Windows Phone 7.5 Mango in-depth preview (video)
Make no mistake, Microsoft isn't playing coy in the smartphone market any longer. The folks in Redmond are making a significant jump forward in the mobile arena, announcing that the upcoming version of Windows Phone, codenamed “Mango,” …
Context & Ripple Effects
This preview caps a deliberate drip campaign: Microsoft detailed the OS in April, published its own first look in May, then demoed unrevealed features on video last week in WinRumors' Mango walkthrough. Engadget's hands-on is the press-embargo layer of that rollout ahead of the fall release.
The stakes come from the 2010 reset: after launching Windows Phone 7 from scratch on Silverlight/XNA with no backward compatibility, Redmond needed a fast second act to hold developer and carrier attention. The confirmed record already includes a claimed HTML5 benchmark win over an Android phone and iPhone 4, plus new Games Hub features — and the pending $8.5B Skype acquisition, expected to close within weeks, sits alongside as part of the same mobile push.
First-order effects
- Windows Phone 7.5 Mango gives existing Windows Phone owners and hardware partners a substantially upgraded OS this year, letting Microsoft market against iOS and Android on features rather than promises.
- The preview cycle pressures handset makers and carriers to commit shelf space to Mango devices for the holiday season while the platform's momentum is at its peak.
Second-order effects
- Microsoft's demonstrated HTML5 performance lead turns the mobile browser into a competitive front, forcing Apple and Android handset makers to answer on web benchmarks rather than app counts alone.
- Once the Skype acquisition closes, integration into Mango's communication hubs becomes plausible differentiation that Google and Apple must counter with their own voice/video messaging strategies.
Third-order effects
- If Mango sustains the cadence set since the 2010 launch, the smartphone market consolidates around three viable platforms, raising the cost for any fourth entrant — and for carriers betting shelf space.
- A credible second Windows Phone release would shift developer calculations from 'wait and see' to porting, deepening the ecosystem flywheel that determines long-run platform survival.
The trend: Microsoft is running an accelerated annual-update rhythm on Windows Phone to convert its 2010 clean-slate reboot into a durable third position against iOS and Android.