Microsoft's (NASDAQ: MSFT) botched first update to Windows Phone 7 early this week lit up the blogosphere with dire predictions for the mobile operating system. Two handsets from Samsung had problems installing the update, and for some users it resulted in corrupted firmware on the phone.

One of the appeals of Windows Phone 7 is that the software is supposed to be consistent when used on different phones. The small differences between phones powered by Windows Phone 7 appear to be more than the companies are prepared to handle, notes Peter Bright at Ars Technica.

"I'm fearful that it's actually a sign of things to come," he writes. "This screw-up makes it look like that consistency is only skin-deep-under the covers, there's ample scope for things to get screwed up. And this was just a minor update--what's it going to be like when we see major updates like the multitasking upgrade that'll come in the second half of this year?"

Compounding the difficulties this week, it appears that some carriers may have opted to block the updates, Bright writes. "[I]f carriers are willing to block a minor update with no user-visible changes, what hope is there for updates that actually extend the functionality (and hence lifetime) of handsets?" he asks.

The way in which the vendors dealt with the update problems left much to be desired. There appeared to be little coordination among them and that left some users more than frustrated, reports John Cox at Network World. For some, the "minor, routine software update now promises to be a weeks-long ordeal, compounded by business and support procedures that now look strikingly inflexible," he writes.

For more:
- see Peter Bright's post at Ars Technica
- see John Cox's post at NetworkWorld

Related Articles:
Can the Microsoft/Nokia partnership rival Apple?
At a blog post near you: WP7 smackdown
Windows Phone 7: To be or not to be in the enterprise?