Windows Phone's Apollo update poised for landing by mid-2012, says Nokia VP

We've been contemplating that the big Apollo update, which might end up being called Windows Phone 8, will arrive too late if Microsoft kept with the once-a-year scheme between WP7 and 7.5 Mango.

Nokia's VP Niklas Savander said its Windows Phones with Apollo will be the real deal where Nokia plans to shine, but if Apollo will be a year from now, Android and iOS will have leaped quite a bit again.

Now an interview with another VP of Nokia, Michael Halbehrr, hints that the update might arrive sooner, by mid-2012, while he was talking about his Locations department, and how they are working with Microsoft to leverage the NAVTEQ GPS services more in Apollo. Microsoft has since said this timeframe is "inaccurate", but didn't specify when will the update hit.

Considering that Apollo is likely to bring support for new multicore chassis with HD displays, something that Android is already offering, it better be as quick as possible.

Windows Phone Mango update now available to all first-gen WP handsets

Windows Phone Mango brings more than 500 new features, but up until now it only brought it to some first-gen WP devices. That’s no longer the case - Microsoft has fulfilled its promise and now the Windows Phone 7.5 update is available to all previous WP7 handsets:

“We’re now delivering Mango to 100 percent of eligible phones around the world, regardless of carrier. (In other words, to everything that’s not listed as “scheduling” or “testing” on Where’s My Phone Update?),” Microsoft’s Eric Hautala, General Manager of Customer Experience Engineering said in a post on the Windows Phone blog.

In the meanwhile, you can also see a firmware update pending. That’s a separate deal, but it’s pushed at the same time and will bring improved performance, fixed bugs and new features if your phone supports them.

“We’re also sending out “firmware” updates to some phones around the world, so don’t be surprised if you see another update notification pop up on your phone in the coming days. … Not everybody will receive or require a firmware update: It all depends on your country, carrier, and phone model,” Hautala added.

Have you already updated and how do you like the Windows Phone in its Mango flavor?

Microsoft to hold a Windows Phone event on November 7

Microsoft is getting ready to host an event on November 7 in New York in order to formally introduce us to the next-generation of Windows Phones such as the HTC Titan and the Samsung Focus S.

The first wave of Windows Phones hit the market in November of last year. AT&T offered customers the Samsung Focus, the HTC Surround and the LG Quantum while T-Mobile had the HTC HD7. This year it appears as though the event will strictly feature smartphones that will only be hitting the AT&T network, at least at the time of their launch.

The invite itself shows off the three smartphones bound for AT&T. Those three devices are the Samsung Focus Flash, the HTC Titan and the Samsung Focus S. Each of these second-gen Windows Phones will off course run on the updated Mango platform but there are differences about each in terms of hardware.

The Focus Flash has the smallest screen of the bunch, measuring in at 3.7-inches. The Focus S packs a 4.3-inch display which is an improvement over the 4-inch display found on the original Focus. Both of the Samsung handsets displays are of the Super AMOLED type. As far as screen real estate goes, the HTC Titan takes the cake since it packs a whopping 4.7-inch S-LCD display. Of course because its Windows Phone they all have resolutions of 480x800.

All three handsets also have single-core processors. Each Samsung device is clocked at 1.4GHz while the HTC Titan is clocked at 1.5GHz. The Focus Flash has a 5 megapixel camera while the Titan and the Focus S have 8 megapixel shooters. We expect that all three will be able to record video in 720p HD. Each device also has a front-facing camera that can be used to video chat when Microsoft launches newly acquired Skype on the platform or the app Tango that is beating Skype to the Windows Phone punch.

Hopefully we will have some release dates to mark on our calendars after the November 7 event. Once Nokia decides to bring their newly announced Windows Phones such as the Lumia 800 to the states Microsoft will have a solid arsenal in their war against the dominant mobile platforms. You might notice that on the invite it says “That’s not the only big thing Windows Phone has planned.” Any idea what Microsoft means by that? Tell us what you think.

LG GW910 with the Windows phone 7.0 operating system

For those aching for Windows Phone 7, this video from Mobile Tech World shows off the LG GW910 running Windows Phone 7. When we spoke to Microsoft at GDC, we learned that the company had designed the UI for AMOLED displays and given the debacle about OLED display constraints, hopefully this doesn't affect the release dates of some non-Samsung Windows Phone 7 smartphone devices.

The GW910 Panther is a new age mobile phone that will run on the Windows phone 7.0 operating system. This operating system will provide the users with easy and fast accessibility for all of the features. Windows 7 also offers its own wireless connectivity but to access it the users need to create a new account or sign in to the existing one. However, it is not known about the type of information that the users will receive in their accounts.

Both 2G and 3G networks will be supported on this handset. Samsung have given the Panther a QWERTY Keyboard, there is  3.5 inches AMOLED capacitive touch screen, 5.0 mega pixel camera, video with 720p, 2.0 micro USB, Bluetooth, WAP 2.0, Push Email, Email, GPS support, motion-based games, efficient memory support, LI-Po battery and GPS support are just some of the great features.

These entire features and applications seem to be quite interesting and appealing. The users have generated a good curiosity about Panther and it is expected to take the market by storm when it is released.