The Microsoft mobile reboot needs rebooting

Windows Phone 7 just isn't working

MicroBite Late last year, plagued by a falling mobile market share, Microsoft "rebooted" its Windows mobile franchise with the launch of Windows Phone 7. Reviewers loved the smartphone operating system. The gadget press lapped it up. Even hardened skeptics felt some love for Microsoft they had forgotten they could feel.

But five months on, early adopters are spewing bile at Redmond because it can't manage to rollout a simple software update for the OS. And the patch is a vital one. Without it, Windows Phone 7 handsets won't be able to swallow the bigger HTML5-packing Mango release later.

Ah, reboots. They're just like potato chips. Once you've had one, you can't stop.

In the latest MicroBite, Reg software editor Gavin Clarke and All-About-Microsoft editor Mary-Jo Foley explore how Microsoft has managed to burn through its capital of Windows Phone 7 goodwill and what happens next.

And there's more. Why hasn't IE9 beaten Firefox 4.0 in the 24-hour download derby? And why Microsoft's now taking a more long-term view for its browser. Plus, if it's Las Vegas, it must be a show, and the show in question is HTML5 versus Silverlight at Microsoft's annual MIX. Is this a turf war or a love-in for Microsoft's product groups?

You can listen to MicroBite using our fancy player below, or catch the MP3 here and Ogg here.

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