Windows Phone 7 update foul-ups continue

It's staggering that a company that manages to push monthly updates to hundreds of millions of PCs representing a bewildering array of hardware configurations has so much trouble pushing out updates to a handful of different handsets based on a supposedly well-reigned in spec. Once again Microsoft is having problems with Windows Phone 7 'NoDo' update.

While most Windows Phone 7 handset owners are on track to get their update (many already have it) problems still seem to revolve r two handsets.

The first is a handset that caused problems for Microsoft earlier this year - The Samsung Omnia 7. Once again Microsoft has been forced to stop sending updates to this handset. News of this latest update hiccup was broken by Michael Stroh in a comment on the Windows Team Blog:

Yes, we've temporarily stopped sending updates to Omnia7s. The team discovered a technical issue with the update package for this model. The work of fixing and testing the package is nearly done, and the team hopes to resume update deliveries soon. When I know more about the timing, I'll pass it along.

Another handset causing problems for Microsoft is the Samsung Focus. This handset too caused problems for Microsoft earlier in the year (which s hardly surprising given that it is essentially the US version of the Omnia 7). There are two hardware versions of this handset (REV 1.3 and a less common REV 1.4) and Microsoft won't be sending the 'NoDo' update to REV 1.4 handsets just yet. So if you've got a REV 1.4 handset, you can stop holding your breath for that update ...

Note: To find out which version you have, remove the battery cover and battery and check out the sticker.

Microsoft has been talking about the 'NoDo' update for Windows Phone 7 (the update that brings much-needed features such as copy and paste to the handset) since the beginning of 2011, but here we are in May and Microsoft is still having problems with this, the first major update for the platform.

So, who's to blame? Well, the problem here is down to Samsung and its hardware, there's no doubt about that, but ultimately it's Microsoft who is to blame because it (presumably) certified the Samsung hardware as being Windows Phone 7 compatible, thus allowing Samsung to sell this troublesome handset. There's obviously something rotten (or at least non-standard) about the design of these two Samsung handsets, and no one is owning up to the problem.

Given that this is the first of what we can assume to be many major updates for the Windows Phone 7 platform, so far the process has done enormous damage to Microsoft and the Windows Phone brand.

Pre-empting some questions that I'm bound to get:

• Q: Would you recommend I buy a Windows Phone 7 handset? A: It's up to you. Problems currently seem confined to the Samsung Omnia 7 and Focus handsets.
• Q: Should I buy a Samsung Omnia 7 or Focus handset? A: Until this mess is sorted out, I wouldn't.
• Q: And after the mess is sorted out ... ? A: I'd still given them a miss.
• Q: I don't have (or am not planning to buy an Omnia 7/Focus), so I'm in the clear, right? A: No idea. Like I said, this is the first of what I expect to be many updates to the Windows Phone 7 platform, and there have been plenty of problems. Who knows what problems future updates might bring.