Microsoft took the wraps off its new smartphone software Tuesday, hoping that the updated design will help it compete with Apple and Google, according to dpa. Code-named Mango, the software update to Windows Phone 7 includes more than 500 new features, including tighter social media integration, text to speech support for hands free use, improved multi-tasking abilities and a new web browser. "Mango builds on the work that we did in Windows Phone 7 and extends a lot of key scenarios around communications, apps, and Internet experiences," said Greg Sullivan, a Microsoft mobile communications executive. The update will officially launch in new phones later this year, when Microsoft's recent alliance with ailing Nokia is due to yield its first handsets as the partners aim to reel in the massive lead enjoyed by Google's Android and Apple's iPhone. According to the latest figures from research firm Gartner, Microsoft's phone had just a 1.6 per cent share of worldwide smartphone sales in the first quarter of 2011, compared to more than 36 per cent for Android, 27 per cent for Nokia's Symbian platform, 17 per cent for Apple and 13 per cent for RIM.
