Windows Phone is way behind Android and iOS when it comes to apps — only about 80,000 apps compared to 500,000-600,000 each at the other two — too far behind to possibly ever catch up in actual numbers any time soon. So it makes sense that Windows Phone players cherry pick to ensure the best and most popular apps out there are on their platform. Today Nokia did just that: it announced deals with a raft of companies, including Box, Groupon, EA, ESPN, Rovio and more to add their apps exclusively to Windows Phone for Nokia’s new range of Lumia devices.
Announced at the CTIA event, the deals are an instance of Nokia leveraging the Windows Phone platform to offer content exclusive to users of its devices: services like Nokia Maps get rolled out to the rest of the Windows Phone footprint. → Read More
Well, this morning seems like it’s going to be all about sequels. Not only do we have a shiny new Droid Incredible to wait for, AT&T has just pulled back the curtains on a new device in their Focus series of Windows Phones: the LTE-friendly Focus 2, which will launch on May 20 for a mere $49.99 with a two-year contract.
The Focus 2 may lack the star power and the marketing muscle behind devices like the Lumia 900, but it has managed to turn a few heads in recent weeks back when it was still known as the Samsung Mandel.
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The HTC Titan II has already gone through the Fly or Die ringer, but the real determining factor for these phones is the level of competition surrounding them. In the case of the Titan II, the HTC/Microsoft partnership is most threatened by more HTC and Windows-powered phones, namely the Lumia 900 and the HTC One X.
So what do these phones have that the Titan lacks? How does the Titan wipe up the floor with them?
Well, that’s why I’m here, and why we’ve made this lovely graphic for you.
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Microsoft is trying to clean up the Windows Phone Marketplace and as part of this effort, the company just clarified some of its guidelines for developers who want to sell their apps in Microsoft’s app store. Among other things, Microsoft has decided to move to “a more stringent interpretation and enforcement of our existing content policy” for apps that are “‘racy’ or sexual in nature.” This is a problem we pointed out early last month. As Matt Burns put it, Windows Phone has a nasty porn addiction. Microsoft clearly agrees and is thankfully trying to kick the habit.
Microsoft, just like most of its competitors, doesn’t allow apps that contain “sexually suggestive or provocative” images or content. Swimsuits are fine. The company says that it will now pay “more attention to the icons, titles, and content of these apps and expects them to be more subtle and modest in the imagery and terms used.” → Read More
Sure, Windows Phone is still but a baby alongside Android and iOS, but the platform shows promise. Woz likes it. And the fact that it’s backed by hardware partners like Samsung and Nokia says good things, as well.
But it would seem that LG, coming off of a few quarters in the red, has decided to back away from the platform.
LG reportedly told the Korea Herald that the company would be focusing on Android handsets going forward, since “the total unit of Windows Phone sold in the global market is not a meaningful figure.” → Read More
The Titan II is yet another success for the hardware team over at HTC. It feels excellent in the hand, even if it’s huge, has a nice balanced weight to it, and the little chin at the bottom gives it some extra pizazz when lined up against other designs on store shelves. It calls to me.
But there are a few issues, as is the case with most any phone. The first, and most important one, is the screen size vs. resolution. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: Microsoft, please push out Apollo so that your hardware partners aren’t stuck slapping a 480×800 WP build onto a massive display. → Read More
Nokia hasn’t had the best year. Of course, the launch of the Lumia line has been refreshing, as Nokia’s much-anticipated Windows Powered offerings are finally out in the world, trying to woo owners like neon-colored puppies in a pet shop window.
The only problem is that four of the major wireless operators in Europe have deemed Nokia’s WP phones “not good enough to compete with Apple’s iPhone or Samsung’s Galaxy phones,” according to Reuters. → Read More
Guys, this one’s such a no brainer that I shouldn’t even have to lay it all out. But I will.
The Nokia Lumia 900 is an excellent handset, comes packed with a fresh new operating system in the form of Windows Phone 7.5 Mango, and thanks to a nifty AT&T bill credit from Nokia, you can essentially get this $100 LTE-equipped phone for free until the 21st. Repeat: for free.
Like I said, this one’s a no brainer. → Read More
Windows Phone has a widely known downside: It lacks 3rd party apps. Sure, the major ones are there in Facebook, Twitter, Angry Birds and even Spotify, Rdio and Reddit browsers. But besides apps from big-name developers, the rest of the apps are ironically reminiscent of Windows 95-era shareware. And then there’s the smut.
The lack of high quality apps has seemingly made more room for dirty apps. The categories in Windows Phone’s Marketplace are filled with them. These dirty apps are the top hits in Entertainment, Music + Video, Lifestyle, and Health + Fitness. Microsoft should be embarrassed. This isn’t about sheltering youngsters from boobs — rather, Microsoft has failed to give developers freedom and a chance to succeed while at the same time keeping potentially offensive material from sitting so close to the surface. → Read More
Microsoft is pushing their Windows Phone platform like crazy these days — it recently debuted in China, and the flagship Nokia Windows Phone is due to hit U.S. shelves soon with a huge marketing blitz in tow — but the company still has a little app problem to deal with.
