IS12T gives you a look at hidden Wifi SSID support coming to Mango, plus more exclusive features

Tezawaly from Nanapho.jp has been spending plenty of time with recently announced Fujitsu - Toshiba's water proof IS12T. His latest post revealed Hidden Wifi network support interface which will soon be coming to Mango Retail build. Hidden SSID support wasn't included in the latest refreshed beta build for unknown reason but Brandon Watson confirmed yesterday that the support will come with  Mango RTM. Apparently, the IS12T that Tezawaly has been playing around runs on build 7716 while the refreshed developer build is 7712, so the build being mention here is a step ahead of the build available to the developers but just short of RTM which is 7720.  Read more after the break.

By Rahul Mathur

AT&T Windows Phone Expert : "Get an Android"

We knew that Windows Phone was having retail problems, and some folks investigated the matter too. Microsoft quickly started collecting data on these retail experiences, but their response doesn't seem to have had a quick effect.
Matt Landis of WindowsPBX called up a couple of AT&T stores and inquired about Windows Phone models. His experience ranged from the ignorant reps to unavailability of stock to outright recommendations for other platforms by experts. His friend reported a similar experience on twitter as well. This just continues to demonstrate that retail is among the few sore spots which Microsoft must rectify ASAP.
You can read about Mr.Landis' chat with the retail sale representatives at the source link.

[Source]

By Akshay Bakshi

HTC Biggest Windows Phone Manufacturer according to Nielsen Report

The June Nielsen report is out on the official blog and we have the stats for your favorite operating system ready. HTC is the top manufacturer of Windows Phone with its devices covering 6% of the market. Samsung is second with 2% of market share.
The Windows mobile OS is also a part of the stats, so the total market share of Microsoft's mobile efforts stands at 9%. Numbers aside, its easy to see the influence of Windows Phone Metro UI even in Nielsen's graph. Slowly but surely, Microsoft is permeating the market.

[Source]

By Akshay Bakshi

Tokyo residents could have a try with Toshiba IS12T already?

Just saw Windows Phone Japan posting on Facebook :

Which means "From today on, real units of IS12T will be shown at KDDI Designing Studio. I'm coming near you!"

KDDI Designing Studio is located in Tokyo. So if you are lucky enough to be in Tokyo right now, you can (supposedly) just drop by and have a real feel of the waterproof beauty.

If you did try the device, please don't hesitate to share with us in the comment your thought on it.

Here is a map if you wonder how to get to the studio. Please know that I have zero knowledge about Tokyo streets, and won't take responsibility for any people getting lost. I'd say take your trusted GPS, and ask local dudes often.

Good luck.

By Chassit

New Mango beta available to developers today, Twitter integration on Mango previewed (Video)

Wow. First, the good news of mango hitting RTM, then the launch of first Mango device , Fujitsu-Toshiba IS12T, in Japan and now a new Mango beta build is made available by Microsoft available via Microsoft Connect. The biggest change in the refreshed beta is Twitter integration, which was disabled in previous beta. The refreshed beta build is 7712, which is not the RTM build. But it's close to the final build, so it's more or less the same as the RTM build w.r.t presentation and features.

By Rahul Mathur

WP7 Game Review: Sally’s Salon Luxury Edition

This week’s Xbox Live game is Sally’s Salon Luxury Edition by GameHouse Live.

Overall rating 3 / 5.

By Sushovan De

Gray Theme for Windows phone mango exclusive to Toshiba Fujitsu IS12T?

Fujitsu - Toshiba jointly launched world's first Windows Phone mango device early today. Read our detailed overview of the device here. Apart from the name, there is something unique about this device. Not on the hardware front as you'd expect. Observe the image embedded below, it's the IS12T running Mango. But the live tiles in this image have gray background. What does this mean?  Finally an inclusion of a new theme, this time it's gray and it looks amazing.

Will this be an exclusive theme color available to Toshiba Fujitsu's IS12T? Or is this a surprise addition to Mango RTM? Drop in your thoughts. 

By Rahul Mathur

All you need to know about Fujitsu - Toshiba 's first Windows Phone Mango device IS12T

Futijsu - Toshiba in a press conference in Tokyo early today announced their first Windows Phone powered smartphone running Mango (first officially unveiled Mango device) called IS12T exclusively available on Japanese carrier KDDI. A bit awkward by all standards and most probably  "IS12T" will probably be the final product name when it launches later in September this year. PR, specs and video walkthrough after the break. This doesn't come as a surprise, fyi. We reported about this joint launch exclusively with KDDI some time back. 

By Rahul Mathur

It's official. Windows Phone Mango hits Release To Manufacturing (RTM) status!

We earlier reported about news of Mango release hitting RTM status a few days ago but Microsoft denied it, stating that Mango hasn't hit RTM status yet. 5 days letter, surprise surprise. Mango has officially hit RTM ( Released To Manufacturing) status. This means that Windows Phone mango has reached a point of finalization of coding process or the end of development process, to put it straight, and now will be handed over to manufacturers and operators to optimize Mango according to their requirements. More from the official announcement:

I wanted to drop into the Windows Phone Blog briefly to update you on an important milestone. Earlier this morning, the Windows Phone development team officially signed off on the release to manufacturing (RTM) build of “Mango” – the latest version of the Windows Phone operating system. This marks the point in the development process where we hand code to our handset and mobile operator partners to optimize Mango for their specific phone and network configurations. Here on the Windows Phone team, we now turn to preparing for the update process. The Mango update for current Windows Phone handsets will be ready this fall, and of course will come pre-installed on new Windows Phones.

