Microsoft will release a detailed overview of the Mango app submission process later on Tuesday, the company said in a blog post, as it prepares to release the first major update to Windows Phone 7.
In July, Microsoft said that the App Hub would begin accepting Mango-compatible applications in late August. The infrastructure for accepting Mango apps is now coming online, and some developers may already be seeing new content as Microsoft conducts a final round of tests, the company wrote.
At the end of July, the Windows Phone development also signed off on the release to manufacturing of Mango, which will be called Windows Phone 7.5.
The upgrade will contain 500 new features, including the Conversation View, which makes it easier to participate in long email discussions with friends and co-workers, and Threads, which will bring together a user’s text, IM, and Facebook chat in one conversation, according to Microsoft. The operating system will also allow multitasking and include a mobile version of Internet Explorer 9, which promises to speed up the browsing experience and add support for HTML5.
When the first phones will be released remains to be seen. A recent report pointed to Sept. 1, but the head of Microsoft’s Windows Phone 7 design team, Joe Belfiore, dismissed that as “Just a rumor” in a message via Twitter
Send news tips and comments to mikael_ricknas@idg.com