All go for Mango

Microsoft has released the latest version of its mobile phone operating system, known as Windows Phone 7 or Mango, to manufacturers, meaning it should be available on handsets in the next few months.

In a post on the Windows phone blog, Terry Myerson, corporate vice president, Windows Phone Engineering, says the release to manufacturers marks the point where Microsoft hands the code for the OS to its operating partners so they can optimise it for their specific phone and network configurations.

"Here on the Windows Phone team," Myerson says, "we now turn to preparing for the update process.

Microsoft first unveiled the new OS in May, and several manufacturers such as Nokia have been eagerly awaiting its release in the hope of finally being able to match the capabilities of Apple's iOS and Google's Android.