, such as the conversational Threads.

Where the Windows Phone proposition falls short is in third-party app support and compelling hardware. The former should get better given time, and will likely be given a boost as Nokia – among others – weighs in later this year. From Microsoft, meanwhile, we’d like to see more made of its obvious strength: Xbox LIVE integration. Neither Google nor Apple are shy of maximizing on their unique abilities, and given Microsoft’s Xbox reputation is perhaps the jewel in the company’s crown, it could easily become Windows Phone’s unique selling point.

Until then, Windows Phone 7.1 Mango goes a reasonable way in bringing the company’s mobile strategy up to competitive speed. It lacks the ecosystem and polish of iOS and the flexibility and openness of Android, but offers instead a distinctive UI and some functionality that’s very usable day-to-day. For Microsoft’s target audience of first-time smartphone upgraders and mainstream users that may well be enough.

Windows Phone 7.1 Mango Technical Preview hands-on

“A smartphone generates 24 times the mobile data traffic of a conventional wireless phone, and the explosively popular iPad and similar tablet devices can generate traffic comparable to or even greater than a smartphone. AT&T’s mobile data volumes surged by a staggering 8,000% from 2007 to 2010, and as a result, AT&T faces network capacity constraints more severe than those of any other wireless provider,” reads the filing statement.

AT&T then goes on to say that the T-Mobile deal “will thus benefit consumers by reducing the number of dropped and blocked calls, increasing data speeds, improving in-building coverage, and dramatically expanding deployment of next-generation mobile technology.”

This surely explains why a bunch of new HSPA+ devices including the HTC Inspire 4G, Atrix 4G, and the Samsung Focus experience data speed throttling. The first device we reported experiencing capped data speeds was the HTC Inspire 4G. AT&T must have been trying to cover up their network deficiencies by claiming that the device was not enabled for HSUPA upload speeds, when the HSPA+ chipset of the device supports HSUPA. And most recently it happened again with the Samsung Focus.

[via Business Insider]

Updated after the cut with AT&T comment

It seems that, for one reason or another, AT&T doesn’t want its users to hammer the new HSPA+ network and so has been systematically blocking HSUPA uploads from each of its devices. The Focus was the one handset which didn’t have the artificial limitation.

Ironically, while it’s taken AT&T months to get this blip of success in their otherwise dreary HSUPA line-up addressed, it’s only taken days for a fix to emerge from WPCentral. AT&T is yet to comment publicly about the move; we’ll update if we get a comment.

Update: AT&T tells us that the accusations are incorrect: the Focus never had HSUPA to begin with. We’re not sure where that leaves users who, after applying the WPCentral tweaks, have seen significantly higher upload speeds following the installation of the NoDo update.

Update 2: AT&T suggests that, if users have rooted their Focus prior to the NoDo update and enabled HSUPA themselves (the hardware is capable of it, even if AT&T released the phone with it disabled) then that might account for the change in speeds observed after the update is installed.

AT&T is offering customers the chance to purchase a Windows Phone 7 device and an 11.6-inch Acer Aspire AS1830T notebook for only $199.99. You can choose either the Samsung Focus or the LG Quantum as your Windows Phone 7 device.

The deal starts on February 13th but ends March 20th. The cost is $299.99 when you buy it at any AT&T retail store or online but then you get a $100 mail-in rebate AT&T promo card. And the catch is that you must sign a two-year agreement and DataConnect plan with AT&T for your Acer.

[Via AT&T]

More on the subject found by Engadget included documentation from Samsung including the fact that once a microSD card is inserted into a WP7 device, it “will no longer be readable or writable on any other devices such as computers, cameras, printers, and so on.” This includes formatting. Scary! Furthermore, they were told that it’s not so much to do with total throughput, as Microsoft would imply, but mostly to do with the random access speed. Sadly, the type of cards these WP7 will be good to work with are currently only manufactured in bulk (which explains why the cards that come standard in the phones work just fine.)

[Via Engadget]

Despite what Microsoft may have said, it looks like the tethering feature hasn’t been completely pulled from Samsung manufactured devices. So far, this hasn’t been found to work on any other Windows Phone 7 handset. But, if you want to give it a shot, you need to follow some pretty simple steps.

The first thing you need to do, is access the phone’s dialer, and then punch in ##634##, which will launch the handset’s diagnostics menu. When you’re there, you’ll enter *#7284# in the next menu you see. Find your way into the “Modem, Tethered Call” area, follow the on-screen instructions, and then you’ll find the USB tethering option. If you can make it there, you can access the feature.

Interestingly enough, there have been reports that some people have not been able to make it work, but a surprising amount of people have managed to get it functioning. If you have the device, and want to give it a shot, let us know in the comments how it goes for you.

