Windows Phone 7 Mango to include turn-by-turn Nav, Bing Vision & Audio

By Jeffrey Van Camp May 9, 2011

windows-phone-7-mango-maps-bing-audio-bing-vision-sms-dictation

Free, built-in turn-by-turn navigation is one of the features that gives Android a leg up on Apple and most other smartphone competitors. However, the Windows Phone Mango update could level the playing field for Microsoft’s fledgling OS. WPCentral‘s Paul Thurrott reports that Microsoft unveiled four new consumer features coming to WP7 on the Windows Phone Dev Podcast. We’ve got the list below.

Turn-by-turn navigation: We heard rumblings of this in early April at Mix 2011, but it’s good to have it confirmed. We’re guessing that this feature makes use of Nokia’s expertise in navigation. The Finnish phone maker already includes Ovi Maps and navigation with its Symbian phones. When Nokia and Microsoft announced their partnership, Nokia CEO Stephen Elop stated several times that Maps/Navigation were features that Nokia intended to share.
Bing Vision: This app sounds similar to Google Goggles. It will have a barcode and QR code scanner, can pick up Microsoft Tags, and can detect CDs, DVDs, Books, and text using OCR (Optical Character Recognition).
Bing Audio: This is an app like SoundHound or Shazam. If you hold your phone up to a song, it will detect which song is playing and provide you links to download it in the Windows Marketplace for music. Initially, it will only launch in the U.S. and some major European countries like the United Kingdom, France, Italy, Spain, and Germany.
SMS dictation: A voice-to-text service for SMS messages. It will be very cool, if it works.

Is turn-by-turn navigation a big deal to you? It was a deciding factor for some of the Android users on our staff. To learn about more features coming to Windows Phone 7, check out our recap from Mix 2011.

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Jeffrey Van Camp

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As DT's Deputy Editor, Jeff helps oversee editorial operations at Digital Trends. Previously, he ran the site's…

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How to get Windows Phone 7.5 (Mango) right now

Windows Phone 7.5 (Mango) is in the process of being sent out to all existing Windows Phone users, but Microsoft is rolling it out at an extremely slow speed. Only 10 percent of users are getting it in the first two weeks and it could be more than a month before all WP7 owners finally get the upgrade. As such, we were very happy when we read that a reader of WPCentral figured out a neat glitch that allows everyone to get the Windows Phone 7.5 update immediately. Yesterday, we successfully performed the steps below and loaded Windows Phone Mango onto a Samsung Focus. So far, we like it, but haven't had time to explore its new features entirely (we'll have a video comparison coming soon).
Okay, so there are three updates that you'll need and they are numbered 7392, then 7403, then 7720, so you'll have to perform the steps below at least twice to get all of the updates. It takes some time, but once you get the hang of it, you're golden.
Steps to forcing the Windows Phone 7.5 update:

Connect your Windows Phone to your PC and load the Zune software
In the Zune software, go into Settings > Phone > Update. If the software tells you that an update is available, then great, you are already eligible for Mango. If not, continue on
Click on another Settings button (like "Linking") and then re-enter Update. Count the number of seconds until the Zune software tells you that you're up to date. This could be 3 seconds or 15 seconds. For us, it was usually 14.
Once again, click on another Settings button and then re-enter Update. Now you need to shut your internet connection off about 2 seconds before the "Your phone is up to date" message keeps showing up.
If you succeeded, after about 30 seconds (more or less), the Zune software should say "An update is available for your phone." Turn your internet back on, wait till it's connected, and then press the "Update" button to receive the update. (You will fail at this and have to retry. It took us about a half hour to get it right.)
After the first update is done, you should be on version 7392. Some people have gotten prompted immediately to upgrade again and get the rest of the updates, but if you don't, then you'll have to do this process over again to get version 7403 and 7720. Once you have 7720, then you're all good. You've got Mango, son.
Enjoy your Mango!

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Namely, WP7 will soon boast Wi-Fi tethering capabilities thanks to the Mango update. WP7 owners can use their handsets to share connectivity with their other 3G or 4G devices, and Microsoft says you should be able to share Wi-Fi for up to five computers.

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Microsoft begins its slow, confusing roll-out of Windows Phone 7.5 Mango

Microsoft_Mango_WP7.5

Microsoft announced today that its latest mobile operating system, Windows Phone 7.5 “Mango,” is now available for download for select customers. Nearly all existing Windows Phone users will be able to download the OS update soon, though the company says it plans to roll out the software update “gradually” over the next few weeks, so some customers will have to wait a significant period of time for the upgrade.

As you might have noticed, Microsoft is somewhat vague about which customers will receive the update when. According to the Windows Phone blog, the roll-out is a “simultaneous, coordinated, global update that cuts across carriers, phone models and countries.” Then, about two sentences down, they say that they're “not making Mango available to everyone at once. So it could be a few weeks before an update message for Windows Phone 7.5 appears on your phone.” Uh, okay.... we're totally confused.