To be honest. We didn't expect mango to hit RTM so early. The target release date for mango update is still "fall launch". I am expecting the update to hit our mobile devices by September or early October. 

By Rahul Mathur

WP7 App Review: Now Playing

This is a review for NowPlaying by Nirmit Kavaiya.

[Disclaimer: Nirmit is one of the writers for WpSauce]

NowPlaying is an excellent app for tweeting the current song you are listening to. The next version that is coming soon can also publish to your Facebook wall.

By Sushovan De

My Tech Dilemma: Windows Phone or Android?

Our world is definitely evolving. The revolutionary PCs and the earth shattering Internet are now taken for granted and so is having a laptop and a robot that can cook a minute rice in thirty seconds. Okay, I was kidding about the robot (only Chuck Norris can do that). But PCs and laptops aren't the center of attention and innovation anymore. Since that eventful day in 2007, when the iPhone became official and broke all records, mobile phones have evolved at speeds that  make the Internet and PC revolutions look like snails. Outselling PCs last year smartphones now form the link between you and your entire social life, online and offline.

           

By Sameer

HTC Mozart gets a huge price drop at Flipkart, now available in India for just Rs 16,499

Wow. Here's a quick heads up everyone. I just literally woke up to an email from Flipkart reminding me that HTC Mozart is finally in stock. To my surprise, HTC 7 Mozart is now available for just Rs. 16,499. I bought Mozart around 4 months back for a price  > 24,000 Rupees so this price reduction makes me both happy and sad at the same time. I have to give it to HTC though, remember the promise of cheap Windows phone 7 device? Well, it's now already available in mid range category and in near future, we might see more mid range WP7 devices in the market. I, in my mind, have no doubt that at this price - HTC Mozart is the best phone your wallet can buy. Close your eyes and buy this beauty. It's also available with an Option to pay cash on delivery (I love Flipkart!). This is the cheapest price available both offline and online so better hurry up and  grab the device before they change their mind. We currently don't have confirmation if it's an official price directly from HTC or it's just flipkart. I expect it to be a price drop directly from HTC since an Indian digital store called Sosasta also sold Mozart at nearly the same price, but it's out of stock now. We'll keep you updated on prices of WP7 devices in India. For those of who follow the blog regularly, Dell Venue Pro went for a similar price reduction some time back.

By Rahul Mathur

Brain App now available in Windows Phone marketplace

A recent study showed that we spend awful lot of time on casual gaming on our mobile. Why not? It's fun, right? Sure. But when was the last time you actually did a brain training exercise? Don't remember? No worries. Brain App comes to your rescue. Gameplay video and  download link after the break.

By Rahul Mathur

Save a Day in Traffic using INRIX Traffic for Windows Phone

Traffic : the greatest curse of civilization. Nobody likes getting stuck for hours in traffic, do they ? Well, GPS has made our lives a bit easier, augmented by 'apps' of course.
INRIX, among the leading providers of traffic and driving services has made its app available on the marketplace for free, without ads. Based on their data, INRIX users spend a year less in traffic every year. INRIX is free because INRIX users return the favor by passively returning traffic data through the app. Interestingly enough, the analysis techniques used by INRIX were originally developed by Microsoft Research. The app is available in nine countries : U.S., Canada, U.K., Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Netherlands, and Belgium.

See the press release below :

INRIX®, a leading international provider of traffic information and connected driving services, is now available on all four major mobile phone platforms with today’s debut on Windows Phone 7 and BlackBerry. INRIX Traffic is a free app that helps drivers save time, fuel and money with real-time traffic information for the places they go every day.
INRIX Traffic covers more roads than any other traffic app providing real-time traffic information that extends beyond major highways and interstates covering more than 1.1 million miles in North America and Europe – 2X as much coverage as any other traffic app.
“As the recent hysteria around Carmaggedon in Los Angeles showed, drivers can never really know exactly what to expect when they hit the road,” said Kevin Forman, Vice President of Mobile Applications, INRIX. “By introducing our popular iPhone and Android app today on BlackBerry and Windows Phone, we’re providing drivers with a powerful tool that helps them know before they go saving them time, fuel and frustration along the way.”
In comparing driving patterns of INRIX Traffic owners to the average driver, daily use of INRIX Traffic helps them:
• Spend one less day a year idle in traffic;
• Save gas and money burning one less tank of fuel per year;
• Reduce vehicle emissions by 350 lbs of carbon -- equal to the amt. of emissions produced by the average passenger car traveling from L.A. to San Francisco
Forman added, “INRIX Traffic gives you the equivalent of one free tank of gas and a day of your life back every year. It’s amazing how simple changes like using our app everyday can have a big impact on your time, your wallet and the environment.”
As one of the Top 10 most used apps in the navigation category according to comScore, INRIX Traffic uniquely helps drivers reduce the time they spend in traffic through a better understanding of current AND future traffic conditions.

