Don't have a developer device? Don't worry - get Mango on your device now!

Microsoft pushed Mango beta to developers less than 24 hours ago. Some of us must be very happy right now while other could do nothing but shooting beams of jealous. Read more after the break

By Chassit

Mango To Bring Video Chatting To WP

The idea of a secondary camera in Windows Phone is nothing new. With 'self-portrait camera' listed in the builds on WP 7.0, Microsoft's acquisition Skype and making a secondary camera a must in WP 7.5 hardware, makes it tough to ignore that Microsoft will create a worthy competitor to Apple's Face-time offering. The WP 7.1 SDK continues to list the 'self-portrait camera' conforming previous speculation.

Is a front-facing camera imminent in future handsets?

But what has really assured the secondary camera is a new icon in the Beta 2 Windows Mango dev tools. A developer was kind enough to forward a picture to Wp Central

Is this what we think it is?

What this means for end-users is still a mystery. But developers will get to access the camera API allowing them to create apps that can use either of the two cameras (a la Photobooth) Will they include Skype as a separate app or will they integrate it with Messenger and XBL. The latter provides a seamless connection between your PC, Xbox and Windows Phone. The possibilities are endless but mostly translate to success for Microsoft.

By Sameer

Window 8 Halo Effect On Windows Phone Sales?

On June 20th Microsoft unveiled the new Windows 8 user interface to the world during AllthingsD, D9 Conference. It also simultaneously released a four minute video entitled "Building Windows 8, Video #1" which featured Jensen Harris, Director of PM, Windows User Experience showcasing some of the "cool features" that Windows 8 has to offer. Shortly after the D9 conference Microsoft also started a technical demonstration in Taiwan at Computex 2011 for hardware partners featuring Microsoft's Corporate Vice President of Windows Planning, Hardware and PC Ecosystem, Mike Angiulo.

The big surprise from these presentations from the folks in Redmond was that this new UI wasn't just for slates and tablets, but was also designed to be the UI for netbooks, laptops, desktops and the Xbox 360. Couple that with the transformation in Windows Phone and Microsoft websites that is already in full swing and our collective eyes where opened to Microsoft's grand scheme of unifying it's catalog of offerings under the Metro look and feel. It was a much broader scope for their unification plans than most had anticipated and clearly demonstrated that Microsoft wants the "Metro Mojo" spread far and wide.

The excitement is palpable, forums and viewer comments are exploding all around the globe. Now we hear there is also rumor that a beta version will be released to developers during the BUILD conference in September with a public RC in January and a final RTM in April. Does this mean we could see Windows 8 on systems much sooner than expected? Will the public availability of a new Windows 8 release candidate download in January create a halo effect for all things that include live tiles?

Now that the dust has settled and the blogosphere has positively reacted, the big question on my mind is will this be another watershed Windows 95 game changer for PC sales and will Windows Phone ride those coat tails all the way to the bank? Steve Balmer has stated, "It's a huge gamble for Microsoft," but the ultimate test is can they execute on what appears to be a pretty sound strategy? I don't know for sure, but I'm betting the answer is yes, and I'm very excited about finding out! What do you think, should Microsoft start adding the zero's to the Windows Phone sales estimates now, or will the Windows 8 halo be short lived?

By Rex Dee

Mango beta for developers coming tomorrow? ( Update: It's being pushed out today! )

Well, we have been expecting mango beta to be pushed to developer handsets for quite some time now. After the False alert that resulted in :sadface: all over the web, Microsoft's Bill Cox's tweet might just bring us something fruitful tomorrow.

By Rahul Mathur

Angry birds is now available in Windows Phone marketplace

There you have it. Finally, the game that has ruled the portable gaming industry chart around the globe for over an year now is now available in Windows Phone marketplace with Xbox Live achievements.

By Rahul Mathur

Tango Before Apollo Update?

