Business
Microsoft's "Mango" Win 7 phone geared for Enterprise users
The "Mango" update includes support for hidden corporate Wi-Fi networks to please your IT department, and pinnable email folder shortcuts to help your staff be more productive.
At the Microsoft TechEd 2011 conference in Atlanta and on the Windows Phone Blog, Microsoft shared some of the upcoming features to be included in "Mango" that makes the Windows phone more business-friendly.
Enterprise IT departments will be most excited about the new features such as:
- Complex (alpha-numeric) password support
- Information Rights Management support for protecting e-mails and Office documents
- Support for access to hidden corporate Wi-Fi networks so users won't need to use an app to uncover those access points
Users, on the other hand, can look forward to:
- Improved "copy and paste" function: According to Priyanka Singhal, Windows Phone's program manager, "In Mango, when you tap on copy you get a sound, so that people get more sense of success. We’re tweaking the look and feel of the buttons and making some UI [user interface] improvements to make sure it’s more clear that multiple paste is possible."
- Pinnable email folders: Create a shortcut to messaged on the start screen for quick access. This could be an email folder for a specific project, from a specific group or person (like your boss), or an RSS feed you’ve set up in Outlook.
- Server search: Access emails that no longer exist on your phone but are only available on the server (e.g. Exchange Server).
- Lync:Lync Mobile connects colleagues through Instant Messenge and video chat. The Lync app will be a free download from Windows Phone Marketplace and will be enabled with support from your business organization.
- Share documents in the cloud: Collaborate on work more easily by sharing Office documents through Office 365 and Windows Live SkyDrive, which ensures everyone will have access to the latest documents when and where they need them.
- Conversation view in Outlook: Emails will be organized by conversation threads in Outlook (like Gmail, though I am not a fan of the style), rather than individual messages as they arrive in the inbox.
Judging from the screenshots released, I must say I like the look of the minimalist design and clean interface. Although it is too soon for the Win 7 phone to offer any updates that integrate Skype with its device, a future update would probably include an amalgamation of Lync Mobile and Skype.
What do you think? What would you like to see you in your "Mango"?
[Source: Windows Phone Blog]