Microsoft's (NASDAQ:MSFT) much-anticipated update to its Windows Phone 7 platform, which will bring copy-and-paste functionality among other features, appears likely to roll out in the second half of March, according to Microsoft France's official blog.
Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer said at the Mobile World Congress trade show in February that the update, dubbed "NoDo," would be ready by "early March." The Microsoft France blog said this timeframe has been pushed back slightly, but did not provide an explanation. A Microsoft spokesman told ZDNet that the company is "looking into" the status of the update.
The update is expected to bring functions many Windows Phone fans have been clamoring for since the platform became commercially available last year. In addition to copy and paste, the update is expected to improve performance and search functionality for Microsoft's Marketplace application storefront. Microsoft said in a separate blog post this week that it now has 9,000 apps in its catalogue.
One rumored release date for the update is the week of March 21. Sprint Nextel (NYSE:S) will launch the HTC Arrive, the first CDMA version of a Windows Phone 7 device, on March 20, just ahead of the start of the CTIA Wireless 2011 trade show in Orlando, Fla.
The NoDo update is separate from an update Microsoft is planning for later this year. That refresh will add Internet Explorer 9, powered by the same engine the browser has for the desktop, as well as multitasking for third-party applications.
For more:
- see this Engadget post
- see this ZDNet article
- see this Microsoft blog post
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