Microsoft has been forthcoming about the impending update to Windows Phone 7, admitting that a few features had been left out at the mobile operating system's launch, with full intention to include those same features at a later date. The first update is bringing with it plenty of improvements, and copy/paste is being thrown in for good measure, but it's the next major update after this one that people are already looking forward to. Why? Because that's the one where even more features are being shown off. Most importantly though: multitasking.
Today at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Microsoft took some time to show off the power of Windows Phone 7, and what owners (and potential owners) could hope to expect from the platform in the second half of 2011. While real-time multiplayer is awesome, and Kinect connectivity is great too, I'm more excited about the "simple" features being added to Windows Phone 7. I'm excited about multitasking, and how Microsoft is going to utilize it.
Truth be told, I'm a huge fan of Windows Phone 7. I love the simplicity and beauty of the user interface, and I love the connected services like Zune and Xbox LIVE. (I use these on a daily basis, so that shouldn't be surprising.) So, having all of these features in a phone that I use every day is great. But, not having the ability to use the phone with multiple applications running is tough. I feel like I'm using an iPhone of yesteryear, and that's not a good thing.
It's great that Microsoft has been straightforward with the updates and what they'll contain, but releasing it in the second half of 2011 seems like a really, really long time. I'm perfectly okay with the other additions, like real-time multiplayer and Kinect features being added later in the year, but I'd be a lot happier if copy/paste and multitasking were being included together in this first update, set to hit devices in the first two weeks of March.
I'm obviously not going to get my wish, and I'll be left here waiting for the update just like everyone else who owns a Windows Phone 7 device. But, it begs the question: is Windows Phone 7 worth waiting for? Let me know in the comments if you plan on holding onto your WP7 device until the second major update, or if you've already started thinking about what other phone you want. And, if you haven't bought a Windows Phone 7 device yet, are you waiting for multitasking before you pull the trigger?