What do you do after a Mango? I usually sleep, but Microsoft has decided to Tango. Before Windows Phone 8, a major update similar to Mango (maybe, that's why the name) will be released, say DigiTime's sources. This is in with accordance to the rumors that Microsoft would be providing a major update to the OS every year. Furthermore, news has been leaked that Microsoft is already signing license agreements with OEMs, Compal being one of them. Compal is the company that is rumored to be developing Nokia's and Acer's first WP handsets.

Will they be made by Nokia or not?

Nokia is also expected to start manufacturing its own handsets in 2012 which conveniently coincide with the Apollo update.

In terms of functionality not much is known, but a lot is hoped for. Perhaps dance lessons with dual cores? But first, let us have our Mango Microsoft!

By Sameer

Here comes the Kik Messenger!

Remember what the makers of Kik Messenger promised? The app will be available in the Marketplace "by the end of this month". They promised, now they have delivered. You can now find Kik in the Marketplace, under "Social" category to be exact. It's sitting right next to the shiny new Gowalla client. You won't possibly miss it.

As to how it works, I'd say so far it's great. The app runs zapping fast, and makes great use of WP7's panorama UI. Panning and scrolling feel utterly smooth. What's more important is that notifications work perfectly in Kik. It's live tile responses well, and the toast notification works exactly like how it should be. Incoming message triggers your ringtone (or viberation), and even wakes up the phone.

To get some more intuitive ideas about it, here is a video tour through the app, credits to WPcentral.

By Chassit

Official Gowalla application now available in the Windows phone marketplace

We previously covered an unofficial yet exceptionally well made third party Gowalla application called MacroPod . Gowalla promised that an official application will be made available in the marketplace for quite some time now. Rise and shine, Gowalla's official application is now available in the marketplace for free.

Search for "Gowalla" in the marketplace to download the application for free.

I'd love to hear your thoughts on how location based services like Foursquare ( no official app on wp7 atm ) and Gowalla would survive after native Facebook Places check in Integration in mango? Drop in your thoughts.

By Rahul Mathur

After HTC, General Dynamics Itronix will pay Microsoft royalties for using Android

It wasn't a long time ago, when we reported about the HTC - Microsoft patent settlement news where HTC was required to pay $5 , as royalties, per Android device sold which is less than the licensing fees for Windows Phone, which is $15 according to Asymco.

By Rahul Mathur

First look at Stormy7 v2.0 for Windows phone

I have had the chance of playing with Stormy7 some time back and it was undoubtedly something unique and lot of fun but sadly limited by lack of crucial features, like lack of multi touch support. But developers at Eizsoft this time with version 2.0 update have added bunch of user requested features and some elements that will keep you entertained for reasonably long time.

Official application description :

The storm has struck again and this time it is much stronger; aside from the lightning, thunder and rain, it seems a vicious hail storm is coming! But don’t worry; because this time we’re even more prepared to wipe the steam -faster- with as many fingers as your phone can handle and if that’s not good enough you can even use a blow dryer to wipe it all!”
The most natural storm experience on your phone, Stormy 7 Free is the first app to allow you to wipe the steam on your window on a stormy day and express your inner artist!
Impress your friends and children by a realistic condensation upon blowing the microphone on a background or a photo of your choice which can be you loved one and enjoy wiping the steam (tilt your device to move the water drops, the rain and the hail!)
Don’t forget to explore the extra buttons when they appear and when you’re finished take a screenshot to remember the chilly storm!

Changelog of v2.0 :

• Multitouch support.
• New blow dryer icon for quick wiping.
• Added Hail storm.
• The rain and hail can now move with the accelerometer (landscape support).
• Added text to write on the steam.
• Added save button.
• Increased performance by 50% when wiping.

The new update will be pushed to users in a couple of days. The application is free (AD supported).

Zune Download Link

By Rahul Mathur

Windows Phone Sauce Developer Lab : Intro To Data Binding And Events

By Shantanu Pandey

WDS Study Says Windows Phone Less Prone To Hardware Problems Than Android

WDS' study of 600,000 support calls from June 2010 to May 2011 has come up with some interesting percentages about the various mobile platforms. For Android devices, 14% of the problems were faced to due to hardware error compared to 9% in Windows Phone devices.

