Microsoft has been using its developer blog channels to share progress on the upcoming 'Mango' release of the Windows Phone OS.
As the first reviews of Mango have started landing in press review sites and blogs, the company wants us to agree that the "early sentiment" is very encouraging.
Citing a number of reviews that have already been published, Microsoft highlights Gizmodo, which went so far as to say that Mango feels "complete" — and The Daily, which said that, "It took Android nearly two years before hitting critical mass and three years to begin carving out a significant chunk of the smartphone market."
"We've got a great product in Windows Phone and we feel we're right on track; in fact, we've already seen reports showing that in only a few months we've surpassed the more established RIM marketplace in the number of real apps available to customers," says Microsoft.
Note: Importantly, the CNET review Microsoft references here says that this is potentially true: "depending on how you count!"
Mango recently opened up its early access program for developers. At this time, the company says it is still working out some final kinks in the distribution and support infrastructure for delivering Mango to all of its registered developers around the world.
At the end of last week Microsoft stated that, "We expect the full distribution infrastructure to be fully operational in the next couple of weeks. For now, consider yourself a beta tester for the distribution process. Registered developers will get invites to the Microsoft Connect site, which will give them access to Mango. This build of Mango should also be viewed as beta quality, so there are still consumer features missing, but you can now start building apps and testing them against retail devices."
Finally, Microsoft also points to the new Advertising SDK June 2011 Update that was released for Windows Phone 7 earlier this week. The June update is designed to make it even easier for developers to earn money and build ad-enabled mobile apps with streamlined Ad Control APIs and other new features.
