Windows Phone 7.5 review: Ready, set, mango

Introduction

Some people are wary of buying a first generation product - and with good reason, there're always kinks to sort out. That's what Windows Phone 7.5 is here to do. The long expected Mango update finally puts iron to fabric in a bid to get rid of the said kinks.

There are game changers like multitasking and Wi-Fi hotspot functionality. There are smaller things like custom ringtones. There are improvements to the core apps along with a host of new features.

There isn't a hub left untouched. Each has at least a few minor improvements, adding up to a much more complete and functional OS than Windows Phone was at the beginning.

You have to keep in mind though that the OS is still only a year old. There's been plenty of time and software versions for the competition to finally get things nailed down. And we tend to forget how bad it looked for them too in the beginning.

Before you dig into the review, you might want to re-read our original Windows Phone 7 review, as we'll be focusing on the changes since then for this one.

Anyway, will version 7.5 put Windows Phone squarely on the map and make it the third horse in the smartphone race? Let's look at all the changes in detail and find out.