Microsoft’s first major update for it’s new mobile operating system Windows Phone 7 – the "No Donuts" update – which is supposed to bring us copy-and-paste functionality, improved app performance, and better marketplace search, is confirmed to have been delayed on the official Windows Phone blog. Here’s what Eric Hautala from the Windows Phone Customer Experience Engineering team have to say:

Status of the “copy and paste” update

We have the next update waiting in the wings. It delivers copy and paste, better Marketplace search, and other key improvements.

But I believe it’s important that we learn all we can from the February update. So I’ve decided to take some extra time to ensure the update process meets our standards, your standards, and the standards of our partners. As a result, our plan is to start delivering the copy-and-paste update in the latter half of March.

Mary Jo Foley seems to believe that the new target date for the "NoDo" update will be March 21, which seems to be consistent within the timeframe of "latter half of March". Microsoft definitely isn’t having a good start with its updates for Windows Phone 7, with the first "February update" repeatedly having issues with Samsung devices. However, it’s also worth mentioning that Eric also emphasised in his blog post that this delay will not impact the progress of the upcoming "Mango" update, scheduled to be released during the second half of this year:

This short pause should in no way impact the timing of future updates, including the one announced recently at Mobile World Congress featuring multitasking, a Twitter feature, and a new HTML 5-friendly version of Internet Explorer Mobile.

We understand that the new features announced at Mobile World Congress earlier this year were only a part of what’s coming in the "Mango" update, and Microsoft is keeping a few surprises from us in case competitors copied them. We’re expecting Microsoft to be releasing more details during MIX 11, with Joe Belfiore keynoting the event on April 12. WinRumors.com is also reporting that Microsoft will be holding a special developers day on May 25 in London where it plans to share further details on the future of Windows Phone and “Mango”. We hope there’ll be more good news to hear. Stay tuned at LiveSide for more information!