As we’re heading closer to Mobile World Congress 2012, where Microsoft is expected to announce details of their next update of Windows Phone, codenamed “Tango”, more details about the update are leaking out. Today Russion website WP7forum.ru leaked several screenshots from “Tango”, revealing several new features as well as detailing how “Tango” will support low-cost devices with limited RAM.
New Features
WP7forum detailed several new features that they have heard about “Tango”:
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| Ability to manage contacts on the SIM-card | Enhanced data roaming options | Enhanced MMS, including multiple attachments |
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| Support for adding voice notes to MMS | Support for adding videos to MMS | Support for new languages |
Limitations for lower spec devices
With Windows Phone “Tango”, the minimum hardware requirements for manufacturers has been lowered, although some optimisations and limitations will be imposed on these devices. These include adding support for 256MB RAM (previously a minimum of 512MB of RAM), as well as a lower camera resolution of 3 megapixels (QXGA, previously a minimum of 5 megapixels). WP7forums detailed the limitations that will be imposed on these devices, specifically those with 256MB of RAM:
- Applications and marketplace – By default the marketplace will filter out apps that are not compatible with these low-end devices. However, users might still be directed to these apps via direct links or other means, and as such a warning message is placed on those apps that are incompatible with these lower-end devices, as shown below:
Furthermore, Live Tiles for third-party apps will also not be updated automatically on these lower-end devices.
- Music and Videos – Lower-end devices will not able to manage their podcasts on their device, and these must be managed via the Zune software on their PC (or Windows Phone Connector for Mac) instead. Only videos with bitrates lower than 4mbs and H.264 v2 encoding will be supported on these devices.
- Camera and photos – As mentioned previously, the minimum requirement of the camera has been lowered to 3 megapixels. In addition, phones with 256MB of RAM will not automatically upload photos onto SkyDrive.
And that is all we know for now. Remember none of these information have been confirmed by Microsoft, and as such the usual disclaimer applies. We expect more will be revealed soon at Mobile World Congress. So stay tuned!