INRIX Traffic Debut on BB and WP7
INRIX Traffic App highlights:
• Covers More Roads than Any Traffic App. INRIX Traffic information is updated every minute covering more than 1.1 million miles of highways and city streets in cities across North America and Europe – twice the amount of roads compared to any other traffic app. The app is available in 9 countries including the U.S., Canada, U.K., Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Netherlands and Belgium.
• Traffic Information Drivers Can Rely On. In the world’s largest ongoing independent test of traffic information spanning 7,000 highway miles in 16 states, the University of Maryland has found INRIX traffic information accurate within 2 mph of ground truth across all types of traffic conditions - 24x7x365. Unlike other apps that rely solely on road sensor data or crowd-sourced information from drivers that’s often old and inaccurate, INRIX analyzes data from more than 400 public and private sources ranging from traditional road sensors to our own crowd-sourced traffic network of more than 10 million vehicles to deliver the most accurate traffic reports available. It’s the only app that factors the impacts of schools schedules, collegiate and professional sporting events, and convention schedules to ensure the information you rely on is tuned to the unique events that impact traffic in your city.
• Traffic Forecasts for Better Trip Planning. Predictive traffic information helps you better plan your trips knowing how long your trip will take so you can reliably determine the best time to leave to ensure you arrive on time.
• Real-Time Updates on Traffic-Impacting Events. INRIX Traffic provides real-time reports of accidents, construction, and other traffic-impacting events from the same sources relied on by state departments of transportation.
• Free. INRIX Traffic is a free, ad-free app. In return for the benefit of our real-time traffic information, INRIX Traffic owners become a part of our crowd-sourced network passively contributing real-time traffic information that helps us provide the community with the best traffic information available.

[Source]

By Akshay Bakshi

App Hub no longer requires GeoTrust verification for students and individuals

This news was first reported by Tom Warren on 19 July, but there was a lot of misgivings about accuracy of that article at that time due to lack of a source. Well, Tom seems to have been vindicated now, as WMPU reports that the App Hub Registration Walkthrough has been updated, stating that individuals and students (wait… aren’t students individuals also?) will no longer be required to go through a GeoTrust verification process. As a student in the US whose GeoTrust verification was processed within the hour, I don’t think this will make much of a difference to me… but this is definitely good news for people elsewhere where GeoTrust was causing unnecessary delays. It should also let students unlock their phones immediately after registration (which was earlier delayed till someone submitted their first app.)

By Sushovan De

Windows Phone Mango Not Getting In-App Purchases

Remember the hints that we spotted, Microsoft hosting a session at Gamefest about In-App purchasing ? Also, the Microsoft developed 'Birds and Beaks' has DLC/IAP in its upcoming update, so the indications for the feature coming in Mango were strong, but as you can see in the image above, Todd Brix explains that In-App purchases were considered but unable to be included in the upcoming update.
In no way does this rule out IAP for Windows Phone, its just a matter of when after Mango will it arrive.

[Source]

By Akshay Bakshi

Mango Ready For Manufactures, Undergoing Carrier Testing (Update : MS denies it)

Hear Hear, readers from far and wide, share the joy with your fellow Windows Phone users; Mango is ready. Manufacturers and carriers are being handed the release candidate of Mango as you read this. This early release plays wonderfully well with sightings of the Nokia Sea Ray, the Samsung Galaxy i-937 (Galaxy S II reincarnate) and, last but not least, Fujitsu’s debutante.


The Mango of my eye


The latest video of the Nokia Sea Ray, showed the build number as 7710. The latest developer build was 7661.  This brought about great speculation regarding the release date of Mango and when the 2nd generation devices would hit the market. If you want any more proof, Japan is expected to lead the Mango revolution with Fujitsu and ZTE handsets releasing their handsets in August.

This fall appears to be Mango season for everyone. Developers get ready to recompile your apps to make use of those 500 new APIs. Windows Phone owners get ready to taste a fruit so sweet, and non-Windows Phone users, ready to jump ship?

[Source]

Update: Bill Cox, Sr. Director of Communications at Microsoft for the Windows Phone Division, 

tweeted a while back denying reports suggesting that Mango has RTM'd.

By Sameer

Nokia's Q2 2011 results are out and they are just as expected : Disappointing

Nokia, the world leader in mobile phone supplier, is burning. There is no denying. And the Q2 results are pointing towards a future where recovery is hard but certainly not impossible. Read the complete Q2 report here.

By Rahul Mathur

WP7 Sliding Keyboard v1.7 - Coming Soon (Update: v1.8 submitted & previewed!)

I am sure many of you might have heard of Swype - Text input for screens. Since Microsoft does not let developers tinker with it's keyboard API - Swype is not available ( not yet ) for Windows Phone. However we stumbled upon this video by Youtube user 'hermitd31' who showcases the WP7 Sliding Keyboard.



The app has been made possible due to the team at Invoke IT. The app goes a bit further by offering Bing search, text messaging and email options. However the video you see is the update for Sliding Keyboard. The app has been submitted for testing and will be available in the Marketplace soon.