The main cause of the Android problem is its uncontrolled OEMs, while Microsoft has a much tighter control over Windows Phone manufacturers which results in more polished devices.

These findings are great for the Redmond giant which, according to research will have a huge chunk of the market by 2015.

[Source]

By Akshay Bakshi

Deep diving into Mango ROM reveals more juicy features

Chances be praised! Somehow I stumbled upon a dumped Mango ROM today. Unfortunately it is in the raw dumped form, which means a million little folders and scattered files. Without any means to flash it onto a device, I cracked it open, and carefully read through its entire user interface string files. From those files I have discovered some quite interesting features. Yes there has been a swarm of media previews/reviews on the web recently, but rest assured, a fair share of these features are not included in them. Now let’s briefly go through those extra juicy bits.

AppChecker
- AppChecker is the module which tells you “This app is required to open this type of file”. There’s a line “To join the meeting, you need Microsoft Lync Mobile. Install it now from Marketplace?” Yes, Lync is definitely coming to WP7. Maybe in the form of an app instead of being integrated to the OS.

People Hub
- Facebook integration will go even deeper. The People Hub will also show how many Likes an update has got.
- Found traces of Facebook check-in.
- People Hub will inform you when you are mentioned by some friend.

Battery saving mode
- This has been mentioned before. Mango brings battery saving mode. The phone could go into power saving mode every time the battery life is lower than a certain percentage. In this mode the phone will stop automatically syncing emails, and will shut down all apps running in the background. The phone will come out of this mode on its own when it’s plugged.

Calendar
- Maybe not mentioned elsewhere before. After Mango, the phone calendar will be able to show lunar dates. This is sure good news for us Asians. Don’t know if it means anything to everyone else though.

Email
- Yes linked inbox. Yes threaded conversation.
- You will be able to flag emails in Mango.

Messaging
- Aside from everything we’ve been hearing about all the time, apparently users can also send “nudge” (as in Live Messenger) to friends, from phone.
- You can invite other IM friends to make a multi-party conversation.

Xbox Live
- Hold tight, this is the big thing. First, you will be able to share your Xbox Live profile to Facebook.
- In the UI file of GameRes.dll: “Play a game, and invite a friend to play it with you.” Yes, multiplayer is coming to WP7. But hold tight a bit, there’s more.
- Also in the UI file of GameRes.dll: “Listen to this message on your Xbox 360”, “Read this message on your Xbox 360”. This must be more advanced cross-platforming. If you get messages through Xbox Live and feel the small screen is way too uninteresting to read on, turn to your faithful TV.
- “Invite you to a voice chat”, “Invite you to an Xbox Live party!” If I fancy it right, these fragments mean that both voice chat and virtual online party are coming to WP7 also. Sweeeet!

Office
- I’m not going to repeat what we already know. But there’s this line in Office 365’s UI file: “Lync is coming to Marketplace soon, so keep an eye out for it.” Double confirmed on Lync, and it might arrive a little bit later than the Mango.

Connectivity
- Apparently users could manually set IP address, subnet mask, default gateway, DNS and proxy for LAN connections.
- Apparently Mango supports these kind of Bluetooth devices: audio device, camera, computer, display, headset, keyboard/mouse, PDA, phone, printer, scanner, accessory, laptop, handheld, car. Some of these category named do not make much sense or conflict with one another, but well, that’s what the UI file says…
- Still no VPN support.