More than a few developers don’t see developing Windows Phone apps a priority, and the New York Times reported yesterday that Microsoft is doing what they have to in order to change those minds. Among other things on their list of tactics, Microsoft has offered to fund process of bringing big-name apps to Windows Phone “where it makes sense.” → Read More
Windows Phone 7 is an excellent new mobile operating system — there’s no doubt about that. But every rose has its thorn, and on Windows Phone it’s a lack of apps. Luckily, the Marketplace seems to be growing at a rapid pace, today topping 80,000 apps.
The platform has been slowly but steadily picking up steam, topping 50,000 apps in December, 60,000 in January, and 70,000 in March. → Read More
Now that 9pm has rolled around and the awkwardly timed embargo has lifted, I can finally talk to you guys about the phone I’ve been playing with for the past week: the Nokia Lumia 900.
I’m not going to get too detailed, as a full review and a head-to-head battle will go live in the coming days, but I wanted to hit you guys with initial impressions as early as possible. To put it plainly, I think this is a swell phone. → Read More
A big step today for both Nokia and Microsoft in their bid to be at the center of the huge smartphone growth currently underway in China and other emerging markets: Nokia today paired up with China Telecom to launch the Nokia 800C, the first CDMA Windows Phone to hit China, and the first of Nokia’s Lumia line of high-end devices tailored specifically for that market.
The two also said that it would be following this up with a lower-cost CDMA handset, the 610C, in Q2. This handset is especially crucial in testing whether Nokia will be able to retain its smartphone leadership in emerging markets as it continues its transition from Symbian to Windows Phone, and Android continues its low-cost march up the sales charts. → Read More
We’ve already seen Microsoft try to buy the love of carrier retail employees, but it would seem that Nokia is the one coughing up cash this time around. According to WPCentral, Nokia is paying up to $25 million to get AT&T retail staff to use a Nokia Lumia 900 as a “Company Use” device.
This would basically mean that when you walk into an AT&T store, where you’d normally see guys in blue shirts tapping away at an iPhone or Android device, you’ll instead see guys in blue shirts holding colorful Nokia Lumia 900s. They’ll have to effectively give up their current device to get the free Lumia 900, but those who choose not to abandon their existing platform can do so. They’ll just have to pay for that phone at a discount, rather than receive a free Lumia. → Read More
Windows Phone has been picking up steam lately, launching the platform in China just yesterday and making headway as one of Nokia’s primary partners.
But when it comes to buying Windows Phone, the big hesitation for just about everyone is apps. Both the Android Market and the App Store have surpassed half a million apps each, but today Microsoft has an exciting (albeit smaller) bit of good news to share.
The Windows Phone Marketplace has topped 70,000 apps. → Read More
恭喜！Microsoft has officially launched Windows Phone in China today and while they deserve a pat on the back for making it happen, they’ve got a great wall to overcome if Windows Phone is going to be a real contender in the Chinese smartphone market.
As mentioned before, the first new Windows Phone to hit China is the HTC Eternity (or Triumph, or Titan, as it was previously known). According to Microsoft’s Windows Phone blog, the Eternity is being sold as an unlocked device complete with a “slew of popular Chinese apps” as well as a new simplified Chinese interface. → Read More
Microsoft’s Windows Phone platform seems to be picking up some steam across the pond, or so a new report from Kantar Worldpanel claims. According to their study, Symbian now only accounts for 2.4% of the UK smartphone market while the Windows Phone platform has grown from 0.5% last year to around 2.5%, barely inching ahead of Nokia’s former smartphone OS of choice.
I know, a victory is a victory, but Windows Phone’s triumph has much more to do with how far Symbian has fallen in just a year. As of February 2011, Symbian could be found on 12.4% of smartphones in the UK, with its popularity tanking over the intervening months. → Read More
Microsoft has spent the past few months getting their ducks in a row for an official Windows Phone launch in China, and now it seems that the time has finally come. According to press invitations that have begun to make their way around the Chinese tech community, the latest version of Windows Phone (Refresh/Tango/whatever you want to call it) is set to debut in Beijing on March 21.
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We’d heard a while back that the long-awaited Windows Phone-powered Lumia 900 would show up on AT&T’s shelves on March 18.
However, around the time that this rumored launch date leaked, the Lumia 900 had yet to go through its testing in the technical acceptance process. Turns out, that may be the reason BGR is now reporting that the Lumia 900 launch has been delayed to April 22.
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There’s little question that Nokia is taking the low-end of the smartphone market very seriously these days. They just kicked off their race to the bottom with the colorful, budget-conscious Lumia 610 at this year’s Mobile World Congress, and while it’s far and away the least powerful of the Finnish company’s Windows Phone brood, it’s certainly priced to move at €189.
According to Nokia EVP Niklas Savander though, that price tag isn’t quite cheap enough. In a brief interview with Pocket-lint, Savander revealed that in order to better compete with Android, Nokia is very concerned with getting their hardware to even lower price points.
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