You can download Sliding Keyboard for 1.29$ here

Update: We have a quick update for you. Developer Hermit Dave is hard at work and has submitted v1.8 to the marketplace. Here's the changelog from the developer himself

• changes to underlying dictionaries used.
•  It also now supports localisation of keyboards and provides ability to translate text

Here's a quick video preview 

By Karthik Ragubathy

Windows Phone Shows 31 percent Ad Growth reports Millennial Media

Millennial Media has just released its monthly Mobile Mix report and Windows Phone has got some healthy stats to report. Though not as awesome as last month, Windows Phone has reported a 31% growth in ad impressions over the previous month. Surprisingly, the runner-up was RIM with a 29% increase in impressions. Also jumped is the impression market share from last month's 1% to 2%. Explosive, innit ? Check the source for details on other platforms.
[Source]

By Akshay Bakshi

Video: Windows Phone vs. Android

Windows Phone, a new entry into the market. Mango (beta version 2 is used in this video), it's first major update. Android, trying to be the 'iPhone killer' for 3 years or more. Gingerbread, it's 5 major update (excluding the first version). Android 2.3.2 to be precise, with Sony Ericcson's custom skin on it.  A face-off, who'll win find out after the video.

It’s a silent video, play your own music if you feel like.

As you can see, despite the Xperia Neo having a newer processor and a much more matured (read: iterated) Operating system, not to mention  market ready software (it's launched) it consistently got beaten by the HTC Trophy, running mango, beta version 2 to be specific.


The benchmark results were fairly even, with the HTC trophy equaling the android handset. Please note that the Xperia Neo is powered by a second generation Qualcomm 8255 SD processor, whereas the HTC Trophy is powered by a first generation processor. The IE9 browser consistently out-performed the Android browser in every-field. The HTML5 tests gave better results in IE9 and also pinch-zooming and scrolling were much smoother. The hardware acceleration and so is the desktop version’s code in the new IE is more prominent . Whether flash might have tipped the scales to the Windows Phone side can be argued.


If yesteryear's handset can beat a more advanced android handset, imagine what a second generation handset might be capable of doing to those ‘super-phones’.




[Source]

By Sameer

New Xbox Live Game: Tentacles

The much anticipated Xbox live game Tentacles has been released in zune marketplace.

By Sushovan De

IM+ free AD supported multi protocol IM client now available in Windows Phone marketplace

Praise the lord! Shape services, creator of IM+ client, has just released an AD supported IM client with every feature available on paid app (correct me if I am wrong) for free. We previously reported about IM+ some time back which was hit with severe criticism due to initial pricing. IM+ is the only multi protocol IM app available in the marketplace right now. Download link after the break.

By Rahul Mathur

Video : Nokia Sea Ray Running Windows Phone Mango

Fresh out of a development factory in China, is a video of Nokia's 'leaked' Sea Ray Windows Phone running Mango. In the video, you can see the Nokia N9 lookalike, sporting physical buttons laying rest to the rumors about their absence in favor of virtual buttons.
Also making an appearance is the new '7' logo screen and lock screen, but a front-facing camera seems to be missing. There's also word that the handset in this video is running a Mango RTM build, specifically 7710. Check out the video below :

By Akshay Bakshi

WP7 NoDo Compared to WP7 Mango (Part 5)

Among the most anticipated new features coming to Windows Phone with the Mango update this fall, is the ability to multitask. Take a look at the attached video for a quick look at this great feature!

Enjoy!

By dbG33K

Japan to lead the Mango revolution?

Just when everyone is expecting Nokia to fire the first shot of the Mango canon, it looks like Japan is going to steal the spotlight and prove us all wrong. According to wpcentral, KDDI (Japanese carrier), Fujitsu-Toshiba and Microsoft Japan are going to hold a joint launch conference to announce the first ever Windows Phone 7 Mango phone in human history. Yeah it’s the pink water-proof thingie dubbed IS12T that we now all know about. But the date of the conference will be on July the 27th. It’s said invitation to media has already been sent out.
If that says anything, it indicates the Mango update to existing devices might arrive much earlier than we speculated. Let’s hope this time carriers don’t postpone the process too much.
Meanwhile, Windows Phone Japan has already gotten a Mango site live. It can be found here. On the front page there’s a quite international Mango commercial. But wait till you click into here. If my Japanese hasn’t totally failed me, this huge page says these, along with some very localized pictures:
3 Reasons why you could confidently proceed to “Mango”
- It’s people-centric.
- Both business and entertainment are made easier.
- It really pursues the ease of use.
More interestingly, Windows Phone Japan has a Facebook official page. On it there was a very interesting online promotion. (Based on my limited Japanese) Back on July the 7th, Twitter users who tweet the hashtag #777 would gain a chance to win a whole plethora or SEVEN Windows Phone 7 devices. “7th day of the 7th month tweet #777 to win 7 Windows Phone 7 devices”, seven sevens in one sentence, nice. I truly wonder who was lucky enough to won the ridiculously generous treat.

By Chassit

App hub refresh: new look and feel, reports, private beta publishing

Microsoft has refreshed the look and feel for the App Hub website. The new features are: at-a-glance reports of all your apps, a new, cleaner status board for apps in submission, the ability to see how many times your app has crashed recently and the biggest feature of them all: publishing apps as private beta apps to people of your choice. Developers are required to agree to a newer terms of service before entering the site.

By Sushovan De

WP7 Game Review: Paper Dash

Today’s game is Paper Dash by Jake Poznanski

Overall rating 5 / 5

By Sushovan De

Realtime Barcode Scanning comes to Windows Phone Mango via Quickmark

Cross platform developer Quickmark have shown off a video of an updated version of their barcode scanning software Quickmark which features realtime scanning. The new version, which will be coming for Mango devices will make the scanning process one step shorter coz unlike the previous versions, there will be no need to click a picture of the code, the app will detect the codes straightaway.
Though Bing will sport barcode scanning in Mango, the extra databases which the app ccan access will be helpful in avoiding the 'No info' messages you get when scanning products from outside the USA. You can download the current version of Quickmark Lite here.