Phone general
- “This ringtone will be deleted from your phone, but not from your computer if you have it saved there.” “No custom ringtone, get more”. From the look of it, custom ringtones are coming with Mango indeed, and it might be done through Zune (PC).
- Mango, at least in this very ROM, supports 22 languages in all, each with its own input method.
- Several full-keyboard layouts: QWERTY, QWERTZ, AZERTY.
- Input methods for all supported languages could be basically broken into 3 groups: full keyboard, 12 keys, and handwriting. With an extra BPMF for Taiwan region (Traditional Chinese).
- 12 keys inputs seem to have further customization options, like arranging keys by 1 through 3 rows.
- It looks like touch targets (aka virtual keys) for both QWERTY and 12-keys could be resized in system settings. Might be more fat-finger-friendly. The best virtual keyboard out there made even better.
- Users could choose to send customized dictionaries to Microsoft in order to help improving the input system.
That’s about the size of it. It’s a shame there’s no way to load the ROM on a real device yet. There must be even more changes, maybe overlooked by current reviewers, hidden in non-string related parts, like live tiles and buttons. But anyway, guess we are all glad to know more about the upcoming Mango, especially the gaming part.

By Chassit

Nokia's first Windows Phone device codenamed Sea Ray unveiled by Stephen Elop (Full Video)

Technet Hungary provided the blogosphere with something special today. Nokia's first Windows phone 7 device has been unveiled by Mr. Stephen Elop himself. Suprise Surprise. No spy cam leak or shady website selling unwanted parts. This is the real deal fellas. Images and video after the break.

By Rahul Mathur

WP7 Game Review: Galaxium

Today's game is Galaxium by Marios Karagiannis.
Overall Score: 4 / 5

By Sushovan De

WP7 Game Review: Seeds on the Wind

Today's game is Seeds on the Wind by jambeep.com
Overall score 2.5 / 5

By Sushovan De

Remote screen capture for Windows phone (Homebrew)

We previously covered On Device screen shot from XDA user Finnix. Now a developer from China has created a homebrew solution which enables real time remote screen capturing capability between PC and your Windows Phone.

Windows Phone Hacker has more information on this:

 The application is relatively simple: download the ZIP that contains both the phone and desktop applications. Then, deploy the phone application, and enable Jaxbot's dehydration hack. After that, connect your phone to your computer, run the desktop server, and enter your computer's IP address. Voila, your computer will now display whatever content is displayed on your phone, and you can use a screen recorder of your choice from this point on.

Click here to download the zip file.  

By Rahul Mathur

Microsoft Advertising Exchange Globally Available For Windows Phone 7

Some more great news for developers of Microsoft's platform. Since launch Microsoft Advertising Exchange for Mobile was restricted to US only, but from now on Windows Phone 7 developers anywhere can use the in-app advertising service to monetize their apps and beef up their revenues. Real Time Bidding is available in the Netherlands and UK, and will launch it in Germany, France and Canada in the coming months. You can read the PR release below :

CANNES, France, June 21, 2011

Exchange Now Open for Business in the UK and Netherlands

Windows Phone 7 In-App Inventory Available Globally

Microsoft today announced that the Microsoft Advertising Exchange, a real-time bidded (RTB) marketplace that allows advertisers the ability to bid on high-quality online inventory, is officially “open for business” in the UK and Netherlands with launches planned for Canada, France and Germany in the coming months. In addition, the company announced that all Windows Phone 7 in-app ad inventory is now available globally via the Microsoft Advertising Exchange for Mobile.

The Microsoft Advertising Exchange, which launched in the US in early April, gives advertisers and publishers the ability to buy and sell their digital inventory through an automated RTB auction on a cost-per-impression basis, via its partnership with AppNexus, a leading real-time ad platform. The RTB functionality helps advertisers scale creative executions with just a few clicks. Additionally, the Exchange helps publishers achieve higher yields on their own inventory while still maintaining a quality ad environment on their web pages.

“We’re very pleased to announce the expansion of the Microsoft Advertising Exchange into markets outside of the US and to also offer the Windows Phone 7 in-app inventory via an RTB platform,” said Dennis Buchheim, general manager, Scale Display for Microsoft. “We’ve seen very encouraging results so far in the U.S. Advertisers are seeing improved ROI on their campaigns, while publishers are achieving higher yields on their inventory – all in an open, premium marketplace. It is a true ‘win-win’ situation for both parties, and we’re committed to an aggressive expansion of the Exchange in other markets in the coming months.”

