AT&T's Windows Phone 7 NoDo update coming April 19th? (update: 'scheduling')

Looking forward to April 19th? If you just so happen to hold a Windows Phone 7 device on AT&T, you are now. According to a leaked memo posted up over at Winrumors, Ma Bell has just wrapped up its testing of the famed NoDoupdate, and if all goes well, it'll be pushed to end users on Tuesday. Owners of the LG Quantum and Samsung Focus will see it first, while HTC Surround owners will need to watch this video on loop until "mid-May." Just think -- next week, you'll be copying and pasting this very article as often as you please. Huzzah!

Update: Microsoft's Eric Hautala confirms that the LG Quantum and Samsung Focus are getting updates ahead of the Surround -- both are "scheduling" now -- as the HTC handset requires "additional testing by both Microsoft and AT&T" before it gets pushed out. Also, these AT&T phones will get somethign called "WISPr," which is a protocol that will automatically connect to AT&T WiFi hotspots in range. Sounds pretty cool.

Microsoft asks users not to jailbreak Windows Phone 7

Microsoft has used its Windows Phone 7 update blog to ask users not to jailbreak their handsets so that they can upgrade to a new operating system that includes copy and paste.

Eric Hautala, General Manager of Customer Experience Engineering, writes that the firm is “not going to be happy until everyone gets their update”. He says, however, that although “we’ve started delivering the March “copy and paste” update to customers of O2 and SFR in Europe…I’ve noticed that some of you are turning to homebrew solutions to update your phone immediately.”

Jailbreaking is the practice of giving an individual user more control over their phone than the manufacturers of the hardware or software intended.

Hautala says that “As an engineer and a gadget lover, I totally understand the impulse to tinker. You want the latest technology and you’re tired of waiting. Believe me, I get it. But my strong advice is: wait.”

Unofficial updates are not supported by Microsoft, which says that “you might not be getting the important device-specific software we would typically deliver in the official update. Or your phone might get misconfigured and not receive future updates. It’s even possible your phone might stop working properly.”

Windows Phone 7 Mango will support 3rd party custom camera UI with camera button integration

With the ability to have raw access to the camera feed also comes the ability to create a whole new custom UI for the camera. 

Unlike Apple which has banned an app for using the volume button as a hardware shutter button, Microsoft has made it easy for devs to use the actual shutter button as intended, including access to half press to focus and full press to snap.

Developers will however not be able to fully replace the native app, as pressing the button outside the app will always launch the pretty good but somewhat flawed native Windows phone camera software.

Windows Phone 7 Gets a Spec Boost

The next generation of Windows Phone 7 handsets will have to run a little bit faster, per Microsoft's orders.

Microsoft has confirmed new minimum specs for Windows Phones. The tech jargon version: Qualcomm's second-gen MSM8x55 or MSM7x30 Snapdragon processors will replace the MSM8x50 chips found in current handsets, and Adreno 205 graphics will replace the Adreno 200. In English, that means future Windows Phone 7 devices will get a minimum boost in performance on par with HTC's Thunderbolt or Sony Ericsson's Xperia Play Android devices.

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Phone makers also have the option of including a gyroscope, which would allow for more accurate motion control in video games.

Nice as these spec boosts may seem, it's discouraging not to see a front-facing camera among the requirements. To date, no Windows Phones have them, and they're not supported in the software. Android and the iPhone both have front-facing camera support, so Windows Phone 7 has fallen behind. It'd also be nice to see Windows Phone 7 start supporting dual-core processors, but I wouldn't expect that to be a minimum requirement for future devices.

More important for Microsoft is improving the software. Copy and paste is rolling out for some phones now, after problems with an earlier update gummed up the whole process. Multitasking, HTML5 support and Twitter integration won't arrive until the fall.