News Archive

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May the 4th be with you!

By
Sasu Kemppainen
– May 4, 2012Posted in: News

A feisty little Xbox 360

Bo shuda, pateessa! It’s May 4th again, also known as Star Wars Day! To celebrate, check out this Star Wars related Windows Phone stuff:

First off, there’s a new promotion available for Behind the Tiles attendees to win an Xbox 360 Limited Edition Kinect Star Wars Bundle. Don’t miss your chance, the game seems amazing! You actually get to play as Han Solo… dancing to a pop song… in one of the most memorable and emotional scenes in the whole saga… sigh. The R2-D2 styled 360 does look pretty amazing, at least.

Koona t’chuta? Why not also check out these awesome minimalist wallpapers at 1800 PocketPC? A beautiful Phantom Menace wallpaper is sure to wash away the bad taste left by dancing Solo. Bantha poodoo…

Now, go out there and enjoy Star Wars in any way you like! Maybe eat some ancient C-3PO’s cereal, while dressed up as a jedi, watching the movies on Laserdisc or something. Do or do not, there is no try. Goopta mo bossa!

 

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A Windows Phone/Tablet hybrid?

By
Paul Neafsey
– May 4, 2012Posted in: News

According to Jorma Ollila, Nokia’s outgoing chairman, Nokia has been looking into launching “hybrid” smart phone devices along with Tablets. For the future of Nokia, “Tablets are an important one, so that is being looked into, and there will be different hybrids, different form factors [handset designs] in the future.”

When discussing hybrid devices other attempts such as the Padphone and Galaxy Note come to mind. These devices allow users to combine their phones with a Tablet shell in order to combine the processing power for a more powerful device. With the strategic partnership between Nokia and Microsoft could these new hybrid devices be powered by Windows Phone 8, otherwise known as Apollo?

When asked to comment on the progress of their switch to Windows Phone so far Ollila said, “[I am] happy with what is happening. When you have such strong competitors in the marketplace it will take a bit of time but things are going well”. When asked why the switch to the Windows Phone Operating System was needed, “The company saw it and it was broadly accepted but the software capability and particularly the platform software know-how was not there.”

The introduction of new products – in combination with the Window Phone platform – could be just the catalyst Nokia needs to remain competitive in this market.

Source: WMPU

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Nokia’s new Chairman confident in Windows Phones

By
Paul Neafsey
– May 3, 2012Posted in: News

Nokia's new Chairman of the Board, Risto Siilasmaa

Nokia new Chairman of the Board, Risto Siilasmaa, has expressed confidence in Nokia’s current strategy with Windows Phones.

“I don’t think any new change is required as we are going through a transformation period already,” Siilasmaa, in Helsinki before the company’s annual investor meeting. He continued, “Nokia is going through a very difficult period for us as shareholders, as employees and as Finns, but I am certain we have the right team, the right strategy and increasingly the right products to emerge as a very successful company,” Siilasmaa said.

Nokia replaced their in-house Symbian OS with the Windows Phone OS, a decision made by Chief Executive Officer Stephen Elop. Rather than produce their own OS Nokia decided to focus on differentiating themselves through software, services hosted online, and hardware. Explaining the change Stephen Elop said, “We can’t do it all but we can pick the areas where we have unique intellectual property”.

While addopting the Windows Phone platform, Nokia been able to stand out within the ecosystem by offering exclusive applications and services. The partnership between Microsoft and Nokia has enabled them to have greater input in the Windows Phone 7.5 Tango development.

 

Source: BusinessWeek (via WMPU)

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Microsoft streamlines Windows Live into Microsoft account

By
Sasu Kemppainen
– May 3, 2012Posted in: News

Windows Live is about to morph into a new, simpler identity service: Microsoft account. Microsoft is using Windows 8 to try and whip up a truly connected experience, where one account is used to control all Microsoft products and cloud services. It’s similar to Windows Live, but designed to feel less tacked on. After all, Windows Live was first announced way back in 2005 and the operating systems or devices of that time weren’t really designed with cloud services in mind.

Basically, Microsoft account allows you to always be connected to the cloud, whether you are using Windows Phone, Messenger or Twitter, for example. Your contact lists, calendar, settings, credit card info, favorite color, uncle’s cat’s maiden name and other information will be automatically shared between different platforms. The chart below breaks down the software and services of Windows 8 related products:

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Microsoft working to improve the Marketplace, expands to 22 new countries!

By
Sasu Kemppainen
– May 3, 2012Posted in: News

Congratulations Bulgaria, Costa Rica, Croatia, Estonia, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Turkey, Ukraine, Venezuela, UAE, Bahrain, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kazakhstan, Israel, Thailand and Vietnam! You can now finally use the Marketplace to download apps and games! Shopping is simple, but you can also check out this quick tutorial if you’re not sure how it all works.

