Microsoft on Tuesday slowly started rolling out its next Windows Phone 7 update, which, among other things, will bring cut and paste functionality to the mobile operating system.
WinRumors reports that the update, dubbed build 7390, was pushed to SIM-free, carrier unbranded devices. As a result, consumers with Windows Phone 7 devices from carriers like AT&T "may have to wait weeks," WinRumors said.
"We've begun to gradually roll out the Copy & Paste update, starting small with customers with open market phones in parts of Europe this week. More to come," a Microsoft spokesman said via e-mail.
Canadian provider Telus said on its Web site that the earliest date any of its customers will receive the update, known as NoDo, will be March 29.
The update comes several weeks after the platform's first, minor update was met with glitches and delays, prompting the company to temporarily halt updates for Samsung phones. Given the problems, Microsoft later decided to delay this current update to late March.
The update was first announced by Microsoft chief Steve Ballmer at this year's CES. Besides cut and paste, it is also intended to improve app performance.
In a March 10 blog post that discussed the glitch, Microsoft detailed its process for rolling out updates. Once an update is ready to go, Microsoft provides it to its carrier partners, who test it to make sure it works on their networks.
"We work closely with our carrier partners, and encourage them to test our software as swiftly as possible. But it's still their network, and the reality is that some carriers require more time than others," Microsoft wrote.
Microsoft said that some of its updates are hardware-specific, so it doesn't send every update to every device. "We also don't send new software updates to everyone at once. This staggered approach is deliberate, and helps us pinpoint and fix any problems quickly," Microsoft said.
Still, problems occur, the company acknowledged. "Microsoft has been making and delivering software updates long enough to know that the laboratory can simulate—but never quite equal—the experience of delivering software to thousands of real phones 'in the wild,' each loaded with its own unique set of apps, pictures, songs, and other stuff."
Late last month, Sprint unveiled its first Windows Phone 7 device, the HTC Arrive. For more details, see PCMag's full review and the slideshow below.
Editor's Note: This story was updated at 11:30am Eastern with comment from Microsoft.