'Tango' officially referred to as Windows Phone 7.5 Refresh

By Rich Edmonds
last updated

Stefania Duico, head of the Windows Phone division in Italy, was interviewed by an Italian fan blog, revealing some interesting details surrounding platform updates - namely the official title of upcoming Windows Phone "Tango". This OS update, which will target emerging mobile markets, will be referred to as "Windows Phone 7.5 Refresh".

Windows Phone 7.5 Refresh will help Microsoft and OEMs produce devices for said markets with lower specifications. There will be some resource intensive features (such as multitasking, Live Tiles, etc.) disabled, no background tasks running, as well as some apps not being able to be installed (depending on the developer), but the experience should be silky smooth as one would expect with a high-end device on the platform.

Source: Windows Phone Italy

Rich Edmonds
Rich Edmonds
Senior Editor, PC Build

Rich Edmonds was formerly a Senior Editor of PC hardware at Windows Central, covering everything related to PC components and NAS. He's been involved in technology for more than a decade and knows a thing or two about the magic inside a PC chassis. You can follow him on Twitter at @RichEdmonds.

43 Comments
  • Tango, smango, whatever they call it I want to know if I'm going to get it, and when!
  • I just want my frigin keyboard fix. Mine disappeared 5 times while typing this....
  • That's already fixed and deployed (8107 update). Ask your carrier about it :).
  • I ask TMobile weekly about it. They claim it is Microsoft holding it up. I laugh....they laugh.... I cry
  • wow thats really low from tmobile
    i don't think microsoft will hold an update to fix an issue
    its your carrier fault kill them with fire :D
  • I called AT&T about this last Friday and the customer service guy told me the same thing , its Microsoft who is holding up the release of the update. He said Microsoft hasn't even send the update to them.
  • I have a Lumia 800 with the offical 8107 update. However sometimes the keyboard still disapperas. Not nearly as much as befor but it still happens... But I could not reproduce this problem. Sometimes it occurs while search, sometimes while writing emails/messages...
  • My keyboard doesn't disappear that much,especially in a short message like that. (keyboard didn't disappear when typing this)
  • Um , hey , try going to the WP7 website, and there's a page about updates over there .
    Here:
    http://www.microsoft.com/windowsphone/en-us/howto/wp7/new-features.aspx
    Hope it helps.
  • I'm on T-mobile US & got the 8107 update weeks ago! But you'll still get the disappearing keyboard after the update. Just not nearly as much. Also Microsoft has confirmed now that carriers can skip more than one update. Actually as many as they want, as now "it's at the carriers discretion" if and when they release any updates. But I also believe they have to push all major updates (could be wrong, don't remember). Which then pushes all missed updates. This was on their website weeks ago, as well.
  • MS definitely isn't holding it, it's the carriers. I got sick of waiting on AT&T & debranded my Focus S. Soon as I plugged it into soon 7740 & 8107 were waiting. Debranding was the easiest process ever and I have yet to notice any disadvantages.
  • I still have that problem sometimes on my Radar 4G on T-Mobile after they released the HTC update as well as the 8017 update. So UNFORTUNATELY, you MAY still have that issue with 8017. 
    Maybe the Refresh will do the trick!
  • Can someone tell me what updates are there for high end handsets? I believe there are some,if not many.
  • I know MMS is a new feature.
  • Can send more than just pictures in MMS and the 8107 fixes.
  • We won't get tango. Even id MS releases it the carriers are going to sit on us and give us all the middle finger. Same when Apollo comes out.
  • We will get it, the carriers are only allowed to skip one update.
  • Carriers are allowed to skip as many updates as they please. They are not required to push any updates, which is BS. Thankfully, debranding a phone will fix this and allow you to get the updates pushed out by your phones OEM.
  • But they cannot skip major updates
  • Mine has skipped more.... I'm still in 7720 :S
  • Same here :/
  • I just don't understand why we can't opt out of carrier approvals. I don't see what my carrier has to do with my phone; they handle my calls and my data - that's it. It's like giving control of Windows Updates to your ISP.
