While we know that the Windows Phone "Mango" beta is not far from us (at least for developers), it appears that a copy of the dumped ROM has been leaked to the hands of WPSauce. According to WPSauce (via WMPU), the leaked ROM dump simple contains the files and folders from the Mango beta, however it cannot be loaded onto an actual devices. However, that did not stop them from drilling down to the interesting bits from the UI string files, and in fact they did discover several interesting bits that has yet to be revealed by Microsoft. We’ll summarise them here:
Xbox LIVE – According to WPSauce, this one is an exciting one. Other than the so-called "new" features (i.e. Xbox LIVE Extras being integrated into the Games Hub), WPSauce also discovered UI references indicating that you will be able to share your Xbox LIVE profile to Facebook from Windows Phone. There were also references to multiplayer gaming, as well as the ability for users to listen to and read their phone’s messages on their Xbox 360. What’s more, apparently Xbox LIVE Party and Voice Chat is also supported on Windows Phone Mango too. Perhaps these might be Xbox LIVE Gold-only features?- AppChecker – During the Windows Phone VIP Event, Derek Snyder, Executive Communications Manager for Windows Phone, mentioned that Windows Phone will be able to automatically determine and find applications from the marketplace to open specific file types (such as those stored on SkyDrive). AppChecker is exactly that – it is a module which tells you which app is required to open certain types of files. An example string WPSauce found is “To join the meeting, you need Microsoft Lync Mobile. Install it now from Marketplace?”
Deeper Facebook Integration – We know from pervious demos that with the Mango update, we’ll see even deeper Facebook integration, including Facebook Chat, Facebook Places check-ins, Facebook Events, and Facebook notifications. WPSauce also found UI references indicating that the People Hub will now also allow you to "Like" a social update, and view the number of "Likes" (in addition to the number of comments) for a social update. We’ve seen that Facebook "Likes" had been added to the Messenger Social feeds on Windows Live Profile and Windows Live Home as part of the recent update, so it makes sense that this is coming to Mango too.- Lunar Calendar Support – This will prove to be useful to many Asian users, who in addition to using the Gregorian calendar that we’re all used to, also uses the Lunar calendar system. WPSauce indicates that the Calendar hub will be able to show lunar dates with the Mango update.
- "Nudge" support in Windows Live Messenger – We know that Mango will have Windows Live Messenger built-in to its Messaging hub. Apparently, users can also send "nudges" to other Messenger users. We haven’t seen that in any demo or screenshots yet, so not sure if that will be something that will come in later builds.
- Better Connectivity Customisation – WPSauce indicates that users can now manually set IP addresses, subnet masks, default gateways, DNS and proxy for LAN connections using Windows Phone Mango.
- Language, Keyboard, and Handwriting Support – WPSauce found that with this particular build of Mango, it supports 22 languages in total, each with its own input method. All supported languages have basically three types of input methods – full-keyboard, 12 keys, and handwriting. Traditional Chinese has an extra BPMF input support. Three full-keyboard layouts are supported: QWERTY, QWERTZ, AZERTY. The keyboard’s touch target sizes can also be customised and resized.
However, as "Mango" is still currently in beta stage, we’re not sure if any of these features will make it into the final builds. There’s a possibility that these were features that was supposed to go in Mango, but got cut during the development. Alternatively, it could be planned features for Mango that has yet to be completed. So take these with a grain a salt for now, until more details are confirmed. With over 500 new features, who knows what else we might see in Mango?