Category: Windows Phone

When WP7 came out I wrote a long wishlist of features I wanted on the phone. Now that the Mango developer beta is out, how has this list been fulfilled? Let’s go over it point by point.

Support for multiple calendars from one source, not just sync the primary calendar from each source

Partially fixed. Added in Mango, but not for Google Calendar :( Still a big hole since my main calendaring app while at school is Google Calendar.

Live tile to toggle Cellular data, 3G, WiFi and Bluetooth

Not fixed.

Smarter Marketplace search & sort

Fixed. NoDo improved it, and Mango perfected it. You can now easily filter between apps, music and podcasts and see price and rating right from the search results.

Search music collection, not just Marketplace, in Zune app

Not fixed.

Much faster third-party apps

Fixed. NoDo was a small improvedment, but with Mango it’s MUCH better. Things are so fast you don’t even notice.

Integrate Word, Excel and PowerPoint with SkyDrive

Fixed. Added, and it works pretty good too.

Support OneNote section groups and password-protected sections

Partially fixed. Section groups are now supported. Password-protected sections are not.

Improve IE rendering engine: support embedded video (HTML5, Silverlight, Flash) and support iPhone-compatible mobile sites (touch.facebook.com doesn’t work?? Really?)

Fixed. IE9 has a much-improved rendering engine with HTML5 support. touch.facebook.com now works perfectly!

Twitter integration in People and Pictures hubs: show Twitter stream in People hub and allow built-in uploading of pictures to Yfrog or Twitpic

Fixed. Twitter integration is coming with Mango’s final release.

Facebook and Twitter official apps with push notifications

Fixed. Facebook app now has push since v2 (for all WP7 versions). But best of all, the “My” tile in Mango now shows Facebook notifications. Hopefully when Twitter support is added it will have @reply and DM notifications as well.

Better contact management: merge duplicates (not just link them), allow more than one mobile phone per person

Not fixed.

Better maps: turn-by-turn navigation, address and place search outside US, show compass direction, save locations

Partially fixed. Turn-by-turn is now kinda, sorta present (you have to tap the screen for next instruction) and you can now save favorites!

Store Zune playlists containing Zune Pass content in the cloud and be able to stream them through 3G and share them with friends

Not fixed. Zune social is still not supported in WP7.

Official Windows Live Messenger app, on par with iPhone app

Fixed. No Messenger app, but it is now a native OS feature in the Messaging hub. It work really well and also allows Facebook chat.

Camera should remember previous settings

Fixed. The is now an option for the camera to remember settings.

More API access to third-party apps, including:

1. Live audio and video capture
2. Sockets
3. Compass
4. Start page pinning
5. Offline live tile updating without push notifications
6. Zune collection
7. Override Search button

Fixed. 1-5 have been added into the developer tools. 7 is not needed anymore because the definition of the search button has changed in Mango (now it is Bing only and not contextual).

Video uploading to YouTube and other sites

Fixed. You can now send videos by email or upload to Facebook and SkyDrive.

Skype and Google Voice VOIP

Partially fixed. Skype has announced an official app in time for Mango.

More Xbox Live games! Some suggestions of games to port: Plants vs Zombies (iPhone, PC), Audiosurf Tilt (Zune HD), Dr Optics (Zune HD),

Partially fixed. Plants vs Zombies has been released, together with lots of other great games. Zune HD games are still to be seen.

Alphabet jumping in the apps list (right of Start screen), like in the People hub

Fixed. Fixed in Mango!

No WiFi disconnecting when locking phone

Fixed. It still disconnects, but seems to work better than in NoDo for reconnecting fast.

Find My Phone over WiFi

Fixed. I don’t know if it was because I was outside the US or because it wasn’t added until Mango, but it works now. I’ll be sure to test this again in Mexico.

Show red line in Calendar day view to signal current time

Not fixed.

Calendar Week view in landscape mode

Not fixed.

Landscape mode for many more apps, especially Start screen, Zune, Xbox and People

Not fixed.

Better Gmail compatibility: Labels, archiving, etc

Not fixed.

Universal search for data in the phone via Bing app

Not fixed.

Basic built-in picture editing: rotating and cropping

Partially fixed. Not added, but the new auto-fix feature works really good and can make really crappy photos look acceptable.

Totals

Fixed: 13

Partially fixed: 6

Not fixed: 9

Still some crucial features missing, but most of them have been fixed in Mango! :D