Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) reportedly is pushing its first Windows Phone 7 update to registered developers, with new features including cut, copy and paste functionality. The Business Insider reports at least two WP7 developers have indicated receiving the Microsoft update via their pre-release Samsung Taylor developer smartphones. The copy and paste feature enables users to tap a word to highlight it, with arrows appearing on each side allowing for the inclusion of other words; an icon appears above the selection, allowing users to copy the text to the clipboard--from there, text is automatically pasted as an icon option in the top row of the keyboard.
Copy and paste is viewed by many consumers as a must-have smartphone feature--remember the outcry over its absence from early incarnations of Apple's (NASDAQ:AAPL) iOS?--and its absence from the initial Windows Phone 7 release seems especially curious given the platform's emphasis on Office applications and social media applications. In October, CNet reported Microsoft will introduce WP7 cut-and-paste to users in early 2011, adding that while the feature was never high on the software giant's own priorities list, backlash during consumer test results changed its mind. The current Windows Phone 7 release does include Microsoft's "smart links" feature, which automatically highlights information like email addresses or website URLs to facilitate information sharing and media access.
In related Microsoft news, the company announced last week that it will release its Silverlight 5 beta in the first half of next year. Microsoft promises over 40 new features, including developer improvements like faster application startup, automated UI testing, new out-of-browser capabilities and accelerated 3D graphics support.
For more:
- read this Business Insider article
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