MS acknowledges Windows 10 Mobile is "dead"

After all the time and effort (and money) Microsoft put into trying to make Windows Mobile a 3rd alternative in the mobile segment, it finally comes to terms that there's no point in doing so.

Gesture Beta for Lumia allows for "touch-less" call management

Some people may even forget their smartphones can still make phone calls; but for those who don't, Microsoft offers a very nice call management app for their Lumia devices that will make you wonder why such things aren't yet standard in all phones.

Twitter is causing excessive data usage in Windows Phones

If you have a Windows Phone with linked Twitter account, be sure to read this immediately. Twitter has been doing some changes (do they ever stop?) and it's causing excessive data usage in Windows Phones.


The social network integration in Windows Phone is one of its most valued features, but sometimes things can escape the control of Microsoft and the Windows Phone platform itself like in this case. Twitter is moving around their user's profile pictures, and that's been messing up Windows Phone which repeatedly tries to download it over and over again, easily eating up your mobile data plan and wasting gigabytes of WiFi data.

Microsoft has implemented an emergency patch that limits the downloads to a maximum of one per day, but even then, if you happen to have a long list of contacts on Twitter, it will still gobble up considerable data by the end of the month. Until Twitter sorts things out, you might want to remove your Twitter account from your Windows Phone to prevent this excessive data usage.

Be sure to keep an eye in your Data Sense app to see how how much data each app is using in your Windows Phone, and catch this sort of anomalies early on before they turn into a nasty surprise the next time you receive your phone bill.

Nokia Music for WP8 gets Live Tile Support

Just the other day I was talking about how some developers seem to forget (or not care) about each mobile platform strengths and differences, merely porting their apps from one to the other, not really taking advantage of each platform specific features. Well, Nokia Music wasn't bad on Windows Phone, but now it got a lot better.

The app finally puts your Windows Phone Live Tiles to good use, showing music info directly in front of you (album artwork, artist and song names, etc.) which is a great thing, considering just how much Live Tiles are responsible for making Windows Phone "different" from the other mobile platforms (iOS and Android).

Besides that, you also get:

• Rewind and fast forward your MP3s
• Download mixes without being interrupted by the screenlock
• As well as generic "Performance improvements"

All in all... if you have a Windows Phone, you'll want to update your Nokia Music app as soon as you get the chance.

New W8 Lumias arrive in November

So, we got to know the new Windows Phone 8 Lumia 920 and 820 by Nokia, which even brought some nice additions like the wireless charging (it isn't new, I know, but it's "nice" to have it as standard), but there was one annoying thing missing from the presentation - something most customers are now growing increasingly inpatient with - its price and launch dates. People want to know when they can get their hands on the new devices, and equally as important... how much it will cost them.

Yesterday's Amazon new Kindles presentation got that right, and let's hope this will become the norm rather than the exception for all future presentations for all brands and manufacturers.

But finally, we get to know when these new Lumias will arrive, being scheduled for November.

This means that you'll have to wait about 2 more months to finally get your hands on a Nokia Windows Phone 8. And considering all the existing Windows Phones out there can be considered obsolete (both thanks to its now "old" hardware, as well as not being able to be upgrade to Windows Phone 8) that means the drop in sales that has began with the Windows Phone 8 presentation is sure to last for at least that long.

Sure, MS has a lot of things to make it stand from the crowd, starting with a new universal operating system, that spans from smartphones, to "low-cost" tablets, to high-end tablets, to desktops and laptops, and even your living room thanks to its Xbox. But the key point here is: none of the new Windows 8 devices is available right now!

And although I sincerely think MS is on the right track with Windows 8 and all the devices, all these delays are summing up to be an ever growing obstacle no one can ignore. For instance, after yesterday's new Kindle Fire HD annoucement, offering a 8.9" 1920x1200 screen tablet for just $299... can anyone justify to pay twice as much (or more) for an equivalent device, just because it will run Windows? Some may, but I don't think the majority will... So... it'll be very interesting to see how Microsoft and its partners will price the first wave of Windows 8 devices.

Bing Translator App for Windows Phones

If you recall the amazing Word Lens, that was able to instantly transform an image containing text into a new image with translated text - as if you were looking at the world through some "magic" lens; then you won't be surprised by the new Bing Translator App for Windows Phone.

This doesn't mean that Microsoft hasn't done a nice job with this App. It too does the instant translation thing, overlapping "subtitles" over the original image - and that happens in realtime, no need to snap a photo of the texts to translate.

If you have a Windows Phone, the App is free, and it certainly will be of great help to anyone travelling abroad... as long as it has roaming Internet access.



[via thenextweb]

Windows Phone Faster than Competition

If you attended CES 2012 you might have come across an original challenge: you could win $100 just by pitching your phone against an Windows Phone, as long as your phone was faster.

There were several challenges, from sendind SMS to taking a photo and sharing it on Twitter... and surprisingly, after 34 attempts, Windows Phone had won 30, had 1 draw, and only lost on 3 attempts.
Not that I think Windows Phones are slow... but when pitted against iPhone 4S, Galaxy S2 and Galaxy Nexus... I wouldn't put my money on it.

But, more than the device itself, the key issue was the user: and that explains why all of the 3 winning devices (iPhone 4S, Droid Bionic and Galaxy Neux) were also present among the 30 losing ones.

In any case, it sure was a nice way to promote Windows Phones...

Try a Windows Phone in your iPhone or Android Smartphone

Curious about Windows Phone interface? Would you like to try it for as long as you want, without having to forfeit your precious iPhone or Android smartphone? Well... now you can.

Microsoft knows many of its potential customers will already have a smartphone, and the best way to reach them is to show them just how nice Windows Phones look and feel... even if using their current devices.

Just head up to http://aka.ms/wpdemo from your mobile browser to see what I mean. It's a Windows Phone emulator on the web, and it works great.

I keep thinking that Windows Phone's Metro interface is a very welcome addition to the current breed of smartphone interfaces (iOS and Android), that more often than not look and feel exactly the same - with each one often trying to imitate the other.

Let's just hope they can keep it focused and unique, while fixing what needs to be fixed and improving what still needs to be improved.