LAS VEGAS – Microsoft announced Wednesday that it will soon roll out an update to Windows Phone 7 that will add cut and paste and improve its app performance, among other things.
The company will roll out a series of updates in the next few months via automatic updates, Microsoft chief executive Steve Ballmer said during his opening keynote here at the Consumer Electronics Show.
As promised, the first half of the year will also see Windows Phone 7 devices from Verizon and Sprint, Ballmer said.
The update, however, will include two major components: cut and paste; and improved app performance when loading and switching apps, Ballmer said. Customers can expect to see apps and games that load even faster, he said.
Ballmer talked up games on Windows Phone 7, announcing that one of the upcoming titles will be "Fable Gold Coin," a version of the franchise specifically for the phone. All the gold a player earns goes toward your "Fable III" character when you play on the Xbox 360.
At this point, Windows Phone 7 users can choose from about 5,500 apps in the Windows Phone Marketplace, Ballmer said, though that number is growing. In the past few weeks, the company had added apps for the Kindle, Bank of America, and the "Fruit Ninja" game.
"Our customers typically get access to more than 100 new apps every 24 hours and more than half our customers download a new app every day," he said. "More than 20,000 developers have registered with us and are keeping the app pipeline full, with more signing on each day."
Ballmer declined to talk exact sales figures for Windows Phone 7; in late December, the company said it sold 1.5 million Windows Phone 7 devices in the first six weeks. Instead, Ballmer focused on customer reaction to the device, which he – not surprisingly – said has been very positive.
"Job number one is showing this new phone to people," Ballmer said. "Once people see the phone, they fall in love with it."
"We're proud about what the customers are saying," Ballmer continued. "We're going to continually invest" in the platform.