Forget all the confusing news this week about which phones are going to make the jump to Windows Phone 8 and which aren’t: we’ve got something slightly more concrete. According to reports, Microsoft is going to begin its update to Windows Phone Tango this very month. What should you expect? Read on past the break to find out.
According to Chinese site WPDang, the rollout will begin towards the end of this month, with the aim to have around 90 per cent of devices updated by the close of June. We’re still waiting for Microsoft to officially announce that that’s the case, but it seems likely, given the launch of lower specced handsets like the Nokia Lumia 610.
The Tango update is an odd one for Windows Phone. While the jump to Windows Phone 8 (Apollo) later in the year will be a big one, Tango will seem like a nearly unnoticeable change to most Windows Phone handset owners, even if it will bring support for a multitude of new languages and speed increases.
Microsoft’s secret threat to Android
However, things start getting interesting at the lower end of the market. Microsoft has lowered the minimum specs to allow for an onslaught of budget WP handsets. This is what Tango is designed for: it’ll add features and speed up normal Windows Phones, but allow lesser specced ones to run.
It’s this low-end assault that should have Android running scared. As we’ve mentioned before, Android 4.0 has seen the number of newly minted, budget handsets all but dry up, while Microsoft looks ready to swoop in and mop up, with handsets like the Lumia 610 primed and ready. Let the budget battle commence…
