Microsoft: Mango arrives in two weeks

Microsoft will begin rolling out the Mango upgrade to its Phone 7 platform within the next couple of weeks, according to a senior staffer.

Brandon Watson, director for Windows Phone 7, used his Twitter account to broadcast the news that the upgrade would be coming soon.

“Boom...no more rumors. Mango to start rolling out on #windowsphone in just a week or two,” Watson wrote.

According to the company, there will be no set date for release, since individual malware vendors will be tweaking the software for their own handsets when they are ready. For this reason, Microsoft is recommending the users don’t download early builds of the Mango update, which leaked out last month.

“During the official Windows Phone 7.5 update process, every Windows Phone will also receive software from the handset manufacturer,” blogged Eric Hautala, general manager of Microsoft customer experience engineering.

“This matched and paired firmware has been painstakingly tuned so your phone—and apps—work with all the new features of Windows Phone 7.5. Since your phone requires the proper firmware to function as designed, my advice is simple: steer clear of bootleg updates and homebrew tools.”

Redmond has high hopes for the upgrade, with Steve Ballmer saying it’s his hope that the upgrade and subsequent builds will raise Microsoft to the number three position in the smartphone software market, behind Android and Apple. Even with RIM circling the drain this seems like an ambitious plan, considering Phone 7’s lackluster performance so far. ®