This big marketing push will take on many approaches, including everything from simple awareness campaigns to incentives for retailers to push Windows Phone devices. There are reports that sales guys could get as much as $10 to $15 per handset sold. The money comes from Microsoft, as well as partners like Nokia and Samsung, and it’s reportedly going to all be spent in “early 2012.” The Nokia Ace from AT&T, in particular, will be getting a “concerted advertising push.”

It’s clear that Android and iOS are the elephants in the room when it comes to smartphone platforms, since only 5.2% of all smartphone subscribers are using Microsoft’s mobile OS. If you thought you were sick of the “To the Cloud” campaign, you’re about to get really sick of Windows Phone… but at least more of the general population will even know of its existence.

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Windows Phone Tango doesn’t sound like it’s going to be nearly as substantial as its tropical fruit-named predecessor, but it will reportedly still bring some new moves to the dance floor. For instance, we’re hearing that it’ll get support for smaller screens, smaller chassis sizes, and even LTE. Considering all the LTE-equipped Droids out there, that’s a good thing for Redmond.

But it takes two to tango! There’s a good chance that Nokia will be showing off its new Nokia 719 and Nokia 900 at CES, both of which could very well ship with Tango right out of the box. The newest WP7 update is rumored to be released “soon” after CES.

Looking a little further down the roadmap to what could be Windows Phone 8, we’re hearing that the “Apollo” update is currently being slated to launch in mid-June 2012. Does this mean you should wait? Or is it likely that existing WP7 and WP7.5 devices will be eligible for the WP8 upgrade?

The post CES To Set Stage For Windows Phone Tango Update appeared first on Mobile Magazine.

So, to help spread the word about Windows Phone 7 (and WP7.5 Mango), Nokia is planning to launch 26 Wi-Fi hotspots spread out around London. These free hotspots will utilize existing telephone boxes, connecting them to 20Mbps DSL lines. That said, speed will be capped at 1Mbps downstream and 500kbps upstream. Naturally, connecting to these WiFi access points will lead you to a promotional splash page like the one shown above.

This is a similar strategy as that employed by Google in airports a couple years ago, building the brand awareness with free WiFi for the random populace. This gives Nokia a way into the heads of consumers to promote the Lumia 800 and Lumia 710, since they may not be able to get their attention otherwise. It also helps that they can collect some data about the people who use these hotspots, since that’ll surely be a part of the T&C agreement.

If these are still around when the 2012 London Olympics take place, I imagine they’ll get quite a bit of attention (and data).

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Why? Well, the Nokia Lumia 800 is largely based on the pre-existing Nokia N9, except they’ve plopped Microsoft’s smartphone OS into the package. That’s a good thing, because the N9 is a serious piece of hardware! With the Lumia 800, you get a 3.7-inch AMOLED ClearBlack curved display, a 1.4GHz Scorpion processor, and that amazing 8MP f/2.2 camera with Carl Zeiss optics and dual LED flash. Rounding out the package are 16GB of internal memory, a free 25GB cloud storage account with Microsoft SkyDrive, and 512MB RAM.

Not surprisingly, Nokia is also loading the Lumia 800 with Nokia Drive and Nokia Maps. It’ll be made available in your choice of blue, magenta or black and it ships this month to France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Spain and UK with Hong Kong, India, Russia, Singapore and Taiwan following suit before the year is out. A Canadian and American launch is tentatively scheduled for early next year. The European price is set at 420 Euro ($580), excluding taxes and subsidies.

Also announced at the Nokia World event is the cheaper Nokia Lumia 710. It’s also getting the Windows Phone 7 treatment, but it’s shape is more rounded. You still get the 1.4GHz processor and a 3.7-inch WVGA ClearBlack display though, as well as the option to get exchangeable back covers. Other specs include the 5MP camera, WiFi, Bluetooth, and aGPS. The estimated retail price for the Lumia 710 is 270 Euro ($373). Availability should be similar to the Lumia 800.

The post Nokia Lumia 800 Officially Revealed, First Nokia WP7 Mango Device appeared first on Mobile Magazine.

