This year’s edition of Windows Phone is version 7.5, also known by the codename Mango. The first major upgrade, it’s got most of the stuff that was conspicuously absent in version 7, including multitasking, cut-and-paste, unified e-mail that puts all your accounts in one inbox with threaded conversations, multiple-calendar support, custom ringtones and much more. For the first time, Windows Phone feels fully baked.
It's a smart and balanced look at the Mango update to Windows Phone, placing it alongside the Android and iOS handsets, while pointing out the strengths and weaknesses. The inventory of applications is also noted as being smaller than the incumbents, but also that it picks up most (but not all) of the expected applications for a modern smartphone.
McCracken also has had some time with the Lumia 800, even though it is not out on America soil:
Nokia, alone among the world’s phonemakers, has adopted Windows Phone as its primary smartphone platform, and plans to bring models to the U.S. next year. That could be good news, judging from this curvy, polycarbonate-clad phone–it’s one of the most handsome models I’ve seen in a long time.
All his thoughts can be found over at Time.