Since April 2011, the Microsoft Advertising Exchange has grown rapidly and achieved strong results for both advertisers and publishers. For example, on the advertiser side, Accordant Media recently realized an 8x increase in daily conversions as a result of tapping the Exchange for an e-commerce client’s campaign. From the publisher side, Windows Live – in pre-launch tests in the U.S. – saw inventory sold through the Exchange monetized at rates 192 percent higher than the rates achieved through traditional non-guaranteed channels.

Daphne Sacco, Director, Internet Marketing, eBay comments: “Microsoft’s quality inventory has proven to be very successful for eBay. We are looking forward to expanding our relationship and the use of the Microsoft Advertising Exchange in the UK market.”

The new Windows Phone 7 in-app ad availability will also provide several key benefits for advertisers, ad networks and ad agencies, including:

The ability to use real-time ad bidding to increase media buying efficiency and maximize ROI;

Larger banner size (480 x 80), support for both image or text ads along with click-to-web and click-to-call to drive greater impact and engagement;

Enhanced targeting such as age, gender, location, and app category, to improve mobile ad relevance; and

The ability to bid on image or text in-app inventory available in countries with a Windows Phone Marketplace.

Currently, Windows Live and MSN non-guaranteed PC inventory is available through the Microsoft Advertising Exchange. Microsoft plans to integrate additional third-party publishers into its global Exchange offerings as well as announce new markets in the near future.

[Source]

By Akshay Bakshi

Plants v/s Zombies now available in Windows phone marketplace

Time for Game number Five of the Six Games in Six Week program. Game number five is Plants v/s Zombies. The massively popular multi platform title from PopCap Games is now available as a XBL title in the windows phone marketplace for $4.99.

By Rahul Mathur

Windows Phone Sauce Developer Lab : Hello, World

I am sure many of you might have come across the term "Hello, World" many times. The term Hello World, as Wikipedia says " is used to illustrate the most basic syntax of a programming language ".

In this post, we explore the basic syntax of Windows Phone 7 and make our very first Windows Phone 7 App. Let's get started right away

1 : Open Microsoft Visual Studio 2010 or Microsoft Visual Studio 2010 Express for Windows Phone.

2 : Go to File > Project > Silverlight for Windows Phone. You can see all the installed templates for Windows Phone 7 here. Select Windows Phone Application template - Choose location and name the project and Click Ok.



3 : As soon as the project loads , you will see the Solution Explorer loaded with some files. Let us take a quick look at what these files do

Properties > AppManifest.xml : This manifest file is used to generate the application package

Properties > Assemblyinfo.cs : This file contains the data about name and version of the assembly

Properties > WMAppManifest.xml : Like the AppManifest file, WMAppManifest file includes metadata about Windows Phone application - specifically Silverlight for Windows Phone 7 application

References : This folder consists of libraries and services that are sometimes embedded in the application.

App.xaml > App.xaml.cs : The App.xaml file has code written in the XAML language. It is used to create UI elements . With the help of code-behind files ( App.xaml.cs ) the UI elements are connected to the code. This is the code that runs when the app is initialized.

ApplicationIcon.png : As the name suggests , this image represents the application in the phone application list

Background.png : This is a slightly bigger image than ApplicationIcon and shows up in the Start Screen

SplashScreenImage.jpg : When you launch the application , this image gives an impression that the app is being launched. It is a good practice to design this page according to the first page of your application so that it looks like your application has loaded successfully.

MainPage.xml > MainPage.xml.cs : It is a page which has a UI and the corresponding code stored in MainPage.xml.cs.


4 : We will now explore the App.xaml file . Open App.xaml by double clicking on it . You will see the XAML code. The is the root element . You can also see the < Application Resources > which can be used to set application level resources which in turn will be used throughout the application.

As mentioned earlier - App.xaml is the entry point of an application. This means when the application is launched - App.xaml is executed first.

Now right click on App.xaml and click on "View Code". The code behind file opens up and you can see the event handlers.