This is a feature that has almost become a fundamental mainstay in terms of smartphones, but WP7 didn’t let you turn your 3G/4G cellular connection into a Wi-Fi hotspot for neighboring devices. Mango does. Whether your carrier lets you do that (among other considerations) isn’t quite as clear, but at least the OS supports that feature now.

Another big one is multitasking. It’s still not true multitasking in the conventional sense, but Mango does let you do some multitasking “beyond the core functions of the OS.” You also get something called Local Scout, which is a tool in Maps that looks for nearby places to eat, see, and do. Visual Search works similarly to Google Goggles, and the Messaging utility lets you maintain one conversation with someone across multiple protocols. Start with SMS, continue on FB, and finish up on IM, all within a single convo thread.

Have you sunk your teeth into WP7.5 Mango yet? What do you think so far?

The post WP7.5 Mango comes with tethering, multitasking, scouting appeared first on Mobile Magazine.

If you check out the update schedule on the official Microsoft site, you’ll see that Windows Phone 7.5 Mango is currently listed as “delivering update” across all carriers in the United States. This includes AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile, Verizon, open market phones, and “all other operators.”

Of course, this comes with a caveat. If you’re wondering why your phone hasn’t already told you that it’s ready for a tasty new treat, that’s because it’s going to take a few days, if not a few weeks before the Mango update is rolled out to all devices across all carriers. In the meantime, you just have to sit tight and make sure you have Zune for Windows or Windows Phone 7 Connector for Mac all geared up, updated, and ready to roll.

The post Windows Phone 7 devices start receiving Mango updates by the crateful appeared first on Mobile Magazine.

The Mango update to Windows Phone 7, which is being referred to as Windows Phone 7.5 in many circles, comes with a whole bunch of new features and bug fixes. So, when are we going to get our hands on the delicious tropical fruit? If you happen to have a Dell Venue Pro, then Dell says it’ll have some Mango for you later this fall… but that comes with a caveat.

If you have an unlocked Dell Venue Pro, you’re in luck. If you have a Dell Venue Pro that is locked to T-Mobile or Cincinnati Bell, you’re also in luck. However, if you’re one of the unlucky souls who has a DVP locked to AT&T, Dell isn’t quite so forthcoming with the Mango for you. It says that information for AT&T-locked units “will be forthcoming.”

That doesn’t mean that AT&T DVPs will be without Mango, but it does seem to indicate that they’ll be the last to the party. With Mango around the corner and Nokia set to release its first official WP7 device very soon too, this could bode well for Microsoft’s mobile operating system. I imagine it’ll take quite some time before it can snag significant market share away from Apple and Google, but this is a good first leap.

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One way to set off Windows Phone 7.5 Mango with a bang is to release the largest smartphone that your company has ever produced. That seems to be the strategy being taken with HTC, because here is the HTC Titan. It is indeed the largest smartphone from the Taiwanese company ever, boasting a godly (see what I did there?) 4.7-inch WVGA 480×800 pixel display.

No, that’s not quite as big as the recently revealed 5.3-inch Samsung Galaxy Note or even the now discontinued 5-inch Dell Streak, but it’s still pretty darn big. Power comes by way of a Qualcomm Snapdragon 1.5GHz processor, mated with a 512MB RAM, 16GB storage, 8MP (f/2.2) camera with back-illuminated sensor, dual LED flash, WiFi, GPS, Bluetooth 2.1, 3G, and 1600 mAh battery. Despite its footprint, the Titan is only 9.9mm thin.

If you want to do the Mango thing but don’t want the monstrous size of the Titan, there’s also the HTC Radar. It’s a little more reasonable with its 3.8-inch WVGA display, but the rest of the specs get bumped down too. It’s only a 1GHz processor and 5MP camera, along with just 8GB of internal memory. The Radar is also a little chubbier with 10.9mm of girth.

Both phones are expected to launch in Europe and Asia some time next month. No official word on pricing, but Amazon UK has the Titan on pre-order for GBP 489.99 and the Radar for GBP 349.99.

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