Microsoft also seems to be hard at work at its quest of improving the Marketplace as a whole. Various users have reported that the keyword system doesn’t work as intented at the moment and searches come up with unexpected results. This is most likely because of the scummy tactics some developers use to make their apps more noticeable. The good news is that Microsoft has now formally started the keyword review process to weed out excessive and unrelated keywords.

Remember to update your phones if you wish to continue using the Marketplace, by the way. As a part of the improvement effort, Windows Phone 7.5 is soon required to download and/or update apps and games.

Source: Windows Phone Blog

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Could save-the-date hint at WP8 in June?

By
Paul Neafsey
– May 3, 2012Posted in: News

A hint at more to come?

A recent save-the-date organizing was sent out organizing a Dev Summit for Windows Phone Developers in San Francisco June 20th to 21st. What’s more, this summit is being rumored to be the offical unveiling of the Windows Phone 8 OS – Apollo.

One school of thought behind this move would be to appease carriers and manufactures who have to been pushing for a summer release. Originally planned for a Fall release, this move would be meant to prepare users time to adjust to the changes before the Holiday season.

Even if this doesn’t pan-out, it’s fun to think of all the things the Devs and Microsoft must be planned. Though this still leaves the question if current generation Window Phones will be up-gradable to Windows Phone Apollo.

 

 

 

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Best Nokia 900 deal yet?

By
Paul Neafsey
– May 2, 2012Posted in: News

The Nokia 900 was delayed for a European release due to higher than expected US sales. Some might expect Europeans to be upset about this news. Instead, CarPhoneWarehouse is offering a deal that far exceeds anything AT&T offered to its US customers.

Those who pre-order the Nokia 900 will receive a Nokia/Monster Purity over the ear headset (a £199 value) and £50 worth of apps credit. Based on the current exchange rate that’s  over $240 offered on top of the already free phone with the standard two year contract.

Terms Include: This offer is available exclusively to Nokia Lumia phones bought at Carphone Warehouse between the 3rd May and 3rd July 2012. After 14 days from purchase visit nokiafreeapps.com to claim your free £50 apps voucher. Claim by 31st July 2012. To claim your free headphones text ‘lumiamonster’ to 64446 from your new handset. After 28 days visit www.lumiamonster.co.uk and enter your details. Headphones will then be posted within 30 days. Available while stocks last.

Source:  CarPhoneWarehouse (via wp7connect)

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Nokia gets a little bit nasty, sues HTC, RIM and Viewsonic

By
Sasu Kemppainen
– May 2, 2012Posted in: News

Nokia announced today that it’s going to take HTC, RIM and Viewsonic to court in the US and Germany due to patent infringements. The idea behind the suit is to end the unauthorized use of several, not widely licensed proprietary technologies. Nokia says that the suit involves a total of 45 different patents, including dual function antennas, dynamic menus, data encryption, conversational message display and many more fundamental technologies.

Check out the official press release after the jump.

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PureView Windows Phone Coming

By
Paul Neafsey
– May 2, 2012Posted in: News

What a WP PureView might look like?

Nokia announced an extension of their partnership with Carl Zeiss, responsible for the innovation of Nokia’s PureView optics. The PureView camera system is the linchpin of the upcoming Nokia 808 PureView phone – having already won numerous awards. By condensing seven pixels into one not only does the PureView technology allow for the equivalent of a 41MP camera, but crisper pictures and clearer focus on zooming than any Smartphone currently on the market. The video capabilities are also appropriately increased, with up to 6x losses zoom at 720p and 4x losses at full 1080p HD video. The technology has already been awarded Best Mobile Device at Mobile World Congress 2012, as well as an award for Best Imaging Innovation for 2012 from the Technical Image Press Association (TIPA).

Nokia’s Executive Vice President Jo Harlow recently confirmed the PureView technology will be coming to their Windows Phone devices in March. During an interview with Finnish newspaper Aamulehti responded to a question of when to expect a PureView Windows Phone Harlow responded (translated) “I can’t say precisely when, but it will not take very long.”

 

Would a possible 41MP Windows Phone drive your purchasing decision?

Source: Nokia (via WPCentral)

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Need testers? Need to be a tester?

By
Sasu Kemppainen
– May 2, 2012Posted in: News

Windows Phone website and store WPCentral has a forum that can be pretty useful for app developers and testers alike. Developers can post about their apps and upcoming testers can choose to test any apps they find interesting. A real win-win-situation.

Developers should definitely check this forum out. Apps can never be tested too thoroughly and free, enthusiastic workforce can be hard to find! This is also a very good chance for people to try out what it’s like to do some software testing. Maybe you can even land a “real” job with your new testing experience?

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