Windows Phone get 500 features

Microsoft already previewed some of the new business capabilities coming to Windows Phone via its impending Mango update, but it looks like that's just the tip of the iceberg, writes Cnet.

Speaking at the Japanese Microsoft Developer Forum 2011, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer revealed that the company has added more than 500 new features to its mobile operating system.

Ballmer also noted that the company will share information on who will build new Windows Phones, indicating about some new hardware.

According to The Daily Tech, Ballmer admits that it's been a struggle over the last couple years for the prominent OS maker, but promises great things to come.

“We came to market with Windows Phone a year later than I wish we had; shame on us. But we're moving forward very actively. We introduced Windows Phone last November; we've done a set of upgrades; and we have a release that will come to market later this year in Japan,” Ballmer points out.

Microsoft has long promised opening up multi-tasking for all third-party apps, pending a future update. And Microsoft also promised connectivity with the popular Kinect motion sensor and Mobile Internet Explorer 9, a much-improved mobile browser.

Ballmer also acknowledged the Windows 8 name, which up to now has been batted aside by Microsoft flacks, who have been keen to keep details about Redmond's next OS off the news agenda, despite leaks from its hardware partners, writes The Register.

“As we progress through the year, you ought to expect to hear a lot about Windows 8. Windows 8 slates, tablets, PCs, a variety of different form factors.”

It's unclear if Ballmer's singular use of the word 'interface' refers simply to a variety of Windows 8 editions being developed for different devices such as tablets and slates or if his mention of “Windows systems” in the plural sense means that more than one OS will be released in 2012.