Exploring the IDE a bit more :

When you click on the MainPage.xaml , you will see the XAML Designer open up . You can see the code to the right of the designer and the Windows Phone 7 UI on the left . Using the buttons ( marked in red and black ) - you can switch between XAML Code and the Designer Mode




Jet , Set and Code !

1) Go the MainPage.xaml and look out for the following line of code



This is the code for the text blocks. Change the "My Application" and "page name" in the xaml code ( Note : This can also be changed by choosing the Text Blocks and changing the Text property from the Properties window )

Switch to Design mode and you will now see the updated text.

2) Let's now shift our focus to the toolbox ( usually on the left of the Visual Studio - If not present , Click on View > Toolbox )

Drag and Drop "TextBlock" Control onto the design surface. Now drag and drop a "Button" Control.

The Design surface will now look something like this



3) We are almost there ! After you have designed the UI - you need to write the code to perform some action.

Select the Button - Go to the Properties toolbar and click on Events and Click on the dropdown button besides "Click" .

You will see immediately the code behind file opens up and the cursor lands between the button click event. Type the following code

Note : Another easy way to do this would be to double click on the button which would create the Button Click event.



Here we have instructed the textblock to display "Hello World" when the button click happens.

( Note : We have used the default names for textblock and button , but it is advised to change them to something more sensible )

Go ahead and click on the Start Debugging ( or Press F5 ) . The Windows Phone 7 Emulator will load your app.




Congratulations ! You have just designed your first Windows Phone 7 app

By Karthik Ragubathy

Oct 26 : Launch Date for Nokia's First Windows Phone ?

Nokia's annual event, Nokia World Conference has been scheduled for October 26-27 in London. The agenda on Nokia World's site is rather vague and doesn't provide too many details except that there is a keynote everyday.

Nokia has said several times that they were on track to release their first Windows Phone this year and a couple of days back, there was news that six European countries would be the first to get Nokia's new devices. Nokia World is where Nokia unveils its new devices and a mobile running Microsoft's Windows Phone is the most anticipated product this year.

[Source]

Image credit : Concept-Phones.com

By Akshay Bakshi

Mango beta to be released to developers on June 22? (Update: False Alert!)

Today has been an exciting day so far, if you exclude the fact that I have been studying for my exam all day.

 Mango pre release or Mango beta was previewed by bunch of US blogger (covered here) thus massively disappointing non US bloggers, like me, but according to a Neowin scoop, we won't have to wait for long. Microsoft is planning to push the Mango beta on June 22nd or June 23rd, most probably June 22nd which is tomorrow. So if you are registered at MSDN which also means you are a developer, then time to gear up and leave your emulator - time to test on a real device. The update will be pushed out via the Microsoft Press Pass website. 

 The report claims that the the news is solid and not a rumor (more confirmation). Microsoft is set to make an announcement related to the following news sometime in next 24 hours. We'll keep you updated on official news or announcement.

Update: I am afraid guys, no update will be pushed out this week according to a tweet from Brandon Watson:

1 tweet today on this topic - @winrumors and neowin are not correct. Press reviews of consumer features are only thing happening this week.

Disappointing. 

By Rahul Mathur

US bloggers publish their thoughts on Mango preview build (Compilation)

US bloggers have been playing for a few days with the Mango build  7.661.WP7_5_Trial (mojobld).20110607-1957 running on their Samsung Focus. Most of the features discussed here have made it through to the near final preview build with exception of twitter integration. Since we don't live in US, we were unable to get our hands on the build, bummer. But we have posted a few links to sites below that got their hands on mango preview build. NDA was lifted a few hours back, so bloggers have finally published their thoughts on Mango preview build. Below is the compilation of their views/reviews. Read more after the break.