  • The difference is that the Internet uses standard protocols. Wireless carriers all have their own different technologies. Another difference is that you procure your phone from the carriers whereas computers are not procured from ISPs. If you buy your phone independent of your carrier then you do get updates whenever MS releases them.
  • That doesn't make sense... Mobile networks are all standard. Yes, some networks use different frequencies but it's all basically the same. I can put any carriers SIM in my phone and it will work. A lot of people import phones from overseas and still have to wait for the foreign carrier to release the update instead of the carrier they're connected to. I really don't see what my carrier has to do with my phone. It's my phone and I'll take responsibility for updating it. The same that I update my ADSL router when I want, and not when my ISP gives me 'permission'.
  • I've got 8107 on my Verizon Trophy so hopefully it will be possible to keep updating regardless of the carrier.
  • Officially?
  • I've got 8107 as well with nary a disappearing keyboard problem. Now if I could just get Facebook updated to 2.4 from 2.3.1 ... ???
  • Cool!  How did you do it?  My Verizon Trophy seems to be stuck on 7720 :-(
  • Microsoft needs to update our phones to (7.8) ..ish?  this should include all basic missing feature or functions listed below. 
    I don't think we 'll be seeing APollo for our phones anytime soon.
    ------
    Mssing features are: Toast Notification disappears with no way of getting it back.  Missing call duration, vcard support, backup system. calendar does not have a weekly view, Copy and paste doesn't do html formatting so copying an article is useless..  Window phone Hotmail does not support flags No universal search  no way to search calender for past and future events  no way to screen lock rotation.  No hardware encryption on device  ------------------------ Am not asking for much here....  
  • U can check notifications by going into the app that sent them if pinned to the start screen. The storage cards are already encrypted. No one cares about call duration
  • So you speak for everyone, huh?
  • I do... I need to track business calls I receive so that I can invoice my clients for my time. At the moment I can see when the call happened but not how long it took. If I don't check the time as soon as the call ends then I have to fudge it in the invoice. I usually underestimate to be fair... so not having it is costing me money.
  • Huh..on Verizon accounts, they track numbers/minutes per line for each payment period. You could check your carrier's online resources or see if they'll send your usage information on a schedule. One would think such a service would be offered for business users/parents, as they readily do for law enforcement. Good luck in any case.
  • They track outbound calls online (as they are chargeable) so that's fine... But there's no record of calls I receive. It might be something I can request but it's a bit of a hassle, when my phone should be able to tell me.
  • Until they:
    1. Add direct video uploading
    2. Add custom messaging alerts
    3. Bring back custom calendar reminder times (going from 1 hr to 18 hrs, and 1 day to 1 week is absolutely ludicrous)
    4. Use Micro SD cards as removable storage and allow USB access to files on that card and the phone
    ...I don't care what they freaking call the next update!  If these things are not fixed/added when I'm upgrade eligible in 6 months, I'm going to get a Galaxy Note.  If they fix it, I'll get a Titan II.  So does anyone know where to get the best price on a Galaxy Note?
  • In six months? Try eBay. Or Goodwill.
  • wow you're funny.  Don't quit your day job to become a comedian, you'll starve to death.
  • Haha, goodwill, good one. In 6 months the galaxy note will be a thing of the past.
  • Wow dude you're an idiot
  • Lol I seen 3 galaxy notes at a Pawn shop. No windows phones.
  • Most likely because a pawn shop knows they can't get anything for them...
    Did you look under the counter?  They may have been using some for shims!
  • Maybe this name change has something to do with the release of the Tango Video Calling app on Windows Phone 7 a few months ago.  I mean, I search for "Windows Phone Tango" on google occasionally (looking for news of the release--I want native (non-app) hebrew language (not homebrew, don't misread that) support on my phone already which is supposedly coming with Tango) and I always have to sift through references to that app (which I really don't care about at all as my phone (vzw trophy) doesn't have a front-facing camera).
  • Sadly there is nothing refreshing about this update.