MANILA, Philippines - Microsoft's efforts to push its Windows Phone 7 mobile OS recently suffered some jolts that could potentially prove nasty. Problems began surfacing after some unflattering mentions in mainstream media and blogs about some WP7 phones being "bricked" after receiving the updates.

The software giant's update process for WP7-equipped smartphones has generally been smooth. There are, however, incidents involving mostly Samsung Omnia 7 phones freezing while the phone is in the process of receiving software updates.

The company is currently looking at reports of WP7 owners' claims that their devices become unusable after the platform update.

As if to complicate matters further, there are reports that some mobile phone carriers are blocking the first WP7 update.
 
WP7 Online Ads

Meanwhile, Microsoft is set to launch several Windows Phone 7 commercials on the Internet. Titled "real-time trials," the online commercials are similar to what the software giant aired for its Windows Vista operating system in 2009.

The commercials highlight WP7 phones battling rival smartphones in performing several tasks. As with the Vista commercials, the WP7 online ads use humor.
 
Kinect SDK

Microsoft is developing a software development kit for the Kinect, the motion-control platform for the Xbox 360 gaming console. The software giant hopes to allow third-party developersto create applications and games for the motion-based system.

The SDK is designed to give developers access to the system application programming interfaces and the audio system. Also, it will grant direct control of the Kinect sensor.
 
Mobile Banking Virus

A new variant of the notorious Zeus banking Trojan has emerged in the wild. Mitmo targets infected users' mobile phones to "intercept SMS messages from banks" or other financial institutions to misappropriate login credentials.

The variant is first discovered in Poland where it was found targeting ING customers by intercepting pass codes that the bank sends to customers' mobile phones via short messaging services or SMS.

Customers of Poland-based MBank were also targeted, according to security consultant Piotr Konieczny, who performed the analysis.
 
Smartphones Drub Tablets

Consumers in the United States are much more likely to purchase a smartphone than a tablet computer, a PC, or a gaming console, according to data released by market research firm Gartner. Smartphone sales are expected to jump from 67 million units in 2010 to 95 million units in 2011.

Not bad for a market some analysts describe as increasingly afflicted by commoditization.

That's all for the meantime, folks. Join me again next time as we keep on watching IT.