Microsoft has published a support document on its website that indicates both Windows Phone 8 and Windows Phone 7.8 will stop being supported in the second half of 2014, in July for Windows Phone 8 and September for 7.8. The timelines reveal that Microsoft seems pretty committed to an 18-month support cycle for mobile software releases, but it is interesting to see this information made official… → Read More
Microsoft has released an SDK for Windows Phone 7.8 — aka the last ever update for Windows Phone 7 handsets, which have been orphaned by the company’s platform shift to Windows Phone 8 (built on a different kernel). The SDK release was announced yesterday by Microsoft on the Windows Phone developer blog. Expect the 7.8 update to roll out soon — still due, says Microsoft, in “early 2013″. → Read More
The long wait for Windows Phone 7.8 to hit Windows Phone 7 devices looks like it might be coming to an end a little earlier than expected for a select group of Nokia Lumia 800 owners in Europe. According to a Dutch Windows Phone blog, the 7.8 update has already started arriving on Lumia 800 devices in the Netherlands — despite Microsoft previously saying the 7.8 update won’t arrive until Q1 2013. → Read More
Windows Phone 8 has made its fair share of headlines lately but there hasn’t been has much official chatter about Windows Phone 7.8, the update intended to bridge the feature gap between older and newer Windows Phones. Well, consider that quiet streak broken — Microsoft confirmed today the the 7.8 update would begin rolling out in the first quarter of 2013, with devices running the revamped… → Read More
Microsoft has been strangely silent about Windows Phone 7.8 — the last ever update for WP7, the older version of the OS built on an entirely different kernel to WP8. But after five months of not saying anything about the update, it has hinted that news will be coming in the “near future”. → Read More
Windows Phone 7, Microsoft’s big return to the smartphone stage after Windows Mobile’s gradual decline and demise, turns two today, according to a tweet by Joel Belfiore, Microsoft’s head of Windows Phone product definition and design. So I thought it would be fitting to take a look back at Windows Phone 7′s life up until now, and what the mobile OS has or hasn’t done for Microsoft so far. → Read More
Microsoft revealed Windows Phone 7.8 last week. The system update got a bit of stage time details were still a bit lite. The Windows Phone team posted the video above and it should clear up some confusion around the new Start Screen. → Read More
A key differentiator in Windows Phone 8 will be an updated start screen, which is an evolution of the current version with customizable tiles for greater personalization.
The new start screen still uses the Metro design language and live tiles still live on but WP8 now offers smaller icons in addition to medium and “double wide” tiles. → Read More
We saw what a commotion it caused when Rovio’s Mighty Eagle intimated that his company would not be developing a version of its newest game, Angry Birds Space, for the Windows Phone platform (some quick statements from Rovio’s CEO put that to rest). Now it looks like Microsoft and its biggest partner, Nokia, are taking some steps to make sure that they have better control over how that story… → Read More
Update: The CEO of Rovio, Mikael Hed, has dismissed reports that the company is not developing its latest Angry Birds game for the Windows Phone platform. “We are working towards getting Angry Birds Space to WP7,” he told Reuters. Original post follows below.
Yesterday, the day that Rovio launched its newest game, Angry Birds Space, it also said it has no plans to develop the game for… → Read More
If my Mom asked me what smartphone to buy right this second, I’d tell her to wait — wait until the Nokia Lumia 900 is released. It’s that good. Windows Phone 7 is that good. It’s faster and more idiot-proof than Android and presents core functions like phone calling and messaging better than iOS. Windows Phone is, in my humble opinion, a fantastic product.
Nokia has had a rough decade. → Read More
The Microsoft-Nokia partnership is still in its infancy, but it would seem as though that little guy is about ready to start walking. Strategy Analytics today released Q4 numbers showing that Nokia holds 33 percent of the Windows Phone 7 market share, pushing the Finnish phone giant to the top spot globally.
Windows Phone 7 devices in general are up 36 percent with 2.7 million units shipped in… → Read More
Today, Rdio is releasing a brand new application for Android phones chock-full of fresh features, which is awesome. Mainly because it gives me an excuse to write up a rant I would have published at some point anyway. → Read More
A video detailing the new features of Windows Phone 8 Apollo — originally intended for Microsoft’s smartphone partners — has leaked into the hands of PocketNow editors.
Yay!
In my opinion, Windows Phone Mango is a solid platform that’s quicker and smoother than anything I’ve seen on Android. Still, when looking at devices from Microsoft, Apple, and Google side-by-side, the… → Read More
If you take a look at Techmeme right now, you’ll notice that the top conversation in the tech blogosphere is about Windows Phone, and more specifically why it has failed to catch on compared to Android smartphones in particular (according to Charlie Kindel, former GM of the product division). I’ve read people’s different views on this with great interest, but I feel like something’s missing: the… → Read More
Microsoft’s wonderfully shiny new Xbox 360 dashboard is now available to most, and, while it’s a bit of a letdown in some ways (more on that later, probably), it has plenty of very, very cool new features. Cloud storage for game saves! New Netflix! HBOGO (Eventually!)
