Although Microsoft is reportedly readying two Windows Phone 7 updates for the first half of 2011, it looks like the platform’s first major update will only be out in the second half of the year.
According to one of Mary-Jo Foley’s sources, the major WP7 update is codenamed Mango, it may be rolled-out in August or September, and it may be called Windows Phone 7.5.
Among the new features that Mango will bring are HTML 5 support, Silverlight run-time, Far Eastern language support, and various functionality enhancements.
Apparently, Windows Phone 7.5 Mango will precede WP8 (codenamed “Apollo”), which should be out sometime in 2012.
It’s said that less than 500,000 Windows Phone 7 devices have been sold until now around the world. Sales should grow next year, especially since major carriers like Verizon and Sprint are getting ready to launch their first WP7 handsets.
