Windows Phone 7 'Mango' approved by Vodafone (Credit: Microsoft)
A spokesperson for the company confirmed to iTech Report that it has now approved Windows Phone 7 'Mango' for use on its network.
'It's [the Mango update] been approved for Omnia 7 and Optimus 7,' the spokesperson said.
Now the company is waiting for Microsoft to begin deploying the update to users around the world, with the Redmond-based software giant yet to reveal a specific date for the roll-out other than this Spring in Australia.
Mango features include improved social messaging support, better multitasking tools, Internet Explorer 9 and other performance tweaks.
The Mango update is the second major release for Microsoft's mobile platform, following an update in March that bought a number of highly requested features including copy and paste functionality.
Yesterday Vodafone Australia confirmed it too is ready to begin rolling out the next major update to Microsoft's Windows Phone 7 platform.
In a post on the company blog, Andrew Tran, responsible for the company's social media efforts, said it has now tested the next upgrade for Windows Phone 7, dubbed 'Mango', and is ready to roll it out when Microsoft gives the go ahead.
'Testing for Windows Phone 'Mango' firmware update has been completed and approved. Awaiting deployment from Microsoft,' the company said.
The update has been tested and will become available on Vodafone's network using its only Windows Phone 7 device '” the HTC 7 Trophy.
The device, launched in October last year with the carrier, is no longer on sale, with Vodafone confirming it's now out of stock.
Telstra, the Australian carrier offering the most Windows Phone devices at this stage, has remained quiet on when customers can expect it to approve the update.
It was one of the last carriers in the world to approve the last update to Windows Phone 7, taking nearly two months after its release by Microsoft before permitting the update to be rolled out.
Microsoft was forced to create an update status page in response to outcry from Windows Phone owners regarding how long the March update was taking to roll-out on a carrier-by-carrier basis.