Microsoft’s Mango Update Pushes WP7 to Version 7.5

According to a screencap taken from an internal Microsoft partner site, the forthcoming Mango update for Windows Phone 7 is such an extensive update that the version number will be updated to version 7.5 on account of its expanded featureset which includes true multitasking, deeper app integration into the OS and new hardware APIs.

While Microsoft has yet to officially confirm branding for the update, the 7.5 branding has also appeared in previous Microsoft literature during last month’s MIX11 conference, which was subsequently brushed off as an error. Microsoft’s official position on the matter is that it has not yet determined final branding for the Mango update.

Mango is also meant as the bridge before the release of Windows 8, which is expected to scale from smartphones to desktops via the same base kernel when the operating system is released next year. Nokia is also expected to launch its first Windows Phone 7 handsets later this year with Mango as the primary software version.