AT&T will be delivering Windows Phone 7.5 Tango, otherwise known as “Windows Phone 7.5 Refresh” likely some time this summer. They would not give an exact date or time for this update, but did mention that they would indeed be skipping the incremental January update known as 8107. This 7.5 Refresh will instead bring a vast number of updates instead of just bug fixes, which it will of course also include.

Windows Phone will be getting several large bumps from AT&T in coming weeks and months with two giants: the Nokia Lumia 900 and the HTC Titan II coming with high-end specs and lovely form factors in-tact. These devices will both also likely be coming with Windows Phone 7.5 Refresh installed on them at launch, they leading the way for the rest of the line which will get the update soon after. AT&T’s push for Windows Phone will be gigantic this year, folks, I guarantee you that.

[via Seattle Times]

This new move has the Windows App Hub, that being the App Store for Microsoft’s mobile OS, Windows Phone Marketplaces in other words, put into 23 new locations the world over. These locations include Bahrain, Bulgaria, China, Costa Rica, Croatia, Estonia, Iceland, Iraq, Israel, Romania, Saudi Arabia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Thailand, Kazakhstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Qatar, Turkey, UAE, Ukraine, Venezuela, and Vietnam. Developers have only to visit the App Hub once its been updated to include these markets and tap the markets they’d like to work with.

If instead a developer would like to simply hit “worldwide” they’ll be included in the new markets as well. The update coming out now does not include the new App Hub locations yet, with new markets also including certain certifications that you’ll need to work with in order to comply with local laws and regulations. You’ll have to check out Section 3.10 of Microsoft’s content policy to see full details on Bahrain, China, Indonesia, Iraq, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE.

Microsoft is also noting to prospective app developers that there’s now a 7 day wait period for app approval for any and all apps before they reach the market. Keep on working with the Windows Phone platform for vast rewards in the future, folks!

[via Windows Phone Developer Blog]

The most notable device to receive a custom Tango ROM is the phone that refuses to die, the HTC HD2. Originally running Windows Mobile 6.5, the 4.3-inch WVGA handset from 2009 has managed to live on thanks to a thriving community on xda-developers. The handset has seen a number of Windows Phone 7 ROMs in the past, not to mention Android Gingerbread and Ice Cream Sandwich ROMs.

Since Tango is mainly about bringing Windows Phone to budget hardware, you’re not going to find a lot of new features in the custom ROMs already available, but Microsoft have fixed the SMS bug. When exploited, it forced a Windows Phone handset to reboot and then disabled the messaging hub.

Tango is expected to hit Chinese Windows Phone handsets on March 21st, although there’s still no word on when we’ll see it officially across the rest of the world. There’s no firm release date for Nokia’s Lumia 610 either, although they promised a Q2 launch at MWC 2012.

[via WPCentral]

This chat resulted in the naming of the next version of the smartphone operating system, and while it does not quite fall in line with what we expected of the next version numbering of the OS, it doesn’t pop up as the least odd update name in history. This Windows Phone 7.5 Refresh will mostly be an update to the minimum specifications of the devices it’ll be able to be run on, so truly no spats should be had about it not tacking on a new number on itself as it goes forth.

This Windows Phone edition will have essentially the same features as Windows Phone 7.5 Mango but with the ability to be run on devices in lower income areas and places where phones with nicer features are not able to be subsidized properly to bring their prices down to equitable levels.

This software update is a stop closer to Windows Phone 8 Apollo which will coincide with the release of the final release version of Windows 8 for desktop computers and tablets. This operating system will be very similar in usability and functionality to Windows 8, and both will collaborate to bridge the gap between desktop and mobile extremely effectively – or so we hope! Check out our relatively short timeline on Windows Phone Tango to get the clean details on this incremental update until then!

[via Windows Phone Italy]

They’re not the only shortcomings, either. SkyDrive automatic photo uploads have been disabled, though those with 256MB RAM devices will still be able to upload manually, and certain HD compression codecs won’t be supported either. Background agents have also been disabled.

Most worrying, Microsoft warns that some of the more processor-intensive apps out there may not work on devices with 256MB of RAM, and so owners could discover some of what’s in the Windows Phone Marketplace won’t be compatible with their handset. That seems like a recipe for disaster to us, with tiers of Windows Phone experience being just what Microsoft has worked so hard to avoid in earlier devices.

