Items tagged with WP7
In the hardware world, even the best-selling devices eventually reach EOL (end-of-life) status. And, as fate would have it, it seems that the software world follows suit. But every now and again, a product is killed that leaves us scratching our heads. While Windows Phone 8 is clearly the premier mobile product for Microsoft, it sure doesn't feel as if Windows Phone 7 is that old. Plus, Microsoft owes what little success it has seen in the mobile realm to the early adopters who took a chance with WP7. Nevertheless, the company is axing support of its flagship VoIP app, Skype, on Windows Phone 7. Here's the quote from Microsoft: "As we look ahead to the future, we are focusing all our efforts...
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Windows Phone 8 may not be coming to Nokia's Lumia 900, but Windows Phone 7.8 will be. The company had to make the tough decision to cut-and-run in order to make WP8 the best that it could be, but the good news for early adopters is that WP7.8 brings a lot of the same visual elements to older devices. The new Start Screen is arguably the star of the WP8 show, and that's one of the things that will make the transition to WP7.8. There's the ability to resize the start screen, change the size of tiles, and make the things you care more about... more visible. These things generally tend to have a better impact with video, and that's exactly what's below. There's still no set release date for WP7.8,...
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This is pretty crazy. But it's so crazy, that it just might work. While Apple shirts from the opening of new Apple Stores are tough to come by (and in turn, nice to have for an eBay turnaround), Microsoft really hasn't gone down that same path. But why not now? Metro's user interface is just gorgeous, so why not showcase some of Windows' newness on a new line of clothing? Now you can. The Windows Team has started up a CafePress section where you can grab clothes, magnets, stickers and other nifty gifts with "I HEART WINDOWS PHONE" plastered across them... in graphical form, no less. It's actually a fairly awesome corporate splash, and one of the few we'd consider wearing. What about you? Have...
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To date, we haven't heard a lot about Android 5.0 in terms of features, but Ice Cream Sandwich (Android 4.0) has had a lot of time to mature. Particularly on the Galaxy Nexus, the pure version of ICS is one of the most fluid, visually appealing mobile OSes -- but is it still the best alternative for those who are shying away from the iPhone for one reason or another? We ask the question because of Windows Phone's recent successes, however mild they may be. Microsoft's Windows Phone 7.5 (Mango) feels like a completely overhauled version of the original WP7 build that shipped with phones like the HD7, Omnia 7 and Samsung Focus. Originally, it felt as if Windows Phone 7 was forced out just in time...
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2012 is shaping up to be a major year for mobile operating systems. For those fortunate enough to own a smartphone, these are exciting times. Competition is fierce, and the winner is you. Regardless of which platform you're keen on, you can bet that each of the major players are pushing the others to innovate and improve. In just a few weeks, Apple's Worldwide Developer Conference will kick off. While it remains to be seen if a new MacBook Pro or a new iPhone will launch, one thing is very likely: iOS 6 will be showcased for the first time. WWDC 2011 was where iOS 5 really got its wings, and Siri was brought into the fold last October. iOS 6 is apt to be the biggest iOS release yet, and...
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If there's one company beyond Nokia that seems dead-set on supporting Windows Phone as a platform, it's Samsung. Just after launching the Focus 2 for AT&T, now Samsung is introducing the Omnia M, a sleek looking slate-style phone that'll ship first in Europe before bringing more of Microsoft's mobile OS to more places. As for specifications, there's a 1GHz processor, 4" Super AMOLED display, Samsung’s ChatON communication service, Samsung AllShare, Music Hub, and access to SkyDrive. There's an HSDPA 7.2Mbps cellular radio, Wi-Fi 802.11b/g/n module, a 1500mAh battery and microUSB. It'll ship with Windows Phone 7.5 (Mango), 4GB of user memory and 384MB of RAM. No word on pricing yet,...
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T-Mobile's Chief Marketing Officer Cole Brodman has an interesting idea for revamping the mobile industry -- and it involves killing the subsidy plans that have driven smartphone adoption over the past five years. Brodman was participating in a round-table at the Geekwire tech summit; other speakers included Jon Irwin, the president of Rhapsody), Mike McSherry, CEO of Swype, and David Bluhm, CEO of Z2Live. Asked what one thing he'd change if he had the power to do so, Brodman pointed to subsidy programs. “It [device subsidies] actually distorts what devices actually cost and it causes OEMs, carriers — everybody to compete on different playing fields," the CMO said. "I think it is...
