Microsoft shed a little bit of light on the problems it had sending out the first update for its Windows Phone 7 software, but it has still suspended updates to Samsung phones while it works out the issue.
Ironically, the update was designed to improve the software update process rather than add features that people have been waiting for, like cut and paste.
In a blog post late on Wednesday, Microsoft said that 90 percent of people who received an update notification installed the software successfully.
Nearly 5 percent of people who had a problem did so because they had a bad Internet connection or insufficient computer storage space, Microsoft’s Michael Stroh wrote in the blog post.
A “technical issue” is affecting the update process for a “small number” of Samsung phones, he said. As a result, Microsoft has briefly suspended updates to Samsung phones until it can correct the problem, he said.
It’s unclear if the issues will have an impact on the timing of Microsoft’s next update, which CEO Steve Ballmer recently said would come out in early March. That update will add copy and paste, a function in high demand, and other performance enhancing changes, the company has said.
The HTC Arrive, the first CDMA Windows Phone 7, announced by Sprint Thursday, will include that update, Mark Elliott, a Sprint spokesman said. The Arrive is set to go on sale March 20.
Like many other smartphone software developers, Microsoft requires users to connect the phones to their computers and make the update download through its Zune software on a PC or the Windows Phone 7 Connector for the Mac.
Also like most other phone software makers, Microsoft is rolling the update out over time. It started on Tuesday and said it could be days or even weeks before some people get it.
Nancy Gohring covers mobile phones and cloud computing for The IDG News Service. Follow Nancy on Twitter at @idgnancy. Nancy’s e-mail address is Nancy_Gohring@idg.com