On the off-chance that you’re running out of things to read on that Windows Phone of yours, just hang tight — you’ll soon have plenty of mobile reading material to dive into. Digital magazine app Zinio will be making its Windows Phone 8 debut in the coming weeks, and it will do so as a Nokia Lumia exclusive. → Read More
Spotify and Rdio have already made their mark (for better or worse) on Windows Phone 8, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t room in the Windows Phone Store for another claimant to the streaming music throne. Nearly five months after it was publicly announced, Pandora has just officially pushed its native Windows Phone 8 app out into the wild. → Read More
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 only provides sporadic updates to how the Windows Phone Store is doing, but today, it used the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona to offer a few new numbers. According to Microsoft, there are now over 130,000 apps in the Windows Phone Store, and the average Windows Phone user has now downloaded 55 apps. App downloads, the company says, have increased by 75 percent since the Windows Phone… → Read More
The 3G Nokia Lumia 720 slots into Nokia’s Windows Phone 8 portfolio behind its two 4G flagships, the 920 and 820 — with the aim of pushing some of their fancier features down to a more affordable mid range price point. Rather than beefy tech specs, Nokia has focused on polishing two populist areas: the handset’s design and its camera. → Read More
The Lumia 520 is Nokia’s new entry level Windows Phone device — costing ~$180 before taxes and coming to the U.S. in Q2. So what do you get for not-too-many dollars? Besides the latest version of Windows Phone (WP8), Nokia has included its HERE mapping and navigation software, its Mix Radio free streaming music service and its digital lenses camera filters and Cinemagraph animated GIF creator. → Read More
I love the idea of the Surface: compelling hardware, striking form factor, and, in the case of the Pro, smart compromises to offer a good value. But the products fail to live up to their promise. They have first generation bugs. But maybe a low-priced Surface with a smaller screen could finally help bring the Surface promise to life. It just better run Windows Phone 8 and not Windows RT. → Read More
Spotify has just landed on the Windows Phone 8 platform, giving Microsoft’s mobile users access to one of the world’s largest music streaming platforms.
Before today, the app was only available on iOS, Android, Symbian, and to legacy Windows Phone users, but Spotify has spread the love around to the newest version of the Windows Phone software. → Read More
Don’t get me wrong, HTC’s Windows Phone 8X is great and all, but the rest of Verizon Wireless’ Windows Phone lineup (think the Nokia Lumia 822 and Samsung;s ATIV Odyssey) is a bit lacking in the oomph department.
If a new report from The Verge’s Tom Warren holds true though, that may not be the case for too much longer — according to sources within Verizon, the carrier is gearing up to… → Read More
Asus may soon be the next Windows Phone 8 handset OEM partner for Microsoft, according to a new report from the Wall Street Journal today. And the company isn’t just looking to stick the operating system in any old device; per the report, it’s looking specifically at creating a version of its docking, Android-based smartphone and tablet combo, called the Padfone, using Microsoft’s OS. → Read More
We still don’t know how many Windows Phone 8 smartphones Nokia has sold since it started selling WP8-powered Lumias in the U.S. and Europe, back in November, but it’s continuing to expand availability of the range — announcing that its flagship Lumia 920 and the slightly more mid-range Lumia 820 will go on sale in India, tomorrow in “select retail stores across major cities”. → Read More
Huawei isn’t just unboxing whopping Android phones at CES, oh no. The Chinese mobile maker is flirting with Microsoft by sticking its toe in the Windows Phone 8 waters. The Ascend W1 appears to be a distinctly mid-range smartphone that will be jazzed up with an affordable price-tag. It will be available in China and Russia initially — from January 2013 — with the US and other markets to follow. → Read More
Samsung’s ATIV Odyssey has been a real noodle-scratcher of a device ever since its existence was first hinted at during Microsoft’s Windows Phone 8 launch event. Well, consider that particular veil lifted — Samsung had a near-final version of the Odyssey to play with here at Digital Experience in Las Vegas, and I took the secretive little guy for a spin. → Read More
HTC is said to be dropping a planned big-screen Windows Phone 8 smartphone, which was intended to go toe-to-toe with some of the latest Android devices with large displays, including HTC’s own Droid DNA. The reason HTC scrapped the plan is reportedly a lack of high resolution screen support in Windows Phone 8, according to Bloomberg, since Microsoft’s mobile OS only offers up to 720p resolution… → Read More
In a recently released survey meant for Xbox Live users, Microsoft got a bit curious about people’s smartphone preferences. Fair enough — they’ve got some skin in the game, after all — but there was something slightly amiss about how the question was framed. What the designers of the survey didn’t seem to realize is that there’s no such thing as an HTC Titan III… or is there? → Read More