One of the niftier features, however, is being saved solely for those rockin’ Windows Phone 7 phones. Called Xbox Companion, it… → Read More
Microsoft is looking to cut manufacturing costs on its Windows Phone 7 handsets, according to statements made by WinPho boss Andy Lees in Hong Kong today. The company has struggled through its push into mobile since the launch of the Windows Phone platform last year, which honestly made more of a ripple than a splash in the market.
Now that Mango is ready to emerge as a “third mobile… → Read More
Oops. A new promotional poster made an appearance in a store at T-Mobile’s German headquarters, where it confirmed the existence of a Nokia Windows Phone with a 3.7-inch display and Nokia’s Drive navigation service.
The poster was up only briefly, but a quick-thinking tipster snapped a few shots and fired them off to WinRumors. After running it through a quick and dirty Google translation, the… → Read More
There may be more than 20,000 apps in the Windows Phone Marketplace now, but it seems as though some “developers” are intent on fiddling with the cool-to-crap ratio. As low-quality, low-functionality apps flood the marketplace, Microsoft will be limiting developers to 10 app submissions per day starting tomorrow. → Read More
Mango has already begun to trickle out into the wild, and Microsoft is still trying to figure out exactly what their Windows Phone users want. Case in point: they’ve just unveiled their new Suggestion Box, where users can submit and vote for ideas that they would like to see implemented in Windows Phone 7. → Read More
All the way back in May, Microsoft revealed that they were hard at work developing a web version of the Windows Phone marketplace. Now that the new Mango update is nearly upon us, Microsoft has officially flipped the switch on their web marketplace for markets across the world. → Read More
Microsoft has filed for a trademark on “Put People First”, the tagline it has recently attached to the imminent Windows Phone 7.5 update (often referred to as ‘Mango’), which is expected to roll out this or next week.
The tagline has thus far appeared on Microsoft’s Windows Phone Facebook page and in promotional YouTube videos (see below). By filing for a trademark on the slogan, Microsoft aims… → Read More
File this one under “It’s about time” — Microsoft has announced today that they intended to roll out their Windows Phone 7.5 (a.k.a “Mango”) update to current devices within “the next week or two.”
Sure, it’s still not an exact date, but Microsoft has a good reason for this: they can’t really provide one. → Read More
Microsoft has set out a pretty lofty goal for whomever applies to their latest job listing — they want some deeply technical people who, among other things, will help “find the location of every Windows Phone device in the world.”
Useful location-based services like “Find My Phone” and Bing Maps have been baked into Windows Phone 7 since day one, but Microsoft seems to have something slightly… → Read More
While Apple has been catching much of the flak for collecting iPhone and iPad user location data without consent, it turns out that rival Microsoft may have been quietly up to the same. A recent class action lawsuit filed in Seattle district court alleges that Microsoft’s Windows Phone 7 operating system collects users’ location data, even after offering users the chance to opt out.
That… → Read More
Exclusive – Talk about a halo effect. Kik, a developer of cross-platform mobile communication apps, says something really strange happened when they launched their Windows Phone 7 application last June: user growth across the iOS and Android platform both accelerated significantly.
Turns out every registered user of the Windows Phone 7 Kik Messenger app is ‘worth’ 2.53 users (see explanation on… → Read More
Microsoft’s been touting Windows Phone 7′s Xbox Live functionality since day one, but it’s always felt just a little lacking. You can look at your cute little avatar and play games that bump up your gamerscore, but where’s the connectivity with the Xbox experience we saw in demos like this one?
It would appear the folks in Redmond aren’t quite there yet, but a demo at their GamesFest in Seattle… → Read More
In the aftermath of HP’s decision to axe all WebOS products, the question for many a developer is “what’s next?” While I’m sure a few WebOS diehards will continue to work on the platform (and hopefully create some great new apps for all of the bargain bin TouchPads out there), Microsoft has opened their arms to these disenfranchised developers.
Brandon Watson, Microsoft’s Senior Director of… → Read More
If recent reports hold true, Microsoft may be preparing to release their long-awaited Windows Phone Mango update sooner than expected. Based on information from “trusted sources,” Pocket-lint reports that Mango’s official rollout will begin on September 1, ahead of the generic “Fall” launch window Microsoft had previously announced. → Read More
Today’s tidbit of Tango news comes not from the far-flung Asian shores it is expected to storm, but rather the small, landlocked nation of Slovakia. As it turns out, the first Tango device has gone on sale, but probably not the one you were hoping for.
A photo has gone up on Pretaktovanie.sk’s Facebook page advertising a HTC HD7 for sale with three choices of software: 7.0.7392, 7.10.7720… → Read More
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