More Details of Mango Update revealed

A little while back I reported that the WP7 phones were getting a hefty update called Mango. Well on the Windows Phone Blog they've released some more info on the part that is going to affect us guys the most, the Xbox Live section.

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First up the setup is going to be similar to the new Xbox Dashboard setup. So say goodbye to the traditional Xbox green and welcome the sterile white of the future. It will also incorporate a lot of the features found in the current Xbox Live Extras App such as 3D moving avatars.

Your collection of games will be displayed differently too. Instead of the current view where your games are displayed as large icons they will now be displayed in a similar style as the marketplace which you can see below. Also introduced is a Recent feature, which show your 3 most recent played games once you've got more than 20 games on your phone

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As I mentioned your avatar is now integrated into the Xbox live hub. It will be fully functional and react in a similar way to the Extras version. But it will be much more developed with more actions including the ability to hide behind your collection if you bug it too much!

More items from the Extras Apps are now included in the basic Live hub too. Heres the official description of these new additions

• Improved Xbox LIVE messaging: Read and reply to Xbox LIVE messages sent from another Windows Phone, a PC, or an Xbox console. We’ve also added more avatar delighters here. If a message contains certain emoticons (e.g. , ), you’ll notice your avatar’s expression change to reflect that emotion! (If a sender overloads a message with conflicting emoticons, your avatar will look bewildered.)
  
  
• Connect with Xbox LIVE friends: Find out if your Xbox LIVE friends are currently online through the friend status view. You can also search, browse, initiate, and respond to friend requests right from your Windows Phone 7.
  
  
• Integrated achievements and new comparison views: See the recent games your friends have been playing, and compare gamerscores and achievements for all Xbox LIVE games played on the phone, console, or PC.
  
  
• Edit your profile: Moved to a new city? Have a new motto in life? Now you can update your name, bio, motto, and location right from the phone.
  
  
• Improved Spotlight content: We’ve improved the news and info delivered to you via Spotlight in the Games Hub. Your window to the Xbox LIVE community will now be complemented with rich and vibrant images!
  
  
• Improved game request notifications: In Mango, you’ll receive notifications for multiplayer game or turn requests and can track them in the Requests section of the Games Hub.

Well thats all the info they've released. Looks like a major overhaul for the whole OS. Still no confirmed date for the update though!

I am very pleased they continue to improve this great service.

Truly can't wait for the first tablet device that plays xbox live games!

I think a 7 inch device that also takes phone calls would be awesome.

Approximately 2 months till i'm due an upgrade, the good news is i can now get a Samsung Omnia on the same tariff i'm already on (£25 per month).

Can't wait, cheevo's at work...