WP Mango update slated to "start delivery" "in week or two"

Microsoft has stunned mobile industry followers and fans of its own mobile OS, Windows Phone, by finally announcing a solid date for the release of its much-anticipated update, Mango. Through the Windows Phone blog Eric Hautala, General Manager for Customer Experience Engineering, confirmed that Mango would be arriving in one week... or two. Either way, that's less than or equal to 14 days from yesterday's post date, so that means it's really on its way.

Of course, if you read any of the comments on the page for that blog post you'll realize that this earnest announcement was met with some skepticism. Microsoft's track record for releasing WP updates is definitely less than stellar, both in terms of timeliness and delivery. And since early adopters already had to deal with not having cut and paste functionality for the first few months until NoDo (eventually) released, their patience has likely worn thin.

Mango will bring multitasking capabilities and hundreds of other improvements, many of which are already employed by iOS and Android devices. And if it was so much trouble just to roll out an update for copy and paste then how much more complicated will it be to release and distribute in a timely manner an update that supposedly packs more than 500 improvements in it? Also, keep in mind that Microsoft stated that, among other things, that first update was released to make it easier to get updates. (Read: These screw-ups won't happen next time, promise, k?)

And yet despite the disheartened fan base being alternately shown the metaphorical carrot then beaten with the metaphorical stick, Windows Phone is somehow gaining popularity with the masses. The research firm NPD Group released a study stating that between current smartphone owners and potential buyers 44 per cent are considering a Windows Phone device. While "considering" is the operative word here, that's still an impressive stat that belies the current adoption rate. Perhaps this is the effect of WP sticking around for 12 whole months?

In the meantime current WP owners can keep apprised of the Mango update situation by checking the Where's my phone update? page. And now we leave you with some inspiring words from Eric Hautala:

"I know you’re eager to get your hands on the next release of Windows Phone—and everyone involved with Windows Phone is equally excited and eager to deliver it to you. Please hang on—we’re almost there."