Feature: What Mango Needs at Launch

There's a lot of excitement around the Mango update (aka Windows Phone 7.5) slated for release later this year, and Microsoft had a very strong showing at MIX '11. But all of the features talked about were developer-related and while they did tease the powerful apps of tomorrow, there wasn't much divulged for the Common Joe to get excited for. Plus we already know Microsoft does have a few tricks up its sleeves for the next update that they have yet to reveal. So here's what we think is missing in Mango so far that should be added before it's released. (Updated 05-04-2011)

Universal Search
Not exactly the first feature you were expecting? Well it's the one feature Windows Phone 7 completely lacks when compared to every other smartphone platform which makes it a pretty notable omission. Even RIM managed to introduce a powerful universal search in the hit-or-miss BlackBerry OS 6 last year, yet Microsoft with an arguably more modern platform is still lagging behind. In our opinion, Mango should do either one of two things with the hardware Search button: make it default to Universal Search, or integrate Universal Search into the native Bing app. The latter would probably be the optimal solution and the most intuitive for the end user. Don't underestimate how important the feature is on a smartphone; once you try it, you'll never go back.

Expanded Landscape Support
Just ask any HTC Arrive/7 Pro owner about this and they're almost guaranteed to say, "they need to fix it". While the overwhelming majority is perfectly satisfied with portrait support, the fact that Windows Phone 7 does support landscape in several apps but not all of them makes for a very inconsistent and confusing experience. The reason iPhone users don't complain about landscape support is because they don't need it; iOS native apps were designed with portrait in mind and iPhones are only made to support that. Meanwhile, Microsoft decided to make Windows Phone 7 hardware independent, which means that the platform needs to be as flexible as possible to accommodate the hardware. Maybe we don't need a landscape Start page, but just about everything else should natively support the orientation if Microsoft wants to be present on as much unique hardware as Android is on.

Unified Inbox/Messaging Hub
This one is a little obvious because the current email support in WP7, while wonderfully fast, is separate and difficult to manage. Each email account shows up as its own app or Live Tile which makes for a messy experience. Instead we think Mango should implement a proper Unified Inbox like most other platforms or, better yet, a real Messaging Hub. That would integrate email accounts, Facebook messages, and Twitter direct messages. To put icing on the cake, Microsoft could even keep the individual email Live Tiles thanks to the 'deep linking' feature to be introduced in Mango.

Flash & Silverlight Support in the Browser
While Flash isn't exactly perfect in current Android smartphones, it's a noteworthy feature that has become a huge disadvantage to iOS devices. Microsoft would be wise to include the clearly desirable feature, even if it's off by default. Adobe even confirmed Flash was in the works more than a year ago for WP7, but nothing has yet to materialize. However, what's even more insulting is the lack of Silverlight support in WP7 considering the fact that the two are both from Microsoft. One could imagine Microsoft didn't want to support it initially to avoid developers only making web apps instead of coded apps, but the Marketplace is on the rise and at this point Microsoft wouldn't need to worry about shooting itself in the foot anymore.

Photo of phone tethered  via USB during MIX '11 Keynote.
Courtesy of Long Zheng.

Tethering (USB or Wireless)
This is another debatable feature, but tethering has become a standard inclusion among smartphones and a necessary feature for those who require constant web access like businessmen and journalists. During MIX '11, Joe Belfiore hinted that USB tethering was in the works when he couldn't get a connection during one of the Keynote's onstage demos and connected it via USB to a system in order to get things going. Wireless tethering is better known as 'Wi-Fi Hotspot' and since Sprint's EVO 4G launched last Summer it has become a mainstay among nearly every smartphone. While plenty argue it may not be worth it if carriers nickle-and-dime the feature more than they should, tethering is still an industry standard and whether they like it or not Microsoft should add it.

Improved Volume Management
This is more of a personal feature for me, but I am completely frustrated by how Windows Phone 7 manages its volume. Controlling the system volume for apps and music makes sense, and the fact that apps and games can have their own internal volume level is perfectly fine to me. But why the heck does the ringtone volume change based on the system volume? I can't even begin to count how many phone calls I've missed because of this 'feature' and Microsoft really needs to separate the two from each other. It's completely counterintuitive and some might even call it a bug since it makes such little realistic sense. End of rant.

More Bing Features
This one is even more embarrassing than the Silverlight situation. The fact of the matter is that Microsoft has somehow managed to give Windows Phone 7 the Bing app with the least amount of features--even less than the mobile site! What's worse is that this wouldn't be too big of a deal if Windows Phone users could use the swanky new HTML5 mobile site...but they can't because it won't be supported until later this year with the release of IE9. But even then, the fact that the official app for Microsoft's own platform is the most basic is just absurd.

Besides redesigning a few different areas and an overall improvement of the operating system, those are the features we'd love to see show up later this year. What features are you expecting to see in Mango?