Mango now flowing to most Windows Phone users

Mango in action.

(Credit: Josh Miller/CNET)

Microsoft's Mango update is now fully ripe and available for almost all Windows Phone users.
The company confirmed yesterday via its Windows Phone blog that it's now made Mango available to "nearly everyone in the current delivery pool," meaning that Windows Phone 7.5 is being delivered across most of the major carriers in the U.S. and abroad.
As one example, Microsoft said it's now deploying Mango to LG Optimus 7 phones carried by Telefonica in Spain.
The company acknowledged that some carriers are still testing the update for a few phones but promised to speed up the delivery of Mango for affected customers once testing has completed. Windows Phone users who haven't yet received the update can check on the status of their carrier at Microsoft's "Where's my phone update?" page.


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Android super smartphones: Too much of a good thing?

If I'm a Droid Bionic owner, I have to be pretty peeved.
The Bionic was supposed to be positioned as Verizon Wireless' flagship 4G LTE smartphone--the first with a dual-core processor--when it launched in early September. But its reign barely lasted a month, and following several recent announcements, it may not even rank as the third-best Android phone in Verizon's lineup by November.
The speed in which new Android devices are hitting the market speaks to the strength of Google's mobile platform. But it also leads to a lot of headaches for consumers who can be overwhelmed by the sheer number of options emerging every day. It's like the Best Buy commercial parodying the next great device coming out moments after you buy it, only it's playing out in real life.
Handset manufacturers can't like the pace either. They spend millions of dollar of research and development on the hot new device, only to lose the spotlight after a few days (or, in the case of the Droid Razr, a few hours).

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Nokia confines Windows Phone launch to 'select countries'

Nokia is excited about Windows Phone--but rather than a grand global launch, the Finnish company said today it will launch its first phones using Microsoft's mobile operating system only in selected markets this year.
Given Nokia's global scale and the Windows Phone's pivotal importance to the company, that measured debut might come as a surprise. But Chief Executive Stephen Elop defended the plan while talking to analysts after Nokia reported better-than-expected financial results today.

Nokia CEO Stephen Elop speaking earlier in 2011 at the Open Mobile Summit.

(Credit: Stephen Shankland/CNET)

"We are being very deliberate in the sequence. It is a significant shift in the organization for how we sell and how we manufacture," Elop said in the conference call. "There is quite a long list of things to do," he said, mentioning language support for different parts of the world, marketplace capabilities, and operator billing.
Another factor: Nokia doesn't want to needlessly undercut its existing business with the Symbian operating system, which long has been the standard-bearer for the companies smartphones but which Elop decided to phase out.

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How can Apple replace Steve Jobs' celebrity? It can't

The future of Apple's executive leadership continues to be of intense focus to onlookers as the company forges ahead without its late co-founder Steve Jobs in the picture.

Apple celebrated Jobs' life yesterday in a private employee tribute filled with executive speeches, live performances by famous musicians, and multi-story banners of Jobs at various points in his life that hung within the complex. If you didn't know it was the inside of Apple's headquarters, the memorial could have easily been mistaken for a rock concert or a rally, in part because it was a little bit of both.

It goes without saying this wasn't an every day affair for Apple, or any other company for that matter. To put it mildly, Jobs' passing marked the end of one of the most dramatic and fascinating executive comebacks in business history. And just as impressive is that every day people seemed to care about it--and Jobs himself--as much as the products the company released during that time.

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