News

Microsoft Releases Windows Phone 7 Connector 2.01 for Mac

• By Kurt Mackie
• November 28, 2011

Microsoft issued version 2.01 of Windows Phone 7 Connector last week, adding a few fixes and some new features.

The connector is aimed at helping users synchronize files between Apple Macs and Windows Phone 7 or Zune HD devices. It can synchronize multimedia files from an iTunes or iPhoto library to devices, and can automatically import photos and videos taken by a Windows Phone device.

Version 2.0 of the software was released in late October. The 2.01 version runs on Mac OS 10.6.6 (Snow Leopard) or higher operating system versions. A description is available here at the Mac App Store.

In terms of the fixes, Microsoft added some help references to the product. It also "resolved connectivity issues with certain devices," but Microsoft didn't specify which ones. A Microsoft Answers page lists complaints from people using Samsung Focus and HTC Trophy hardware. Finally, Microsoft added a fix to resolve an album art display problem that affected some devices.

Many of the new features in version 2.01 seem to be rehashes of the previous release. For instance, the Apple Aperture software support improvement and the ringtone transfer support for devices running Windows Phone 7.5 (code-named "Mango") were features found in version 2.0. Mango users get Windows Phone Marketplace support and the connector software now is available in "13 additional languages."

The connector support for Zune HD devices is a little on the late side since Microsoft announced it would end hardware production of those devices back in October. However, the Zune music archiving software lives on, and continues to be available for Windows Phone devices. Zune software is actually a prerequisite to have on Windows Phone devices before downloading the Mango update, which was released in late September.