The benefit for the platform, of course, is hitting new price points, something Nokia is particularly keen to do. The Finnish company announced its cheapest Windows Phone model to-date at Mobile World Congress last week, the Nokia Lumia 610. More details in the Windows Phone support pages.

[via The Verge]

This device has a 1GHz processor, 5-megapixel camera, and a reasonably sharp and bright 4-inch WVGA display. This device has a light build, mostly plastic with a glass front, and does seem pretty quick on the flipping through of the screens. Windows Phone seems to have hit a sweet spot here if these devices can be sold for near-to-free – on contract, of course. Now ZTE just has to make sure they’ve got a massive distribution base to get the winning cut.

UPDATE: Check out this hands-on video and see how simply excellent this little beast is – pink interface included!

Have a peek at the device in-hand in photos here, take note of the quality in aesthetics, then hear this: this device does not seem to be a lower-level device. The Windows Phone build here with Tango does not seem to be loading any slower than most other devices with Windows Phone on the market today. This seems like it could be a winning strategy, in short – perhaps Windows Phone has found its niche?

The ZTE Orbit is the more impressive of the two devices, complete with a 1GHz processor, 5-megapixel camera, and lovely 4-inch WVGA screen. You’ll be differentiating between devices here mostly based on the shaping of the cases, as both Windows Phone and the specifications for Windows Phone devices at the moment are readily strict. That said, ZTE is ready to bring the fire with what they’re presenting in these two smartphones as high quality a set of smartphones as can be brought to the market at this very moment.

Perhaps the most important tip on either of these phones, one must recognize, is that they’ll be running the “most updated” version of Windows Phone at the time they’re launched, the ZTE crew essentially hinting heavily that this will be the next version of Windows Phone, not the current Windows Phone Mango.

The ZTE Tania you may have heard of before, it being a 4.3-inch display Windows Phone with 480 x 800 pixel resolution and TFT technology, all of this backed up by a 1GHz processor from Qualcomm. Both of these devices are a sign from ZTE that Windows Phone is alive and well at this mostly Android-dominated set of events here in Barcelona in the first quarter of 2012.

This hands-on video is showing off the LG Fantasy E740 (aka the Miracle aka the Myracle) and shows how very similar it is to other recent LG devices such as the LG Spectrum – though this time with Windows Phone instead of Android. This device will come with a 4-inch NOVA display with WVGA resolution, a front-facing VGA camera for video chat and a back-facing 5 megapixel camera. This device will have 512MB of RAM – leading us to believe that the software experience in Tango might still require such a number.

The hands-on video unfortunately does not tell us one whole heck of a lot of new information that we didn’t already suppose was true, but we do now know that the device does, in fact, exist, and is out for review with some developers – or early device testers. We’ll very likely get a closer look at this device at Mobile World Congress 2012 next weekend – you can track us throughout the events in Spain using our [MWC 2012] portal, be there!

[via GSMdome]

The Windows Phone Tango update has been said to have the ability to work with devices with much less RAM than ever before. The minimum requirement for a Windows Phone running Windows Phone 7 or above has thus far been 512 MB of RAM. This new Windows Phone update, be it version 7.5.1 or above, is said to be coming with a lowered requirement, all the way down to 256 MB of RAM.

This new requirement would open the flood gates for lower-end devices and sets of smartphones for developing countries. The first of these devices could be the aforementioned Nokia Lumia 610. This device is said to have lower-grade specifications than the current top-tier Windows Phone devices out at the moment. This could be but one of the many updates the Windows Phone update to Tango could bring.

In addition, it’s been said that this update could split into two factions – one for higher grade devices, and one for lower. Both versions would be able to see apps on the app market, but only the higher would be able to download any app at will – the lower would be limited to a set of low-power apps that keep the device running smoothly given its short specifications. This update is also being said to contain an MMS multiple-attachment feature where Windows Phone users can send multiple photos, videos, and text all at once in a message.

Finally there may be an update to your ability to work with your SIM card on your Tango device. The update will allow you to export contacts to your SIM card and manage contacts directly from your SIM as well. This would facilitate ultra easy switching between devices indeed!

We’ll likely see this and more at Mobile World Congress 2012 – follow our MWC 2012 tag to see all the action as it goes down at the end of this month!

