Windows Phone 7 Updates Hit Snags in U.S.

This week, Microsoft began pushing through its long-awaited “NoDo” update for Windows Phone 7, although device owners in the United States could have a longer wait before receiving theirs.

The “NoDo” update includes cut-and-paste and improvements to Messaging, WiFi and Outlook. It tweaks the “stability of switching between camera and video modes,” according to information posted on Microsoft’s Windows Phone Website, and the experience of syncing Facebook accounts.

The big question is when it’ll arrive on peoples’ smartphones, something Microsoft tried to answer this week with a pair of charts detailing the update status for customers in both the United States and around the world. Each chart breaks down the update path into three categories:

Testing, i.e., the update is undergoing network and quality tests.

Scheduling, i.e., Microsoft is scheduling the update for delivery—a process the charts suggest will take “10 days or less.”

Delivering, i.e., the smartphone should receive the update—at some point. “Because updates are typically delivered to customers in batches,” the chart explains, “it might take several weeks before you receive notice that an update is available to you.”

According to Microsoft’s chart for the United States, the HTC Surround, LG Quantum and Samsung Focus are all apparently in “Testing” for both the February software update (designed to pave the way for future updates) and the March “NoDo” update (includes both cut-and-paste and feature tweaks). The Dell Venue Pro and HTC HD7 are at the “Scheduling” stage for both updates. The HTC Arrive comes with both updates, excluding it from the list.

Perhaps tellingly, no Windows Phone 7 devices in the United States have reached the “delivering” stage for either the February or March update. By contrast, on the worldwide chart, all open-market phones are apparently in the process of delivering the March update, and the majority of countries’ smartphones are delivering the February update (on top of reaching the “scheduling” milestone for the March one).

For more, read the eWEEK article: Windows Phone 7 Update Issues Hint at Major Growing Pains.