Front Camera, Skype Confirmed for WP7.5 Mango

Windows Phone 7.5 "Mango" supports front-facing cameras and eventually Skype integration for video chatting. However, the latter feature won't arrive until after Mango lands on consumer devices.

While we already know that Microsoft's "Mango" build of Windows Phone 7 is already in the hands of manufacturers, a new report concerning the update reveals that, going forward, devices sporting Windows Phone 7.5 will feature a front-facing camera and Skype integration for video calling. The news was confirmed on Thursday in a session at Microsoft Tech-Ed 2011 in New Zealand.

Three Windows Phone 7.5 devices have already been spotted in the "wild," one prototype from Asus, one nearly-complete device from Acer (the M310), and Fujitsu's IS12T which actually launched as the first 7.5 smartphone today in Japan. The Acer and Asus phones reportedly sport front-facing cameras; the just-released Fujitsu phone does not.

Earlier this year, Microsoft inadvertently made its intentions to compete with Apple's FaceTime service perfectly clear by referencing to a "portrait camera" in the Windows Phone 7 SDK. That said, news of the new front-facing standard provided by the Mango update isn't surprising.

As for the Skype integration, this feature actually won't be a part of the Mango update. According to Microsoft, the front-facing cameras supplied in Windows Phone 7.5 devices will support the Skype integration, but currently it's unclear whether Skype will arrive in the form of an app, or integrated later in a post-Mango OS update.

Microsoft's Mango update gives Windows Phone 7 the boost it really needed from the start including multitasking, support for Internet Explorer 9, better social networking integration, hands-free messaging, support for front-facing cameras and more. But will it be enough to pull consumers away from Android and iOS devices?

Earlier this month, comScore revealed that Microsoft's share of the mobile market actually declined after the release of Windows Phone 7, starting at 8-percent in the first quarter of its release, followed by 7.5-percent in the second quarter and 5.8-percent in the third (ending June 2011). But one thing the comScore report didn't point out was that there are currently only eight Windows Phone 7 smartphones on the market. These include the HTC Desire, the HTC Arrive, the Samsung Focus, the LG Quantum, the HTC Surround, the Dell Venue Pro, the HTC HD75 and the HTC Trophy.

But that's going to change with the release of Windows Phone 7.5 as we'll see in the next few months. Microsoft reportedly wanted Mango in the hands of consumers by October knowing that many wireless subscribers were coming out of their 2-year contracts, and looking for a new phone or upgrade. Google is feeling the exact same heat, pushing to get Android "Ice Cream Sandwich" out the door in October too.

Surprisingly, the world's first Windows Phone 7.5 smartphone – Fujitsu's IS12T – doesn't sport a front-facing camera, but does offer a meaty 13.2MP rear-facing camera. It's also water-proof and comes in black and two flashy, neon colors.