[Source]

By Akshay Bakshi

Microsoft Releases Social ToDo App : Dotastic

Microsoft has released another app to its ever-growing marketplace, titled Dotastic. The Dotastic domain has had a 'coming soon' splash page up since Microsoft bought it in June 2011, and today the app is available for you to download. The app is basically a social todo list where you challenge your friends to finish their lists and earn points. Here's the official description :

Dotastic is a fun way to challenge your friends and help each other get things done. Earn points for completing tasks and compete with your friends to be at the top of the leaderboard. Incentives and social pressure helps you stay motivated as you complete your tasks and share your achievements with everyone.

Weirdly enough, the marketplace screenshot shows an iOS like bar at the bottom, though the rest of the UI seems Metro enough. Give it a try and tell us what you think!
[Source]

By Akshay Bakshi

ZTE Windows Phone Spotted

Well, I'm getting tired of this. Actually I'm not. By 'it' I'm referring to the leak of another Windows Phone handset. This time it's ZTE.


A picture of their latest handset has been found on the weibo account of the General Manager of Mobile Communications, ZTE. The source is as legitimate as a source can be.

.
Mango season in Asia


A few differences are there between this image and the one displayed at the WorldWide Partners Conference a few weeks ago. The handset has received a coat of paint, this time white. The Windows Phone logo in the front has been replaced by a ZTE logo and a proximity sensor has been spotted beside it. It's too small to be a secondary camera which is expected to be a  requirement for future Windows Phone handsets.

Not much else is known. This also appears to be a Japan headed handset. The weibo account has another picture which sort of conforms that the photo above wasn't of a  dummy's. I don't know Japanese but I expect it to be the calendar application or possibly ZTE's customization to Windows Phone.






[Source]

By Sameer

Japan Getting Toshiba-Fujitsu's First Mango Device In August

Nikkei, a Japanese news agency is reporting that Fujitsu-Toshiba will be launching their first Windows Phone Mango device sometime in August. The device, IS12T (Toshiba-Fujitsu TSI12), will be released via the KDDI network.
The mobile was also leaked in early March via Newstrider, it was said that it would feature a Qualcomm MSM8655 chipset and come with Windows Phone 7 and had passes FCC and Bluetooth clearance.

KDDI (au) will be releasing a new product based on Microsoft Corp. (MS) new smartphone OS “Windows Phone 7” towards the end of August. Windows Phone 7 is the first full-fledged smartphone OS from Microsoft, and the product would be the first of KDDI in Japan. Microsoft will provide free services such as cloud data storage, aiming to catch up with Google smartphone OS to the Japanese market.
New models of KDDI "IS12T" is manufactured by Fujitsu Toshiba Mobile Communications. Waterproof with a 3.7-inch LCD screen, the price is expected to be around 30000-40000 JPY (USD $380 – $505). The phone will be jointly announced with KDDI within this month.

The August release is definitely surprising but the handset is only releasing in Japanese markets for now, there us no word to indicate its launch elsewhere.

[Source]

By Akshay Bakshi

Fujitsu Recycling Design For Their First Windows Phone

Rumors of Windows Phone devices aren't rare. The popularity of the renowned Metro UI and the imminent Mango update have brought interest in handset makers like Acer and Fujitsu who didn't bet on Windows Phone 7 months ago. Acer, Samsung, HTC, Nokia devices have been seen and conformed to run mango. This time it's Fujitsu's turn. 


Their handset closely resembles one of their Android Models (released in Japan only). The REGZA T-01C  on NTT DoCoMo to be precise. The Android handset has 4" LCD display with Toshiba’s Mobile REGZA Engine 3.0 graphics processing system, a 12.2-megapixel autofocus camera with 720p HD video capture, NFC and DLNA support. It is also water-resistant for a 1 meter depth.


Fujitsu's crash-course on how to improve your Android handset!


Japanese site Nanapho posted some pictures online comparing the two handsets. The distinctive ring around the camera is similar to the one present on the Android handset. Liveside further brought more proof of it with side-by-side pictures of the two handsets.

On the software side, there appears to be an icon hinting at the Japanese NAVITIME app on the handset. This could be there customization to the Windows Phone platform.

Surprisingly, Nokia has taken a similar route by using the chassis of the Meego-powered N9 and expected to add OVI Maps (amongst other services) as their customization.




[Source]

By Sameer

Microsoft sued for Windows Phone Bedroom, Bathroom ads - Really ?

Remember those Microsoft Windows 7 ads depicting smartphone addicts who can’t put down their gadgets long enough to get busy in the bedroom and the bathroom? You loved them - right ?

Guess what, In a lawsuit filed this week with the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida, Cellrderm alleges that Microsoft and Crispin Porter + Bogusky (the agency behind the ads) infringed upon the company’s copyrighted creative content.

The Microsoft ads, “Bedroom Really” and “Bathroom Really” were launched toward the end of 2010 and the Cellrderm ads show scenarios very similar to the Microsoft bedroom and bathroom ads. Cellrderm clearly had very less budget to produce the ads ( Don't ask me how - I can sense by the quality of lingerie used in the ads )

In the suit, Cellrderm asks for an injunction to prevent the further distribution of the Microsoft ads, as well as profits derived from the ads and other damages determined at trial.

