Windows Phone 7 Mango update to bring multi-tasking and faster IE9

Microsoft has unveiled details of its next major update for the Windows Phone 7 operating system, which will add a number of useful features for business users.

The ‘Mango' update is expected to be released in the autumn, although no official release date has been set. It will bring multi-tasking to devices, allowing users to switch between apps, listen to background audio and transfer files while performing other tasks.

An updated mobile version of IE9, meanwhile, will feature hardware acceleration for faster browsing and support HTML5, the firm noted in the Windows Phone Blog.

Other key updates will include enhanced support for Office documents in Microsoft's free cloud-based storage service, SkyDrive. Twitter will also be integrated into the People hub, and search functionality throughout the device will be improved.

Mango will be the second significant upgrade to the Windows Phone platform following the rollout of the NoDo update, which brought the long-awaited copy-and-paste feature to Windows Phone devices.

Microsoft has also announced that it will release a number of developer tools next month, which will give programmers access to the Live Agents functions. Developers will also be given access to the handset's motion-sensing and camera features, allowing them to create augmented reality applications.

Windows Phone devices have debuted to a mixed reaction since the release of the platform at the end of 2010.

There have been several problems, especially in relation to upgrades, and the first minor Windows Phone 7 update rendered some devices unusable when it was released in February.

However, Microsoft has remained upbeat. Its latest figures confirmed that there are nearly 13,000 apps in the Windows Phone Marketplace and 38,000 registered developers.

Microsoft had previously noted that two million Windows Phone 7 handsets had been sold by the end of January.