If you've been following the news recently you've probably noticed that there's no shortage of Windows Phone 7 Mango feature leaks -- in case you missed all those, Windows Phone Dev Podcast has posted two additional pictures for two separate allegedly upcoming Mango features. In the first picture you can see that the user will be able to turn off the Camera Shuttersound -- which is something Google, Apple and RIM don't allow -- and for once we might disagree. Having a shutter sound always active and always sounding off is not a flaw of other platforms but rather a privacy measure taken; muting the sound allows for unnoticed picture snapping some might find offending.
With Mango, Windows Phone users will be able to search for podcasts right on their handset. Finding the one brings you to a screen with information related to the podcast, such as title, image (album art), description, and the list of episodes. Once here you can push the play button to stream the audio, download the episode or subscribe to the podcast. You can select subscription options as well as whether to download via Data Connection or not.
One feature many were waiting for was the Smart DJ. It can be accessed by pulling up the menu drawer at the bottom and once activated, it will automatically create a playlist based on your music preferences.
On the other screenshot you can see a feature that will hopefully be added for which many have been praying for. Yes, it's SmartDJ support for all you Zune-holics and audiophiles. It is the ultimate music discovery tool which creates playlists from your own collection or Zune Marketplace based on similarities with the criteria of your choice. How does Windows Phone 7 Mango sound so far?
Not many improvements but definitely the right ones both in terms of functionality as well as usability. We can expect more features to be unveiled either by Microsoft or third parties -- maybe even control-leaked -- since Redmond wants to maintain the momentum for Mango (and there are plenty of features left on that 500 list).