We ask Cellrderm - Really ?

P.S : Damn, the chick in the Cellrderm ad *is* Hot !

By Karthik Ragubathy

Microsoft Licenses Pointing-Based Mobile Local Search and Augmented Reality from GeoVector

Microsoft has signed a licensing agreement with GeoVector corporation which 'gives Microsoft rights to use concepts covered by GeoVector’s patents.' GeoVector Corp held the actual 'Augemented Reality' patent and the license will help Microsoft to expand the spatial, pointing-based and Augmented Reality capabilities of Windows Phone (and make you sci-fi dreams come true, just kidding). Its a non-exclusive deal, but unlike other platforms the integration will likely be by Microsoft itself and not 3rd party solutions.

Mango isn't even out for everyone and we can already start making out wishlist of features for Windows Phone 8.

[Source]

By Akshay Bakshi

Google+ now Accessible on Windows Phone Via IE

So what if the Google + app coming to windows phone was a red herring, a false piece of information from an unofficial blog with a blogger logo. Google +ers with Windows Phone handsets, worry not for El Goog has solved your problem.



My, My! What do we have here?


Until now if you had navigated to plus.google.com an incompatibility notice would have left you disheartened. But Google has fixed this by enabling compatibility with IE browser that is present after the NoDo update.

Now, if you had mango it would be a totally different ball game as IE9 is recognized as a PC browser and no google service would be inaccessible.


Let's see who has the last laugh


Unfortunately the Google site still calls the NoDo IE as Windows Mobile. If the ever-growing Market Place (25,000 apps in 7months) are not reason enough to consider Windows Phone as a threat to Android's dominance to Google then I guess it's Mango that'll leave them shivering in their boots.




Source: wpcentral

By Sameer

Windows Phone Resume Lands Guy Tons Of Job Offers

Sahas Katta built a cool Windows Phone like online resume and next thing he knows he has collected the email addresses of over a hundred Microsoft managers. Maybe they were just testing out the contact form but the guys from the Redmond company were impressed enough that he was contacted with several job offers.

I also got a call at about 12:30 AM PST from a Microsoft recruiter in India. She was quite persistent on relocating me overseas for a position as a Lead UX Manager to work with designers, researchers, engineers, and program/product managers. I declined the offer as I do not plan to leave the San Francisco Bay area, which is still the center of the tech world.
A lot of people are asking to buy the site design as well so they can use it for their own portfolio. I might just open source it at some point when I have time.

Katta's site was covered by several news blogs which led to a massive amount of hits on his resume. One thing that we can be sure of, is that a lot of people will have their eye on Mr.Katta including us.

[Source]

By Akshay Bakshi

Windows Phone Mango Update and Handsets Coming In September

The imagine cup turned out to be a treasure trove for us bloggers. Nuggets of information were found in Ballmer's keynote referring to the release date of Mango. Further information was found in his keynote at the WorldWide Partner Conference.

Today an informative tweet by the Imagine Cups official account (@imaginecup) promised a windows phone device to all finalists, by September. These won't be any Windows Phones, they will among the first to run  the all new Mango.



An informative tweet


The manufacturer is unknown but Nokia, HTC or Samsung will be the probable manufacturers of the prize. So winners, are you excited?











[Source]

By Sameer

Official Google+ App for Windows phone coming next week! (Update: Not really)

Google+ is all over the internet right now. I am not one of the guys who are ' thoroughly enjoying the unique social network ' but there are more than 10 million (mostly passive, I guess) users on Google+ who are supposedly having a lot of fun and it supposedly has the potential to give Facebook the fight of it's life. We'll see about that. For a social network to work, Google isn't really the best when it comes to Social networks, availability on multiple platforms is the most important aspect to reach a wider global audience. Facebook launched a Java application this week, which targets millions of 'dumbphones' users who didn't have native application until now. Facebook has set foot on every mobile platform imaginable. To go neck to neck with Facebook, Google launched iOS application this week and now they are planning to release Windows phone 7 application next week.

By Rahul Mathur

GroupMe app for Windows phone coming soon (Update: Now available!)

GroupMe, a popular and free group text messaging app available for iOS, Android and Blackberry will soon be released to the Windows phone marketplace according to a tweet from GroupMe:

@CrookJim @windowsphone @winphonesupport Currently you can use GroupMe via SMS on WP7... but an app is coming soon! #) groupme.com/sms

Group messaging applications are all the rage these days. Everybody has one or wants one. GroupMe currently allows non supported ( like Windows Phone, currently) platform users to use SMS instead to communicate with their way. An application would be better though, GroupMe.  GroupMe utilizes the contacts API so you'll have to wait till the mango update. We'll keep you updated on the status of this much awaited app.

Update: Groupme for WP7 is now available in the marketplace. Download link below:

By Rahul Mathur

Yammer announces Windows Phone Application

Yammer Inc., the leader in enterprise social networking, today announced its mobile application for Windows Phone. Built from the ground up, the new Yammer application delivers advanced enterprise social networking capabilities to mobile workers worldwide.

Key New Features:

Threaded Conversations - Post, reply and like messages. Easily follow conversations with replies displayed underneath the original message.

Multi-Feed Access - Quickly navigate between My Feed, Group Feeds and Company Feed to find relevant conversations.

