Items tagged with Windows Phone 8.1
If you are still rocking a Windows Phone 8.1 device (or older), the end of line is today for end-user support. Microsoft’s support website deems today — July 11th — as the finally day for supporting Windows Phone 8.1. So, what does this mean for those that are still clinging to Windows Phone 8.1-based smartphones? Well, you will no longer receive product updates or the latest security patches for the mobile operating system. This comes just over three years after Windows Phone 8.1 was released to the public as a heavily-updated version of Windows Phone 8. According to June analysis by AdDuplex, nearly 74 percent of smartphones with a version of Microsoft’s smartphone operating system installed...
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How low can the price of a newly launched Lumia handset go? Each time we think we have the answer to that question, Microsoft announces yet another model that's billed as the "most affordable Lumia to date," which this time is a distinction that belongs to the new Lumia 430 Dual SIM. Priced at just $70, Microsoft is making it easier than ever to own your first Windows Phone. The Lumia 430 Dual SIM comes loaded with Windows Phone 8.1 and will see an upgrade to Windows 10 when it becomes available later this year. As such, it qualifies as the most affordably priced Lumia handset capable of installing Microsoft's forthcoming OS upgrade.It has a 4-inch WVGA (800x480; 235 ppi) display powered by a...
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The Windows Phone platform could benefit from a few more players to go along with the usual crop of Lumia devices, don't you think? Well, here comes Acer with its Liquid M220, the company's first Windows Phone 8.1 device, though temper your expectation -- this is very much an entry-level phone and not a game-changing handset. The Liquid M220 has a 4-inch display with an 800x480 resolution and pixel density of 233 pixels per inch, 1.2GHz dual-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 200 processor, 512MB of RAM, 4GB of internal storage, microSD card slot, 5-megapixel rear-facing camera, and 2-megapixel front-facing camera. According to Acer, the Liquid M220 will see an upgrade to Windows 10, though Microsoft has...
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It looks as though Microsoft might have a winner on its hands with the smartphone version of Windows 10. Microsoft officially announced the operating system yesterday, and is bringing a wealth of improvements compared to its predecessor, Windows Phone 8.1. Windows 10 brings a number of new features including a new dictation option, enhanced messaging capabilities, universal apps, a revamped Office suite, new Outlook mail client, and support for Microsoft’s wonderful new Spartan Internet browser. But while the new features are a definite plus for existing Windows Phone users, two of the biggest questions that remain revolve around the topics of availability and compatibility. To the first point,...
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When it comes to smartphone operating systems, Google’s Android dominates the field in worldwide market share. Apple iOS is a distance second, while Microsoft’s Windows Phone and BlackBerry’s Blackberry 10 OS are considered also-rans for the most part. Huawei’s Joe Kelly isn’t doing Microsoft any favors in an interview he recently gave to The Seattle Times. In it Kelly, who is Huawei’s head of international media affairs, claimed that his company didn’t make any money on the Windows Phone smartphones that it sold, which includes the Ascend W1. However, Kelly went on to make the bold claim that, "Nobody made any money in Windows Phone." While we’re not so certain that Kelly can speak for all manufacturers...
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Windows Phone owners needn't feel like the red-headed stepchildren of the mobile industry. It's true that Microsoft's share of the mobile market is a drop in the bucket compared to Apple (iOS) and Google (Android), but regardless of that, it's all about the apps and hardware, both of which have been steadily improving. That includes Skype, which has just been updated to include location sharing. "Today we’re pleased to release Skype 2.22 for Windows Phone 8.1 and Windows Phone 8, which brings location sharing to Skype for the first time! Location sharing lets you have an even better chat experience on the go. Seeing friends or family and want to tell them where to meet you? Simply use this...
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If you’re an AT&T customer who has been eyeballing the Nokia 830, you won’t have to wait much longer. AT&T confirmed that it will be carrying the “affordable flagship” phone, which is getting attention for having a stylish body and high-end features at what is expected to be a low price. Sadly, AT&T isn’t saying yet just what that price will be. It’s keeping mum about a release date, too, but given that Nokia expects the phone to be available this month, AT&T’s plans probably aren’t much different. Nokia Lumia 830 series Despite being an unusually thin and light Windows 8.1 smartphone, the Lumia 830 is loaded with hot hardware and...
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AT&T has some great news for Nokia Lumia 1520 handset owners. Effectively immediately, you can download and install the Windows Phone 8.1 software update for your phone and start enjoying Cortana, a personal virtual assistant. Unlike the virtual assistants on other platforms, Cortana is the only one that can set reminders by people, as well as by time or location. There are a lot of changes that go beyond Cortana in Windows Phone 8.1. Users have greater control over personalization -- Live Tiles with multiple sizes and color options let you pin apps, music, and people to your Start Screen so you can see the information you want right from the get-go. "The Windows Phone 8.1 update also takes...
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There's been a ton of focus on camera performance and features in the smartphone space, but what about videos? If you're an armchair director and video buff, you're going to love what the Video Tuner app brings to the Windows Phone 8.1 platform. Rather than have to extract videos from your Lumia device to edit them, Video Tuner lets you tweak your videos in real time on your smartphone. You won't find the same controls as full featured (and awfully expensive) video editing programs offer, but Video Tuner is free and offers some neat tools. For example, you can trim, crop, rotate, flip, mirror, and change the speed of your video as you're watching it. "Delve deeper and you'll find more advanced...
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Hot on the heels of Microsoft announcing its upcoming Windows Phone 8.1 update, Nokia unveiled a trio of handsets built around the platform. They include the Lumia 630, Lumia 653, and Lumia 930, the latter of which has the distinction of being Nokia's new flagship smartphone. As such, all eyes will be on the Lumia 930 to see if it can pull users away from iOS and Android. Starting at the top, the Lumia 930 sports a 5-inch OLED Full HD 1080p display (441 pixels per inch), Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 quad-core processor clocked at 2.2GHz, 2GB of RAM, 32GB on onboard storage + 7GB of free cloud storage, 802.11ac Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.0, 1.2MP front-facing camera, 20MP rear-facing camera, 4G LTE connectivity,...
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Big things are coming to Windows Phone users. Microsoft today announced a bunch of new features as part of its upcoming Windows Phone 8.1 update, not the least of which is a personal digital assistant of its own called Cortana. It's similar to Siri and Google Now in function, but named after the Halo character and powered by Bing. Microsoft says Cortana will get to know users over time by asking questions based on their behavior and checking in with users before assuming they're interested in something. There's little chance Cortana will form a romantic relationship like in the movie Her, though Microsoft does envision it developing a personal relationship of some sort, one in which Cortana will...
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