Windows Phone 7 Update Fills in (Some) Missing Features

Windows Phone 7's big come down update is getting even off bigger with two determinative features: turn-by-turn directions and speech-to-text edition messages.

The new features were revealed in the latest Windows Phone Dev Podcast. They'll go a longsighted way toward helping Windows Telephone 7 catch up with Humanoid, which has offered extensive vocalism commands since live on August and voice-guided GPS piloting since October 2009.

Bing Visual sense (click to enlarge)

The podcast also described a Shazam-like song identification service called Bing Audio and another servicing known as Bing Vision, which uses the phone's camera to identify text, bar codes and products — kind like Google Goggles.

The so-named "Mango" update already has a long list of features that assistant make Windows Phone 7 whole. The new features includes fast app switching, multitasking for third-political party apps, Internet Explorer 9 (with HTML 5 patronise), SkyDrive admittance, podcast downloads and Twitter integration. In April, Microsoft also detailed new Windows Phone 7 features for app developers. Search Extras, for instance, brings up app-taxonomic group data when the user runs a search on the phone, and liveborn tile shortcuts will let users jump into deeper sections of an app directly from the home screen.

Bing Voice Navigation (click to enlarge)

Windows Sound 7 arrived on the smartphone scene worst October with a auspicious port only as well many wanting features compared to Android phones and Apple's iPhone. One of the well-nig glaring omissions, written matter-and-paste, bound out in Abut, but the software still has a lank way to go off before it can remain firm dormy to the competition.

Beyond the massive Mango update this descent, Windows Phone 7 has lots of issues to plow. The platform calm doesn't support in-app purchases, front-facing cameras, tethering operating room Wi-Fi hotspot functionality. And the largest wireless carrier in the United States of America, Verizon Wireless, has nonetheless to launch whatsoever Windows Earphone 7 handsets. Microsoft has a strong ironware dedication from Nokia, but it's not clear exactly when the first fruits of this partnership will arrive.

Still, you've got to start someplace, and Microsoft will at least make out just about of Windows Telephone set 7 biggest missing features this fall.

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