Multi-Network Access - Switch between various internal and external networks.

Member Directory and Profiles - Find updates, links and files posted by a specific colleague in addition to contact information.

Private Messages - Communicate privately with one or more colleagues.

Live Tile Integration - Receive real-time notifications from Yammer about new conversations and messages on your Windows Phone Start screen, all without opening the application.

Yammer for Windows Phone will be available for a free download from the Windows Phone Marketplace later this quarter and will be compatible with Mango launching later this year.

By Karthik Ragubathy

WP7 NoDo Compared to WP7 Mango (Part 4)

One of the most unique features included alongside Windows Phone's debut into the world of consumers was it's in-depth integration of Facebook into the the OS itself. No longer needing to navigate into and through a 3rd Party App, features like updating your status or posting on someone's wall could be done without leaving the confines phone's native software. Well, just like they say, good things only get bettter, and so it is with the Mango update coming this Fall.
Take a look at Part 4 of the Windows Phone 7 to Mango comparison videos for a closer look at some of the new features brought to the plate for the "People," "Me," and the new "Groups" tiles.

Enjoy!

By dbG33K

Ballmer: 'All In' For Windows Phone

Steve Ballmer continued promoting Windows Phone and Microsoft's achievements at this years Worldwide Partner Conference in Los Angeles. He said that Microsoft had no intentions of ditching their new operating system no matter what sales figures indicated. Ballmer admitted to the limited success “ We've gone from very small to very small but its been a heck of a year.
On a more encouraging note “A year ago, Microsoft had no Windows Phone. In the last year we’ve sold millions of phones.” He pointed out a recent survey that showed that 9 out of 10 owners of a windows phone handset would recommend it to a friend.


Faithful to my baby


He also stepped foot in the Nokia-Microsoft territory
 “Nokia, who had a choice this year to bet on themselves, to bet on Android or to bet on Windows Phone said for their bet, the company strategy, they’re going with Windows Phone. They saw our road maps, they saw what we’ve done, they saw what we’re planning on doing.”
Ballmer also revealed that Nokia is pushing Microsoft to go broader geographically with Windows Phone and hit new price points for devices. “They believe, others believe too."

Ballmer continued with the predictions by Gartner and IDC of Windows Phone reaching the no.2 spot by 2015 in the smart phone Market.

Ballmer concluded his keynote by saying that Microsoft was 'all in for Windows Phone' and would work very hard to remain competitive in the smart-phone market

“We know we’ve got a lot to do but like the Cloud, like NT many years back, we’re all in when it comes to mobile devices. And whether it’s phones or slates OR PCs or console devices, we’re certainly pushing extremely far and extremely fast.”

So does this hint at the four devices interconnected and sharing a cloud? The future holds the answer and is not too far away.








Source: winrumors

By Sameer

New Samsung WP7 Phone has front facing Camera

At the WPC - 2011, Microsoft demoed a Samsung Windows Phone 7 running the Mango Developer Beta. Manan Kakkar grabbed this screenshot of the phone.



Now this opens up a lot of possibilities . All those rumors about Video Chatting coming to Mango seem to be true. The question however is, Will Microsoft include Skype as a separate app or will they integrate it with Messenger and XBL ? . The Possibilities are endless for Microsoft. But with the Video Calling, Looks like Microsoft is ready to give a tough fight to Apple's Facetime feature. Let us know what you think about it in the comments section !

By Karthik Ragubathy

Nokia's Windows Phone Marketing Campaign to Cost £80 Million

We already know that Nokia is on track to release its first Windows Phone mobile later this year and that they will be launching in Europe first. The Finnish giant is also gonna start a huge 6 month campaign to promote its migration to the Windows Phone platform and its overturn its public image as it (finally) leaves Symbian.
The campaign is being created by a number of ad agencies all over the world and will cost the company around£80 Million. Nokia, whose Symbian sales have lagging behind other manufacturers with better more modern OSs, is looking forward to turning the tide when its Windows Phone devices launch this Christmas.

[Source]

By Akshay Bakshi

Ballmer: Mango Devices Coming By Christmas

Steve Ballmer kicked off the Imagine Cup 2011 with his keynote, praising the excellent work done by all the contestants and for showing everyone what they could do with Windows Phone. 

Excellent Work contestants 

Things got interesting (matter of opinion) when Ballmer started talking about the Mango devices and Nokia and  hinted at Mango devices being available by Christmas.

"Windows Phone. You know, a year ago we didn't have a phone in the market. Now, we're charging forward with Nokia. We have the second generation of our phones coming out this Christmas, and people are starting to do things they had never imagined before. I love the applications that I saw for the Windows Phone from the people in this room, and the way you're pushing that device, and using that device. It was really exciting for me."

Was Ballmer hinting at a delay in the Mango release date?   No. The hardware release cycle has always been much more flexible and is not directly connected to the software release date. Also the 1st generation of devices have been reported to be running Mango smoothly without any problems, so Microsoft don't need to rush OEMs to pump out  half-baked 2nd generation devices.  

Rumors have been hinting at new devices (HTC Nokia Samsung) coming soon with Mango running. The timing was not known but this sort of conforms it. 

By Sameer

Derdack Launches Enterprise Alerting App for Windows Phone 7

Derdack, provider of advanced enterprise notification software today announced the launch of a new enterprise alerting app for Windows Phone 7 (WP7) that delivers enhanced IT systems management.

