WP7 Mango to challenge iPhone and Android with Sept. 1 launch?

Windows Phone 7 is scheduled for a refresh on September 1, a strategic date that could help Microsoft’s struggling mobile phone platform better compete against Google and Apple’s solid offerings. Pocket Lint says that multiple sources have confirmed the date and that the update, codenamed Mango and also referred to as Windows Phone 7.5, will be available to current WP7 users and will ship with new handsets.

It is believed that September 1 was selected to coincide withIFA, the world’s largest trade show for consumer electronics and home appliances. IFA runs from September 2-7 in Berlin and an announcement from Microsoft the day before would mean that companies like Samsung, Acer and LG could show off new devices running Mango.

We’ve known that Mango was coming for a while now. Microsoft announced the software update on May 24 and just earlier this week, the OS hit RTM.

The update adds a number of much-awaited features, including an HTML5 version of Internet Explorer 9 for mobiles, deep Twitter integration, better multitasking support, an improved messaging system, new Bing features and so on.

This could very well be Microsoft’s last real opportunity to steal a piece of the pie from Google and Apple. Earlier this week comScore reported that Microsoft ranked fourth in smartphone market share, behind Google, Apple and RIM in that order.

AT&T Mobility CEO believes things will start to pick up with Mango and as the Windows Phone Marketplace gains more apps. Nokia CEO Stephen Elop meanwhile argues that Windows Phone scores better than Android and iPhone with consumers, but OEMs are doing their best work for Android. He believes that once Nokia starts doing its best work for Windows Phone, the platform will take off. Microsoft says it dreams of selling 100 million Windows phones per year.