[via PhoneArena]

All four of the devices are GSM-only at present – we’ll have to wait until sometime in early 2011 for the first CDMA Windows Phone 7 handsets on Verizon and Sprint – and all have roughly similar specifications. Qualcomm’s 1GHz Snapdragon processor is the CPU of choice, along with UMTS/WCDMA, WiFi, Bluetooth, GPS and a sizeable capacitive touchscreen running at WVGA. How sizeable you want that touchscreen to be may be your biggest differentiator: the HD7, for instance, has a 4.3-inch panel, while the Samsung Focus gets a 4-inch Super AMOLED.

For more on Windows Phone 7 and whether it’s worth your money, check out our reviews of the Samsung Focus, HTC Surround and HTC HD7. We’re hearing rumors that the Dell Venue Pro will be making its debut today as well.

There’s also a 1GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon processor, Bluetooth and WiFi, along with an LED flash for the camera.  Interestingly, the Focus is one of the few Windows Phone 7 devices where it’s possible to upgrade the internal storage, though it’s nowhere near as straightforward as a regular microSD card slot.

Still, it’s one of our favorite Windows Phone 7 devices, not least because of that excellent display.  For more on the AT&T Samsung Focus, check out our full review.

Microsoft announced today that Windows Phone 7 will launch in Europe on October 21 and in the U.S. on November 7. Ralph de la Vega, president and CEO of AT&T Mobility and Consumer Markets also announced today that AT&T will launch three new WP7 devices: Samsung Focus, LG Quantum and HTC Surround-all under $200!

The Samsung Focus will launch with AT&T on November 8, featuring a 4-inch Super AMOLED display. This device speaks for itself in this video. Take a look and see what you think.

The LG Quantum and the HTC Surround will launch a few weeks after Samsung Focus and will feature 720p HD video, pictures and music, 16GB of internal memory, a 5 megapixel camera on the back, and a 1 GHz Snapdragon processor. But if that’s not enough to entice you, check out the video below and see for yourself, just how amazing this device appears.

The HTC Surround is the last of the three smartphone devices to launch WP7 with AT&T, but only one of five new HTC devices (Surround, Mozart, Trophy, Pro and HD7). HTC’s phones range in size between 3.7 and 4.3-inches, have a slide-out stereo speaker for media playback, and features a kickstand to watch videos, listen to music, or watch your favorite shows. For the more media-driven consumers and gaming enthusiasts, Surround is the phone for you! It’s is set to launch with AT&T in the U.S., and with TELUS in Canada on November 7. The five new HTC devices will be available in the following countries with the following carriers:

In North America:
AT&T
• HTC Surround, United States
• Samsung Focus, United States
• LG Quantum, United States
T-Mobile USA
• HTC HD7, United States
• Dell Venue Pro, United States

TELUS
• HTC 7 Surround, Canada
• LG Optimus 7, Canada
América Móvil
• LG Optimus 7, Mexico

In Europe:
O2
• HTC HD7, United Kingdom, Germany
Orange
• HTC 7 Mozart, including France, United Kingdom
• Samsung Omnia 7, including France, United Kingdom
SFR
• HTC 7 Trophy, France
• Samsung Omnia 7, France
Movistar
• LG Optimus 7, Spain
• HTC HD7, Spain
• Samsung Omnia 7, Spain
Deutsche Telekom AG
• HTC 7 Mozart, Germany
• Samsung Omnia 7, Germany
Vodafone
• HTC 7 Trophy, including Germany, Spain, United Kingdom
• LG Optimus 7, including Germany, Italy, Spain, United Kingdom

In Asia Pacific:

SingTel
• HTC HD 7, Singapore
• LG Optimus 7, Singapore
Telstra
• HTC 7 Mozart, Australia
• LG Optimus 7Q, Australia
Vodafone
• HTC 7 Trophy, Australia

There’s been a lot of information on WP7 today, but it seems like there are ton of unique features and that it’s a much more interactive and personal handheld device than ever before. What do you think, will you be buying a new WP7 device?

Underneath that 4-inch WVGA capacitive touchscreen display, you’ll find Qualcomm’s 1GHz Snapdragon processor. The camera on the back is highlighted with a LED flash, and the back of the device is slightly curved. Overall, the Focus feels a lot like the Samsung Vibrant, in that there’s an obviously plastic look-and-feel to the device. But, it does still feel solid in the hand, and even if AT&T is saying that it’s the slimmest Windows Phone 7 device, it still feels good in the hand. Check out the video below to see the device in action, and listen to the Samsung representative give you a quick run through.

For more information and discussion about Windows Phone 7, check out Windows Phone Forums.