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Apple's Siri has clearly convinced a lot of people to upgrade, or buy into the iPhone universe altogether. Apple's had no issues selling the iPhone 4S, and while there are a few slightly similar solutions for Android, Windows Phone 7 has largely been left out. But a revised version of Ask Zippy may get WP7 into that conversation. It's clearly no Siri, but the program was developed by a single person and is being offered for absolutely nothing. And for free, it's hard to complain. The app enables users to accomplish similar text-to-action things, just like Siri. You can ask questions, send texts and do all sorts of voice-related tasks that are impossible without the app. WPCentral is reporting...
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Microsoft's Windows Phone platform has a long way to go before it truly challenges Android and iOS for mobile dominance, but after a bit of a rocky start, it might be starting to hit its stride. According to All About Windows Phone (AAWP), one of the go-to blogs for Windows Phone app statistics, the Windows Phone Marketplace now has more than 50,000 apps and games. As of Tuesday afternoon, the Windows Phone Marketplace was home to 50,126 apps and growing at a clip of 265 new items per day. Over 17,000 were added in the last three months, and more than 8,000 in the last 30 days. "The 50,000 mark, which has been reached sooner than we estimated, is a key milestone, but more important is the accelerating...
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Windows Phone 7 was supposed to reverse Microsoft's declining market share, prove that the company was capable of designing a product that could stand against the best Android and Apple had to offer, and re-establish the company as a major player in the smartphone space. Despite generally positive reviews, WP7 has failed to improve Redmond's mobile fortunes; the company's share of the mobile market fell significantly in Q2 2011. The latest comScore data indicates that the total US smartphone market grew eight percent in the second quarter for a total of 78.5M smartphone owners. Despite this, Microsoft's piece of the pie shrank by nearly 23 percent. The graph below shows the changes in standing...
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Microsoft's own second quarter was a good one; the company reported total sales of nearly $70 billion ($69.94B). Operating and net income stood at $27.16B and $23.15B, up 13 percent and 23 percent over the same period in 2010. Interestingly enough, the company's major growth areas were in the combined Entertainment / Mobile division where strong Kinect uptake and a successful Windows Phone 7 launch pushed revenue to $1.49B, up 30 percent over 2010. The company is often portrayed as an Office + Windows behemoth whose other projects lose money. While it's true that those two areas generate the vast majority of company revenue, the 'Other' column isn't a unilateral loss. The one area where Microsoft...
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During Microsoft's recent "Mango" launch event in New York City, a number of new faces were shown off. Microsoft's partner list for Windows Phone 7 is growing, and while Nokia is obviously "the new face" of the operating system, HTC is also a huge name that the company's trying to court. And now, it seems like it's a date. HTC has in the past supported Android in a major way, with the "Sense" overlay being an entity in and of itself. But the company's obviously willing to try their hand at something a bit different...something like WP7. HTC's CEO spoke this week regarding that possibility, and he stated that plans are in motion to bring a Mango-based phone to market from HTC. The outspoken Peter...
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More Angry Birds? Of course! Who could be tired of Rovio's runaway hit? There's no question that the company is definitely milking this hit for all that it's worth, but every instance of Angry Birds is so good that we're forgiving them for this one. In fact, we're celebrating it. Windows Phone 7 remains one of the only platforms that Angry Birds has yet to infiltrate, but all of that changes in late June. Over on the Windows Phone Blog, Microsoft has confirmed a number of upcoming titles, and Rovio themselves have tweeted a confirmation. June 29th marks the launch date for the WP7 version of Angry Birds, and it'll cost $2.99 for a game with 195 levels. That's just one of the many game titles...
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At its financial analyst meeting earlier this week, Intel unveiled a series of strategic changes to its roadmap and gave investors a peek at the company's general strategy for the next few years. We've already touched on the company's decision to ramp more powerful Atom processors and its new, 15W mainstream notebook TDP target, but the company is playing a deeper game. If Medfield lives up to expectations, it'll be the first Intel SoC truly capable of challenging ARM. Later this year, Intel will introduce Medfield, its 32nm Atom SoC. The current solution, Moorestown, did reduce Atom's platform-level power consumption, but not enough to make the chip attractive to smartphone designers. Medfield...
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At a glance, the Venue Pro looks just like the Venue. And specifications-wise, they're largely the same as well. The Venue Pro has the same 4.1" AMOLED display (800 x 480 resolution), 1GHz QSD8250 Snapdragon processor, 8GB of internal storage, 512MB of RAM, 1GB of ROM and no extra microSD card slot -- an unfortunate staple of numerous WP7 devices. However, the Venue Pro is 2mm thicker than the Venue, thanks to its slide-out QWERTY keyboard. There's a virtual keyboard for those who'd rather not use the physical buttons, but having a keyboard could be a major selling point for those who may be interested in trying WP7 but are coming from a BlackBerry world. Also of interest is the fact that the...