By Rahul Mathur

Nokia maintaining Apple like secrecy for their upcoming Windows Phone device

Nokia is planning to launch their 'make or break' device in Q4 this year. Without a doubt, this will be the most important release for Nokia. They cannot go wrong here. Chris Davis from Slashgear wrote a fantastic piece (Must read)  highlighting Nokia's challenges and how Nokia is gearing up for their biggest and most crucial launch ever. I am quoting an interesting part of the piece below:

By Rahul Mathur

Upcoming Windows phone handsets in 2011

Which mill never closes down, even in the worst of economies? The rumor mill. The juicy rumors that have caught our eye are those regarding new WP7(.5) hardware. From the new OEMs announced at Microsoft's latest event to the desperate Nokia, here's a list of all the rumored upcoming handsets on OEM road maps

Look who joined the new kid in the block.


Nokia:

Will they look like this??

Ever since Stephen Elop's memo to the employees at Nokia and his decision to choose WP over Android as their main OS (woohoo!), new hardware has been imminent. Images have been leaked and so have some tasty rumors regarding them. Here are the cold facts
1. Nokia will be launching their first WP devices in the UK around fall. Whether the US will get Nokia's or not is still shrouded in darkness
2. All their phones will run Windows Phone 7.5 (Mango) and might have a bit of a custom overlay on top of them along with their Ovi services, now renamed to ‘Nokia Services’
3. There is a high possibility of them releasing phones in quick succession to regain market share.

Gorgeous screens, great hardware and a great OS. Can Nokia make a comeback with these

Now to the rumors, expect Nokia to meet all the minimum requirements and put out a high end device. They also suggest the phones will belong to a 'W' series starting with the W7 and W8. They are also rumored to have an AMOLED screen with Nokia's Clear Black Display coating on it.
Whether they will have Nokia's EDoF camera technology or not is any one's guess, but for their flagships Nokia has usually gone with Carl Zeiss (which is better) for it's camera requirements.

HTC:

Can HTC’s camera troubles end with this phone?

The Taiwanese company had announced it's decision to launch WP7 devices last year and kept to it's promise with a set of quality phones. AT&amp;amp;amp;T's road-map conformed the HTC Brandon, a previously rumored Windows Phone device with a monstrous 16MP camera. Later evidence (the pictures above) suggest it was of the resolution 4000x3000p making it a 12MP camera. HTC isn't exactly known for it's camera quality but this might prove to be a turning point. Different sensors and lenses perhaps (high grade hopefully).
With HTC's track record expect to see a few more phones after Mango's official release.


Acer:

Will the dummy get smart?

It's one of the new OEMs who have decided to board the WP train. A few months ago, at Computex 2011, an Acer WP device was spotted -Acer W4 . It was a dummy though, but at least the specs were displayed beside it. It sports a 3.6" WVGA (480x800) LCD display. It doesn't seem to be a global phone as there are two different models according to the specifications given above. Other specifications were the Microsoft standard and nothing hair-raising.

Asus:
Is that a front-facing camera up there?

Although there has been no news regarding an Asus WP device, expect one because it was an Asus device that was used to demo the new OS at this year’s Windows Phone Event. Regarding the specifications nothing is known, but since it has been used in this years event it will probably follow the requirements to the last letter.


Sony Ericsson:

Will Sony Ericsson release another phone with a Microsoft made OS?

Prototypes of Sony Ericsson WP devices were leaked last year but Sony vehemently denied any truth in them (possibly because WP supports Xbox Live and promoting that might seem like weakness to the PlayStation makers). But if a device was ready it would be having a screen powered by Sony's Bravia technology. Software-wise don't, expect Microsoft to be lenient about the version running in the handsets

Regarding other OEMs nothing is known just. Rumors will increase as we inch closer to Mango's release date. Maybe a SUPER AMOLED PLUS display in Samsung's next or NOVA technology in LG's next.
When will the new ones come out?

Keep your eyes and ears peeled and keep visiting us for news folks.

By Sameer

Stunning lock screen wallpapers for Windows Phone

Windows phone OS is a bit restrictive when it comes to UI customization. Customization isn't always good, remember the Myspace profile disasters?
WP7 lets you add custom lock screen background, the default wallpapers provided are pretty good but more the merrier, right? I came across this website yesterday that offered some gorgeous lockscreen wallpapers for your Windows Phone. Here are a couple of wallpapers:

To download and see more lock screen wallpapers, visit levifreeman .

