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 develops in the future — on Nokia’s home turf, at least.
Today the two announced that they are each putting in up to €9 million (around $12 million) into a new mobile apps development program at Finland’s Aalto University called AppCampus — aimed specifically at funding new apps for the Windows Phone platform, but also some of the legacy platforms that Nokia still uses, such as Symbian and Series 40. → 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 Microsoft’s Windows Phone 7 platform. An analyst today has taken that news one step further to suggest that the impact of this decision will be far greater than WP7 users missing out on this one game.
Richard Windsor, a mobile analyst with Nomura, calls Rovio’s decision a “worrying development” for Windows Phone because it suggests a lack of confidence in the future of the platform from a key influencer in the industry. That, he says, will have an inevitable knock-on effect, not just for Microsoft but for its biggest and most crucial platform licensee, Nokia. → 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. Trouble started in the States where the company continued to pump budget phones into a market that went upscale. They were an early entrant in the smartphone race, but didn’t curate a developer-friendly ecosystem as quickly as others. They were down, out, and looking dead in the water. Then Microsoft floated by and threw out a life preserver worth $250 million. Now, after just one quarter, Nokia is the top dog of the third most popular smartphone platform. That’s a great spot to be in. → 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 the fourth quarter. Nokia’s slice of the pie comprises .9 million units sold. → 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 Windows Phone always seems to lose in the spec department. That said, WinPho boss Joe Belfiore has plenty in store for us come Q4 2012 (the rumored release date of Apollo). → 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 opinion of an actual Windows Phone owner and user with no real skin in this game. Enter, well, me.
A couple of weeks ago, I decided to stop using my HTC Sensation (Android 2.3) and iPhone 3GS (iOS 5) in parallel and made the switch to Nokia’s Lumia 800 (Windows Phone 7.5). As you can tell, I’m not exactly married to any company or product – it’s just not in my nature. I switched to Windows Phone mainly to see if it can hold its ground when used intensively. → 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 allows you some degree of control over your 360 from your handset (as opposed to a standard controller), and it just went live. → 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 ecosystem,” as Verizon CEO Lowell McAdams would put it, Microsoft wants to step up its volume, and cutting production costs seems to be the means to that end. Lees said Redmond is looking to cut manufacturing costs in half, taking them from around $400 per handset (which was the cost when the software debuted last year) to less than $200 per handset. → 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 poster’s copy mentions that Nokia Drive for WP includes a 3D navigation display like its MeeGo cousin, and support for voice control.
Thrilling, no? → 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 to demonstrate its commitment to making the next version of the Windows Phone operating system people-centric. → 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 different in mind for their location team. The listing specifically seeks people to work on their forthcoming core location service, details of which are largely unknown. → 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 Microsoft can work with location data is itself no big secret, but what makes this case so egregious is that users are apparently given a choice, and are then summarily ignored. → 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 methodology and accompanying image after the jump). → 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 on Monday morning shows us that the idea hasn’t fallen by the wayside yet.
→ 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 Windows Phone 7 development, tweeted an offer to published WebOS developers this past Friday: Microsoft will give them whatever they need to be successful, from free phones to development tools and training. → Read More
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