[via ZDnet]

The tip comes in through TechRadar who have an exclusive on the details behind this mystery device. What they’re hearing is that the Windows Phone platform will be getting its least expensive entry yet with the Lumia 610, it looking to be a pay as you go device, costing just under 200 pounds in the UK with carrier O2. Is £199.99 on PAYG with O2 enough to make you switch from an Android or an iPhone? Probably not – but how about switching from a feature phone?

This is likely Nokia’s thought process in making such an inexpensive entry into their already decently-popular line of Lumia devices. Have a peek in our timeline below to see our reviews of Windows Phones created by Nokia in full reviews. Then head to our [MWC 2012] portal to stick with us through Mobile World Congress 2012 to get the full scoop from Nokia as they let is all out in the open!

[via TechRadar]

This will, as it’s been reported in the past, bring Windows Phone to a whole new possible set of international markets. When you’ve got a device that’s only able to work with a few languages, you’re only able to drop a phone with the software its running in those few markets – should Tango bring three times the languages to the party in one swoop, there may well be a big change in Microsoft’s fortunes in the near future. This information, by the way, comes from WP Sauce – though as you can see, the original link has been switched as they’ve been asked to take the information down from their site by the authorities that be.

If you add up the number of languages supported by each of the other major mobile operating systems, 120 would wipe the floor with all of them. In addition, if you check out how many languages Windows 7 supports (125), you can easily see how the word that 120 will be coming to Tango could be true. Think about the power of Windows 8 then, will you, as it comes to tablets later this season.

Then there’s C++, also tipped to be coming to the next release of Windows Phone. Being able to develop in C++ should be a prerequisite to making quality applications in any environment, so given that it’s such a basic and base level code to be working with, we’ll be seeing much more powerful apps in the near future. Android already has some similar ability to edit code for developers at the moment, so we’re hoping for a greater future for developers and therefor users soon!

[via LiveSide]

What else you can see in the log files right this moment if you head to your app on your Windows Phone by the name of …I’m a WP7! is no less than a new entry which is indeed the Nokia Champagne. This device, mind you, is shown to be running Windows Phone build 7.10.8711, this meaning that you’ll be seeing Tango in the mix when its released, and we’ve got a couple of guesses on what it could possible be. Note here also that the image above was taken and modified from WPCentral as well as Nokia UK where they had the phone image in their gallery with no show of what it was named — and the images in the gallery below come from various posts here on SG, each linked in the next paragraph.

Have a peek at the original Ace leak as well as the small amount of info there is thusly out there so far about the Lumia 900 that we’d heard whispers about in our time at Nokia World 2011. Then head back here and let us know which you think it could be – thin and giant like the Lumia 800 but better, so much better. That’s what it’s GOT to be.

[via PocketNow]

The app is available for the iPhone, Windows Phone, Android, and PC users. It allows video chatting using webcams and compatible mobile phone cameras. The big catch to this for Mango users is that some of the smartphones, especially Nokia devices, will lack the front facing camera with the new relaxed hardware specifications Microsoft has offered.

That will mean that on some handsets from Nokia and others the app will do no good. The Skype app for Mango devices is expected to ship soon and will also support video calling. The video below is a demo of Tango. If you download the app, let us know how well it works.

[via WinRumors]

Tango was the app used to demonstrate video calling on Windows Phone devices in September. The service has been on Android and the iPhone previously. With the purchase of Skype, the video calling technology will eventually be embedded deep inside the Windows Phone OS. With the time it takes for that sort of integration, Tango will be the stop gap.

Forbes reports that a Skype representative declined to comment on Skype and Windows Phone integration. Beating Skype onto the Mango platform could be huge for Tango. Analysts have predicted that Mango will be the fastest growing OS next year. Tango should hit the Windows Phone platform on November 7.

[via Forbes]

This may be the first time I have seen anything up for sale on Facebook like this. I can only assume that the person selling the smartphone expects eBay would end the auction if he put it on the auction site to sell. The seller is starting the bidding at 150€ not including shipping. If Tango doesn’t float your boat, but you have some cash burning a hole in your pocket, there is a HTC Mazaa WP7 Mango dev phone up on eBay.

The phone is apparently one of the ones that was given away in the developer contest. We have talked about the Mazaa before. The Mazaa in the auction is still new in the box. The bidding starts at $400 and the Buy it Now price is $699. I wonder if this auction will make it to the end or if HTC or Microsoft will have it ended.

[via Engadget and Winrumors]