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Not too long ago, we took a look at Dell's Venue smartphone. A slate-styled phone with Android 2.2 along with the company's own Stage UI. But it's arguable that the Venue is the quiet brother compared to the boisterous Venue Pro. Those who closely follow the smartphone space will likely remember Dell's early ambitions, and while the Aero never posed much of a threat to any other Android phone, the Venue Pro -- once known as the Lightning -- always seemed like a formidable competitor. At a glance, the Venue Pro looks just like the Venue. And specifications-wise, they're largely the same as well. The Venue Pro has the same 4.1" AMOLED display (800 x 480 resolution), 1GHz QSD8250 Snapdragon...
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Of the six smart phones on the market that run Microsoft's latest phone OS, Windows Phone 7, HTC designed and manufactures three of them. It's latest, and most expensive, is Sprint's first-and currently only-WP7 option, the HTC Arrive and it arrived at Sprint just last month. Meanwhile, prices on WP7 phones from AT&T and T-Mobile have recently been drastically reduced. (You don't have to pay more than $100 for the other HTC phones or the Dell Venue Pro, and can pick up a Samsung Focus or LG Quantum for as little as $49). Yet, Sprint still wants $199 for the HTC Arrive and that's with a two-year contract. That said, the HTC Arrive offers a combination of Microsoft's latest and easily most...
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We never really assumed that this wasn't a done-deal, but now it's truly a done-deal. There's no turning back for Nokia, who has just revealed a "definitive agreement" with Microsoft to utilize their Windows Phone 7 operation system on smartphones. The deal is likely being announced to give consumers and analysts alike a bit of heads-up when it comes to progress. Many have wondered exactly how long it would take Nokia to effectively integrate WP7 into their wares, and it looks like the partnership is humming along ahead of schedule. There's reportedly been "significant progress" on incorporation, and now the two are diving headfirst into "a portfolio of new Nokia devices." The company's already...
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Ouch! Bad news from Nokia this week, with the company's smartphone share falling to 26% in the latest report. That's a shocking fall. Not too many years ago, Nokia's share overall was pushing 50%, and now, their overall share has slipped to beneath 30%. We had all ideas that things would be tough for Nokia in the short-term after their switch to Windows Phone 7, but this is just brutal. That said, Nokia's Q1 earnings showed better-than-expected profits, but again, when your marketshare slips below 30% for the first time in a decade, that doesn't bode well for the future... Or does it? Nokia has a new future ahead of them, so paying too much attention to this number may not be totally wise. During...
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Windows Phone 7 devices haven't hit the sales targets Microsoft hoped for when it launched the OS late last year. The users that have purchased WP7 smartphones, meanwhile, don't seem all that happy at the rate MS has rolled out new features thus far. Microsoft recently published a video interview with Joe Belfiore, the general manager of WP7, but has had to sharply change its tack after consumer response to the light-hearted fluff interview was vitriolic. WP7 owners are upset over the fact that the much-desired 'copy-and-paste' or NoDo update, which was supposedly released several weeks ago for service provider testing, is scarcely on the US radar. The blowback has been high enough to force Belfiore...
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T-Mobile received one of their first Windows Phone 7 phones with the HD7, and now a similar phone is coming to AT&T. AT&T has been a bit slow to adopt phones with WP7 and Android, but things are changing quickly now that Verizon Wireless has the iPhone as well. The company today announced that the HD7S smartphone would be coming to AT&T, bringing yet another major WP7 option to the carrier. It's a pretty big phone, offering a 4.3" LCD display, integration with Xbox Live/Zune, Dolby Mobile/SRS Wow audio, a 1GHz processor, 720p video camera, and a preloaded version of the U-verse Mobile app. It's slated to come to AT&T in the coming weeks, but no price has been announced yet. Also,...
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Fancy a Windows Phone 7 device? Unless you're jonesing for a new smartphone right this minute, you may want to hang tight for a few. Nokia's chief executive, Stephen Elop, made some comments recently that suggest WP7 devices are going to come down in price, and soon. In negotiating a deal with Microsoft to carry WP7 smartphones, Elop said a key topic was whether or not Nokia could reach "a very low price point," and those talks apparently went well. "We have become convinced that we can do that very quickly," Elop is quoted as saying by Reuters. Nokia, the world's largest mobile phone maker by volume, announced earlier this week that it was partnering with Microsoft to offer WP7 devices, effectively...
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