Microsoft starts rolling out a pre-'NoDo' update for Windows Phone 7

On February 21, Microsoft officials told Windows Phone 7 (WP7) users that the company had started rolling out the first update for Windows Phone 7.

Before you copy-and-paste-happy WP7 fans begin salivating -- this first update isn't NoDo, the coming update that many consider to be the first for Microsoft's smartphones. NoDo is slated to begin rolling out in early March, Microsoft execs recently acknowledged.

Instead, this "first" minor update is a pre-Nodo update, according to today's Windows Phone blog posting.

"This first update for Windows Phone is designed to improve the software update process itself. So while it might not sound exciting, it’s still important because it’s paving the way for all future goodie-filled updates to your phone, such as copy and paste or improved Marketplace search," the post read.

Microsoft will be pushing out this minor update gradually over the coming days. To get the update (once they receive a message letting them know it is available to them), WP7 users need to connect their phones to their PCs or Macs and download it, via the respective client software.

NoDo, when it finally arrives, will add copy-and-paste support; improved performance; better Marketplace search, and CDMA support. The next "major" update to WP7 will be "Mango," and currently is slated to be available on WP7 phones in time for holiday 2011. Mango will include Internet Explorer (IE) 9 Mobile and multitasking support for third-party applications, among other features.

Update (February 22): After reports by some WP7 users that the first update was "bricking" their phones, caution is the watchword. “We are investigating reports related to the Windows Phone update process and will provide additional information and guidance as it becomes available," a Microsoft spokesperson said when I asked whether users should hold off from installing the pre-NoDo update.