TNW Quick Hit: Take heart Windows 7 users, the first W7 service pack finally has an official mass-market release date:February 22nd. If you are a MSDN or TechNet Subscriber, or a Volume License customer, you can get your hands on the final software straight out of Redmond on February 16th. The February 22nd launch date is right on time, squaring with our previous knowledge that the service pack would be released in thefirst quarter of 2011....

Microsoft today affirmed that the Windows Phone platform will be its mobile gaming solution, as opposed to any standalone device. What this means for the Zune HD, a mobile device that can play games remains unclear, although it is suggestive that, in accordance with certain rumors, Zune hardware is a thing of the past, and that Zune will be folded into the Xbox ecosystem. Microsoft made the comments in question at a roundtable at E3, saying, asreported by Pocket-Lint, that:...

Microsoft has moved quickly to stamp out rumours that its Windows Phone Mango update is to launch on September 1, with Joe Belfiore, CVP of the Windows Phone Program,stating thatthe date is “just a rumour”. We reportedat the time that we had not been able to independently confirm the date, with theoriginal postrelying on “multiple trusted sources” for its information. The date stayed close to previously rumoured timelines, matching up to a possible IFA 2011 reveal in Berlin, Germany....

TNW Quick Hit: Sure, NoDo has taken ages to finally make it to the Windows Phone 7 handsets of the world, but according to Microsoft the delays that it has suffered from arenothing comparedto what Android users are put through. The following slide, from a deck that outlines developer features in the NoDo update, shows, what from Microsoft’s vantage point is a fair apples to apples mobile OS update comparison:...

Mango is already landing in the hands of consumers via the sales of handsets in a number of markets, but for those who already own a Windows Phone device, how long will they have to wait? According to anew blog postby Microsoft, not much longer. In fact, the language that the company used implies that in no more than a fortnight, the process should be underway. Microsoft cited “laying the groundwork for the Windows Phone 7....