According to the press release :

The app for WP7 replicates the management console of IT management systems and supports smartphone push notifications as a delivery channel for critical notifications. If an event is detected by the IT monitoring system, message master® Enterprise Alert automatically sends an alert via a push notification to the WP7 app. The user is instantly made aware of critical information related to an alert and has one click access to the mobile console from where further details are available. The alert can then be viewed, accepted and managed directly from within the app. Additionally, alerts can be sent to the smartphone via SMS or voice according to user preferences

The app will be released in late July. Check out the video of Enterprise Alerting App here

By Karthik Ragubathy

Iraq Team Hawk Makes App for Refugees in Microsoft Imagine Cup 2011

The Imagine Cup is always a platform for bright minds to show their creativity, and with Windows Phone added to the competition recently it has only gotten more awesome for us.

This year, Team Hawk from Iraq, a finalist in the Cup have made a Windows Phone app for easily registering and tracking refugees. The trio's app helps refugees get registered and become official and get aid because they are considered non-existent until they are. Its better than paperwork which is slow, cumbersome and has high chances of getting damage. Their app stores all the data in a secure server which can be accessed with login credentials.

You can vote for them for the People's Choice Award. Find a video interview of the trio below :


[Source]

By Akshay Bakshi

WP7 NoDo Compared to WP7 Mango (Part 3)

Welcome back to another exciting comparison video between the features of Windows Phone 7 NoDo and the upcoming 7.5 Mango update. This video will be journeying into the adjustments and capabilities of the Xbox Live games hub.

Enjoy!

By dbG33K

Microsoft Imagine Cup: How Windows Phone Is Helping Change The World

So it was July 10,2011 13:02 at New York City when I was sitting in New York Marriott Marquis and listening to iDoc present their project, The Internet Doctor. I was very excited about the fact that this team of 4 students had taken up the challenge of collecting and providing right information about medical institutions in emergency. What excited me even more was that their friend, who was visually challenged, came all the way to support the group. It made me salute the passion and dedication they had put in this team.



This team from Cyprus has that look on their face which can’t be described in words. It demonstrates a connection so deep with the project that tells me that they KNOW they are going BIG. They demonstrated their project to the judges using Windows Phone 7 which is a hot selling product right now. This application connects the user to precisely the exact kind of medical assistance they need.

What I loved about this application was, the team plans to release it FREE Of COST and available to all. This mobile app is also connected to emergency calls to 911 and other emergency number and is for GLOBE, not just one country. The user just need to match WP7 and the symptoms and the app provides them a very appropriate and useful list of who they can approach.

Keeping a very nominal fee for Institutions, iDOC is targeting a global crowd. I heard them saying its only $60 for doctors and they need money just to keep the application running. Now this is what I call selfless service.

By Shantanu Pandey

Windows Phone Mango Shows 5x Faster Game Loading

Long loading times for 3rd party apps were one of the complaints in the pre-NoDo builds of Windows Phone. Microsoft addressed these issues somewhat in NoDo but are going a lot further in Mango. Game dev XcellBlades Games have posted a video which shows the speed improvements in game loading in Mango. It shows the difference in loading times, Build 7004 at nearly 40 sec, NoDo at 17 and Mango at 8 seconds. Now that's fast.

[Source]

By Akshay Bakshi

Travelnapp for Windows Phone 7

Ever fallen asleep on the train or got distracted and ended up missing your stop? Travelnapp, a new Windows Phone 7 application, is here to help!

Official app Description :

Travelnapp is a worldwide proximity alarm for Windows Phone 7. The application allows users to read, listen to music or sleep on public transport without fear of missing their stop. Utilizing the integrated GPS in all Windows Phone 7 devices, Travelnapp is able to accurately track your position then use this data to notify you once a certain distance away, plot a map of your route and calculate your estimated time of arrival and average speed.

Travelnapp has been programmed with a set of fail-safes, which use logic to ensure the alarm always goes off even if you lose GPS signal near your destination (for example in a tunnel). It also has the ability to automatically pause your music as you approach, before sounding the alert.

TravelnApp on Marketplace

By Karthik Ragubathy

WP7 NoDo Compared to WP7 Mango (Part 2)

Hello readers!

It's time for another comparison video between Windows Phone 7 and the new 7.5 Mango update. This video chronicles a few of the visual overhauls that are made to the Zune Music + Videos section of the OS. Also, we take a look at the new feature of downloading podcasts over the air, without the need to connect to your computer!


Enjoy!

By dbG33K

Microsoft Tells Hackers To 'Tinker Away' with Windows Phone Mango

Since Windows Phone 7 was a much needed, but complete break away from the old Windows Mobile 6.5, a lot of developers and mobile owners were stranded when was announced that there would be no upgrading from Windows Mobile 6.5 to Windows Phone 7. That didn't stop the determined and creative dev community from getting this HD2 to run Windows Phone Mango, but what does Microsoft have to say to this ?



“We say tinker away with Mango and enjoy the juice,” said Microsoft spokesman Bill Cox. “But beware the fine print — unlocking phones may void your warranty.” This reaction is markedly different from how other fruity mobile companies have responded to the dev community but Microsoft has had cordial relationships with the hacking community in the past. Windows Phone devices will be getting the free Mango update this fall.

[Source]

By Akshay Bakshi