Great new stuff coming in Mango. Here’s what you’ll see demonstrated at MIX ‘11:

  • Mix '11Multitasking: The fast app switching (FAS) and Windows Phone background agent features provide a rich multi-tasking experience for apps.
  • IE9 for Windows Phone: Additional details of the HTML5 story within the context of Windows Phone.
  • Additional sensor and runtime access: New sensor APIs and being added in Mango, including camera-stream access to enable augmented reality scenarios, compass and gyro APIs to enable more advanced detection of motion, and the ability to use socket connections to move beyond HTTP.
  • Structured storage: Packaging and deploying SQL CE databases into the Windows Phone platform. Use LINQ to SQL to access data. Contact and appointment APIs enable access to the user's address book and calendar, when the user consents to providing access to the app.
  • XNA/Silverlight integration: In Mango, you can build 3D applications that can overlay Silverlight forms and strings, enabling next-gen mobile apps that combine the best of these two frameworks.
  • Tooling: Additional capabilities around the Profiling tooling, as well as new enhancements to the Windows Phone Emulator that enable you to manipulate sensor data in the emulator.
  • New markets and languages: Adding support for additional countries and languages, including new countries that you can submit applications from and additional countries that you can sell your apps to.
  • New and enhanced AppHub and Marketplace functionality makes submissions and discovery of a wider variety of content much easier.

That XNA/Silverlight is especially exciting to me – 3D games coming at you through your Windows Phone!

MIX ‘11