Tasty Mango upgrade should bring new Windows Phone 7 users to the table

For the past week, I’ve tested Mango on Samsung Corp.’s Focus, a light and handy little unit available from AT&T Corp. for just $50 with a two-year contract. Despite the low price, the Focus packs a one-gigahertz processor that manages every task with crisp efficiency.

Take searching, for instance. Like the original Windows Phone 7, Mango offers a dedicated connection to Microsoft’s Bing search service. But the upgrade adds several fine improvements. You’ve probably seen apps that can scan supermarket bar codes, or these boxy QR codes sometimes found in magazine ads. That software’s now built into Bing.

Also built in: a feature that can listen to a song, identify it, and help you purchase a copy.

Most impressive is the new Local Scout service. Just tap it for a list of nearby restaurants, theaters, and museums. Tap a listing, and you’ll get a map to guide you there.

Now say you want a reservation at a particular sushi place. Tap the joint’s name on the Local Scout list, and it shows you all kinds of information about the restaurant, along with a listing of dining apps - the popular OpenTable, for example. If it’s not already installed, tap the icon and it will be. If it is installed, tap the icon and the app now displays information about the sushi joint, thanks to a new Mango feature that seamlessly feeds search results to the OpenTable app.

Same goes for movies; curious about the new film “Contagion?’’ Just type the name once. Bing guides you to popular movie apps such as Flixster, where you can read reviews and buy tickets.

Mango makes it easy to organize your social life. Once I’d installed my address book, it spotted everyone with the same last name and put them in a “family’’ group. At a touch, I can see all their Facebook postings, or fire off a single e-mail or text message to all of them. I can create similar groups for the folks at work, at church, or at the local saloon.