ios Archive

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A design blog takes a look at home screens, praises Metro

By
Sasu Kemppainen
– July 16, 2012Posted in: News

"The main purpose of smartphones should not be to launch apps."

What is the one thing that immediately makes Windows Phone stand out from its competition? Even people with little experience on smartphones will notice how Windows Phone’s interface looks and feels a whole lot different than the more conservative solutions employed by iOS and Android.

A design blog, Cooper Journal has posted an interesting look into the Metro user interface. The article praises Windows Phone for trying to push the envelope on what a smartphone interface can be. All the information immediately available on the start screen keeps things simple and user friendly, something other interfaces should also strive for.

Check out the article for a quick, in-depth look at Metro, it’s importance, competitors and history. It’s an interesting read for any smartphone or design enthusiast.

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Pocketnow does a visual comparison between iOS and Windows Phone apps

By
Sasu Kemppainen
– June 18, 2012Posted in: Apps, Media, News

Inspired by Steve Wozniak’s praise for Windows Phone’s visual style, Pocketnow has made an interesting visual comparison between some of the most popular iOS and Windows Phone apps. Same base apps on different platforms sure can look different!

ebay
imdb
opentable

time
facebook
newyorktimes


It all boils down to the OS’s visual design conventions. One could make the argument that iOS’s look is a bit more practical, keeping the battery info and clock always visible, but the consensus seems to be that apps on Windows Phone generally do look more beautiful. Check out the full gallery at Pocketnow and tell us what you think!

Source: Pocketnow

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Could Windows Phone be the 2nd largest mobile OS by 2016?

By
Nelson Ocampo
– June 13, 2012Posted in: News

The International Data Corporation’s (IDC) Worldwide Quarterly Mobile Phone Forecast gives analysis of the worldwide mobile phone market. In the most recent forecast, they made several observations about the mobile phone market in general, and how each of the leading operating systems are expected to fare over the next few years. Included in those observations was the estimated rapid growth of Windows Phone. Read the rest of this entry »

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100,000 apps reached!

By
Sasu Kemppainen
– June 7, 2012Posted in: Apps, News

We’ve been following Windows Phone Marketplace’s development with great interest, and now it’s finally reached 100,000 published apps! According to AAWP, 100,145 apps have been published over the last 20 months, as of June 3rd, 2012. Windows Phone actually reached the milestone faster than Android (24 months), but it took more time than with iOS (16 months).

100,000 is an important number. The amount of apps is often used when comparing different platforms, and comparisons now look much better when Windows Phone is actually in the same league with its competitors. After all, humans tend to subconsciously perceive 99,999 a significantly lower number than 100,000.

The amount of apps seems to be steadily rising at a pace of 10,000 a month. Reaching Android and iOS still doesn’t seem likely, when it comes to the quantity of the apps, but Windows Phone is a credible challenger. The quality of the apps appears to be pretty much on the same level when each store is compared and perhaps Windows Phone 8 can do something to further accelerate developer interest in the platform.

Source: AAWP

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8.8% of game developers are developing games for Windows Phone

By
Sasu Kemppainen
– May 25, 2012Posted in: News

According to the first mobile and social developer technology survey, put out by the Game Developer Magazine, 8.8% of game developers are making games for Windows Phone 7. While this sounds like a small number, Windows Phone is actually the developers’ third most preferred mobile platform, just behind iOS and Android.

It’s like a small barn next to hulking skyscrapers. While Windows Phone’s market share is only about 2% worldwide, it’s still a more popular platform for game developers than Blackberry or Symbian, both of which have a much larger install base than Windows Phone.

Source: Gamasutra (via WMPU)

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Microsoft working on a service that helps you migrate your apps from other platforms to Windows Phone

By
Sasu Kemppainen
– May 18, 2012Posted in: News

We’ve previously detailed Microsoft’s tips on migrating from Windows Phone to Windows Phone, but now it seems that changing from Android or iOS to Windows Phone is going to get a whole lot easier also! A patent application addressing the “app problem” from November 2010 has recently surfaced.

 

The service would take a look at the apps on your previous phone, then find and install the same apps on your new Windows Phone, if possible. If some of the apps aren’t cross-platform, it attempts to offer similar alternatives. If there are no alternatives, however, the app is still put on record and you get notified when such an app does come available.

All the app data will also be transferred, supposedly. This would be a difficult feat to accomplish in practice, since neither Android nor iOS give apps the possibility to access other apps’ data, without being jailbroken or rooted.

This service can also be used for marketing purposes, by showing people that many of their current apps are also usable on Windows Phone. This makes the decision to purchase one a lot easier.

Source: Unwired View (via WMPU)

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Apple ‘fixes’ Siri’s honesty

By
Paul Neafsey
– May 15, 2012Posted in: News

As we reported last Friday, Apple iPod’s Siri has been giving a surprising answer when asked: “What is the best phone ever?” Surprisingly honest, the results displayed the Cyan Nokia Lumia 900 and have stoked a firestorm of remarks from the media lately. These results have been due to the analytic tool Wolfram Alpha, which determines the answer based on customer reviews.

Not surprisingly, Apple has moved to ‘fix’ this fiasco by replacing the results with more palatable responses. Though users can still perform a manual search for the result with the previous results, Apple now has Siri answer the question “what is the best phone ever?” with responses such as “the one you’re holding” and “you’re kidding, right?”.

Sadly no longer giving a laugh, these results do bring up the question of how much honesty – and potential usefulness - Apple’s users can expect from Siri.

 

Source: The Verge (via WPCentral)

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Siri showing some remarkable honesty, recommends Lumia 900!

By
Sasu Kemppainen
– May 11, 2012Posted in: News

"She said, with the sound of cold resignation in her voice..."

First Steve Wozniak had some kind words to say about Lumia 900, but now even the iPhone seems to want to get one! The iOS intelligent personal assistant/knowledge navigator Siri now recommends the Cyan Nokia Lumia 900 when asked about the “best cell phone ever”. Hopefully, she’s not too bummed out about being stuck on Apple phones, poor thing.

Siri actually uses the analytical engine Wolfram Alpha to produce some of its answers. As of right now, it indeed comes up with Lumia 900 when posed with the question. It makes this determination by looking at the customer reviews, many of which have been pretty stellar.

It’s time to end the fanboy wars, people! Two out of three leading smartphones agree, Lumia 900 is the best one there is. No room for opinions here, it’s officially decided.

Now we wait for Android’s comment on the subject.

Source: WMPoweruser

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Windows Phone 7 ekes out slim market share

By
Steve Lesniewski
– May 8, 2012Posted in: News

Windows Phone 7 was the fourth top-selling smartphone operating system in the U.S.during the first quarter (Q1) of 2012. Rose-tinted glasses never worked so well.

According to NPD Group’s monthly Mobile Phone Track service, the Windows Phone 7 OS only eked out a 2 percent market share in Q1. The phone staggered in behind Google’s Android (61 percent), Apple’s iOS (29 percent) and Research In Motion’s Blackberry (5 percent).

According to Nielsen Company, Windows Phone 7 struggled to gain a foothold in the overall smartphone OS share, coming in behind even the now defunct Windows Mobile.

Another interesting pie chart on Windows Phone’s rise can be found after the jump.

Read the rest of this entry »

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