Microsoft confirms Windows Phone 7 update delayed

Windows Phone 7 owners will have to wait a few weeks longer for copy and paste, after Microsoft delayed its first major update.

The update was due at the beginning of this month, but has been delayed by problems with a smaller, earlier update.

Last month, Microsoft issued the first update to the platform, in order to get the update system ready for the looming major release. However, many users, notably those with Samsung handsets, had difficulties with the installation.

I believe it’s important that we learn all we can from the February update

Those delays have now put back the larger update. “I believe it’s important that we learn all we can from the February update,” said Eric Hautala, general manager of customer experience engineering, in a post on the Windows Phone blog. “So I’ve decided to take some extra time to ensure the update process meets our standards, your standards, and the standards of our partners.”

Now, the larger update will arrive in March, Microsoft announced.

Hautala said the “short pause” wouldn’t push back another looming update, which includes a mobile version of Internet Explorer 9. However, Microsoft hasn’t yet revealed exactly when that update will appear, other than to say it’s due later this year.

Whose fault?

Microsoft pushed the blame on the complicated update process, explaining that it not only creates and tests its own updates, but must also include firmware tweaks from handset and chip makers.

That package is then sent to mobile operators to test on their networks, before coming back to Microsoft to be sent out via its update system, using a staggered release to keep an eye out for flaws.

“With nine handsets on 60 mobile operators in 30 countries around the world, things can get a little complicated,” said Hautala, giving rise to complaints on the blog comments that other mobile platforms deal with the issue.