Ghostly goings on
Microsoft is looking into why some handsets powered by its new Windows Phone 7 software are sharing ‘phantom data'.
Just yesterday Google admitted Android has a bug where text messages intended for one contact can be randomly sent to the wrong person and now Microsoft has confessed to the BBC that it too has smartphone issues.
Apparently a handful of internet forums have been awash with complaints (mainly from people in the US) that their WP7 phones are mysteriously using up their monthly data allowance.
The Beeb reported that some people moaned that their phones are sending between 30 and 50MB of data every day, while one WP7 owner wrote on Paul Thurrott's Supersite for Windows: "I went and looked at my AT&T account online and noticed that my phone was sending huge chunks of data seemingly in patterns."
Another person reportedly wrote on the forum that the WP7 handset's "idle data usage is around 2-5MB per hour".
Some experts have apparently suggested that phones might be sending ‘feedback' to Microsoft or that they automatically make use of a 3G or Wi-Fi connection when it is available.
Microsoft told Auntie: "We are investigating this issue to determine the root cause and will update with information and guidance as it becomes available."
The WP7 platform was only announced in October last year and Microsoft's CEO Steve Ballmer reportedly said at CES that a bundle of improvements will be available soon including the much sought after copy and paste function plus performance boosts.