Microsoft will issue an update for Windows Phone 8 next month, to fix a random rebooting problem that can affect the OS, flagged up on user forums. “We’re continuing to investigate some reports of phones rebooting and have identified a cause with our partners. We are working to get an over-the-air update out in December,” it said. → Read More
Microsoft really seems to enjoy giving users of competing products a few challenges to convince them to switch to its own tools: not only does the company want you to Bing It On, but Microsoft now also wants you to Meet Your Match. This new initiative is the follow-up to the (not always uncontroversial) Smoked by Windows Phone campaign Microsoft started at CES earlier this year. → Read More
Some Windows Phone 8 users are reporting problems with random reboots and freezes. It is unclear exactly what is triggering the problems — and whether they are related or down to specific issues with different handsets, although since multiple handsets from different makers are involved a problem relating to the OS seems most likely. → Read More
Just about a year ago, SkyDrive launched a new set of APIs and, over the course of the last year, Microsoft’s cloud strorage service also rolled out SDKs for virtually every major platform. Today, Microsoft is launching a set of new SDKs for .NET and Windows Phone 8 developers. → Read More
Nokia is running ads in Europe for its Windows Phone 8 devices that are emblazoned with the legend ‘everyone loves a comeback’. But with Google’s Android OS now the undisputed champion of a market Nokia once dominated, the company has got its work cut out to turn things around. Can it battle back? Nokia’s VP of Western Europe, Conor Pierce, is talking tough. → Read More
Windows Phone 8 is hitting Verizon, AT&T and T-Mobile this year. But Sprint customers will have to wait until 2013. For unknown reasons, the carrier is not getting any versions of the Nokia or HTC WinPhone 8 handsets at launch.
Perhaps Sprint’s hesitance has something to do with the lackluster performance of Windows Phone 7. This is a wise move. → Read More
The existence of Samsung’s Verizon-bound Ativ Odyssey smartphone was one of the bigger surprises at Microsoft’s recent Windows Phone 8 launch event — it was the only handset highlighted that hadn’t already been revealed — but no one was willing to talk details at the time.
That’s unfortunately still the case now, but thanks to a newly-released photo from @EvLeaks, we at least know… → Read More
Well, there we have it: after vaguely pointing to a November launch window for its first batch of Windows Phone 8 handsets, AT&T has finally decided to get a bit more specific.
Nokia’s long-awaited Lumia 820 and 920 will both launch on November 9 (that’s this Friday, in case you were curious), with pre-orders for the handsets beginning tomorrow. → Read More
Three mobile operating systems dominate the market: iOS, Android, and now Windows Phone 7/8. Each has their interface strengths — iOS is clean where Android is customizable where WP8 is dynamic.
But what if you could have the best of all three?
Designer and Wrapp cofounder Max Rudberg has attempted to portray this hybrid OS, putting live tiles and widgets on the iOS home screen. → Read More
Following Monday’s reveal of Windows Phone 8, the most recent update to Microsoft’s mobile phone operating system, backend service provider Urban Airship is announcing that it has entered into an agreement with Microsoft to be the preferred provider for push messaging services on the new platform. → Read More
Windows Azure Mobile Services will now support Windows Phone 8. The news came in the keynote this morning at the Build conference where today’s focus is all about Azure, the Microsoft cloud infrastructure. → Read More
Microsoft is sounding very bullish about the Sisyphean challenge facing it in the smartphone space: to transform Windows Phone from an also-ran into a serious, top-three smartphone contender — pointing to lessons learned from the Xbox launch on how to be an underdog and still end up as market leader. It also reckons it has “a huge catalyst” for selling Windows Phones — in the form of Windows 8. → Read More
Microsoft is really pushing the personalised angle of Windows Phone 8 — so much so it’s co-opted sometimes over-enthusiastic CEO Steve Ballmer into showing off his own Windows Phone and voicing one of the new ads. The move deliberately (or otherwise) echoes that of another tech CEO called Steve narrating a commercial (albeit, Apple’s Jobs’ The Crazy Ones ad never actually aired). → Read More
The Samsung ATIV S is a whopper of a Windows Phone. Indeed it looks like Samsung has repurposed the Samsung GSIII’s generous form to accomodate Microsoft’s latest WP8 OS. The phone is very thin and light which certainly helps keep the heft down, and it felt polished rather than plasticky. But if you’re not a fan of reflective surfaces then its all-over glossy sheen might get tiresome/distracting. → Read More
Windows Phone 8 is coming to European carriers this weekend, coming to the rest of the world in November, with devices from Lumia, HTC and Samsung including the 920, 8X and Ativ S hitting online stores and retail shelves. The mobile OS has been anticipated for a while now, but this is the first we’ve heard of a specific street date, so now you know when you can actually get your hands on Windows… → Read More
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