By Rahul Mathur

IM+ finally submitted to Windows phone marketplace, arriving shortly (Update: Now Available)

It's been ages since the official statement from IM+ developers where they announced that they are developing a Windows Phone application. If you have been following their Facebook page, you'd know how many desperate windows phone 7 users were out there looking for any news about the release date. The time has come for users to finally get a world class multi protocol IM application for Windows Phone. The announcement was made on their official Facebook fanpage.

By Rahul Mathur

Windows phone games compared with iOS titles, XBL titles clearly overpriced

Windows Phone metro today published a comparison table- comparing the price of the same game available on two platforms, Windows phone and iOS. Now if you see the table, snapshot below:

You'll probably not be surprised at all, especially if you are a Windows phone device owner. Since the beginning of the Windows Phone marketplace, Microsoft has been pushing out year old games for 2 times or even 4 times the price available an year ago on iOS which is ridiculous.
The difference between the iOS and Windows phone games is the XBL tag on the windows phone games. XBL gives you achievements which sure is rewarding but that's it. An year old game for 4 times the price and the compensation is XBL achievements? Not fair, in my opinion.

via WMPU 

By Rahul Mathur

Official Evernote app now available in marketplace, white screen issue annoying users (Update: Bugs fixed!)

Exciting day indeed. Two of the most awaited Windows phone applications have arrived (almost). Evernote for windows phone has now been published to the marketplace. In case you didn't know, evernote is a cross platform One Note like note taking application. The WP7 Evernote app lets you Creating new notes (either text or image), finding existing notes, location tagging and sharing while the paid/premium Evernote users have the option to download entire notebooks for offline access, allowing them to have their notes available to them both offline and online.

Now there seems to a few bugs in the application. Once you login into the application, you'll be stuck with a white screen. There are a massive number of users facing this issue. Also, the snapshot feature isn't working.

Update: Evernote is working on a fix. In the meantime, try this:

If you are experiencing the white screen please try performing the initial Log-In and sync while connected to Wi-Fi.

Update 2: Bugs fixed in the update. Woots. 

By Rahul Mathur

Are Marketplace Submission Requirements compromised?

Windows Phone Marketplace will soon reach 23k Apps along with recent cool apps like IM+, Evernote, Hydro Thunder Go as well as some Spam-Apps, Bulk-Apps, Crap-Apps etc. MSFT replied that they all passed the certification requirments and they have to publish it to the marketplace.

But I just found an App which didn't suffice the Marketplace Submission Requirments and is availabele in the Marketplace. Its about the Screenshots to be submitted with the App.

There is the chrome of Windows Phone Emulator visible in the screenshots, but according to the Marketplace Submission Requirements:

1. Locate the application screenshot files.
2. Verify that each screenshot shows a direct capture of the phone screen or emulator when the application was running.
3. Verify that each screenshot does not contain emulator chrome.
4. Verify that each screenshot is not graphically-enhanced.
5. Verify that each screenshot is 480 x 800 pixels, and is a non-transparent PNG file.

After altering some Brightness / Contrast you can clearly see the emulator chrome.

Either the developer were not aware about the requirements or they were careless about it, but we should surely blame the App testers who just accepted the submission which really didn't met the requirments.

This could be considered as a mistake but the same App Sms2All paid version and lite version are available in marketplace with same screenshots. Also, the paid version has 2 copies in the marketplace, which means the screenshots passed the test thrice!

So the only question arises "Are Marketplace Submission Requirements Compromised?". Is this also a reason behind sudden accelaration in Marketplace App count? I am a Windows Phone developer too, and really want to see the Windows Phone Eco-system to develop, compete and surpass other platforms. But I don't want it to happen with this hush & push that the quality of the Apps, Marketplace and Windows Phone Platform is compromised. Everyone is waiting for Mango and we want it to have spotless solid background! I really hope that this is not the case and the App screenshots are changed as soon as possible.

By Nirmit Kavaiya