Windows Phone Archive

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Smoked By Windows Phone Becoming an Online Campaign

By
Dario
– February 21, 2012

If you were wondering what Microsoft was going to do with footage of the Smoked By Windows Phone challenge recently gathered at some California Microsoft stores and at CES, well here you go. Reports have indicated that Microsoft will be rolling out an online campaign featuring the footage of unlucky contestants being dropped by a Windows Phone.

Featuring Microsoft evangelist, Ben ” The PC Guy” Rudolph, the ads and spots will reiterate the speed at which any Windows Phone can handle common tasks over other smartphone devices. This is a key selling point of the platform, and the overall success rate created by this competition has put a positive spin on the OS’s lack of high end specs compared to other devices run by Android and Apple.

If you have been amiss regarding the Smoked By Windows Phone campaign, at CES Ben Rudolph challenged attendees of the consumer electronics show on finishing certain, predetermined tasks quicker than a Windows Phone. The winners would collect $100, while the losers would declare their failure to a camera and take home a brand new Windows Phone device for their troubles.

The campaign is set to start soon on major tech sites and blogs.

Source: Seattle Times.

What do our readers think of this marketing approach? Is this too little and doesn’t have enough weight behind it to be effective? Or, this is exactly what Microsoft has to do win over future smartphone customers?

Let us know in the comments below, and don’t forget to add us to Twitter and like us on Facebook to hear all the latest Windows Phone news.

3

Fujitsu Coming Out With High End Windows Phone

By
Dario
– February 20, 2012

It was revealed that Japanese handset manufacturer, Fujitsu, will be bringing new Windows Phone devices to Europe and North America later this year. According to thenextweb.com the new devices will be showcased at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona this month.

The tech company has seen a massive push by other smartphone handset makers in Europe, and its approach to reaching more of this market is by creating high-end devices as opposed to budget friendly phones trying to hit rock bottom prices.

Fujitsu, at least in Japan, is known to bring feature sets not commonly found on other competitive Windows Phone devices. Features like NFC chips, waterproof displays and 12 MP cameras are some of those elusive qualities other OEMs seem to omit.

Does a Fujitsu branded Windows Phone device entice you? Does it bode well for Fujitsu to go the high-end route while Nokia and other OEM’s try to attain more marketshare through low-end devices?

Let us know in the comments below. Don’t forget to add us to Twitter and Like Us on Facebook.

0

Xbox Live Indie Games Companion App

By
Cristian Reyes
– February 19, 2012

When the Xbox update arrived last year many people enjoyed the new features and design that Metro presented, but like every update you can’t please everyone. Judging the new update on first impressions, some people found the new layout confusing and unnecessary. The Xbox 360 has so far had three user interfaces throughout its life span: Blades, NXE (Next Xbox Experience), and now Twist Control. NXE was catered to fix issues with the growing amount of content in the Xbox marketplace while Twist Control was created using Microsoft’s new Metro design and with Kinect users in mind.

Even though the latest update has given more exposure to the indie games section of the marketplace it didn’t stop a group of indie developers to team up and create an Xbox Live indie games app for Windows Phones. The app collects data from xboxindies.com RSS feed to give the best indie games the exposure they deserve. The app also allows for the ability to commence downloads to your Xbox 360 console.

Even though the app is still in beta form, it can be tested with anyone with a Windows Phone by contacting the organizer Dave Voyles at Dave@ArmlessOctopuss.com. The XBLIG app is not an official Microsoft app but if it can find hidden gems, like Castle Miner and I Made a Game with Zombies, then it’s good enough for me.

 

[Source:SlashGear]

What’s your view on the new Xbox dashboard and how it relates to indie games? Does an app like this help in the discovery aspect?

Let us know in the comments below. Don’t forget to follow us on Twitter and Like Us on Facebook.

4

Even the greatest generals have battles that go sideways in war.

By
Brian Weston
– February 16, 2012

I love my Windows Phone (as is evident by all my gushing in previous posts) and I really think the Windows Mango OS is beautiful, fast, and cool. My phone of choice to enjoy Mango is the HTC Radar from T-Mobile; a thin, compact, speedy phone all contained in a slick metal body. The specs may seem underwhelming if you were to compare it to, say, a Samsung Galaxy or some other high powered Android. But specs don’t matter when the OS is James Bondish enough to operate correctly with the hardware and dare I say, the cloud (aka the web). So the phone is great…that is, until it is not great. And right now, it’s not great.

All of the mobile phone companies have decided that ‘unlimited’ is really code for limited with regards to mobile data usage. In my case, T-Mobile has a 2GB unlimited limit. Meh. Whatever. I am not going to argue with them, so when I am in proximity to Wifi, I just use that to save on my data bandwidth usage. That’s all fine and dandy until THIS happens: you connect to a wireless network via Wifi, obtain an IP Address and the like and…voila! Nothing. You see, the HTC Radar has a pesky little bug where you are connected to a Wifi network but there is no up/down data flow unless you turn the Wifi connection off and on again. If you are lucky, you may re-establish data flow but only in limited doses before it goes out again.

HTC, T-Mobile, Microsoft…no one has a viable answer, although I have seen this issue posted on numerous forums so I know it is not me or just my phone. I held out hope that update 8107 would fix the problem, however, those hopes were soon dashed. It did not. Today I backtracked and did the unthinkable…I did a master reset on my phone to see if that solves the issue. Results are pending.

What have I/we learned? Well, while Microsoft has developed an excellent smartphone alternative to Android and Apple, they are not impervious to the really dumb technology guffaws of their competitors.

Even the greatest generals have battles that go sideways in war.

1

Windows 8 Gaming Reveal At GDC!

By
Cristian Reyes
– February 15, 2012

Windows 8 has been detailed by Microsoft for a while now through their blog, Building Windows 8, but what Microsoft has never given a word about is the gaming aspects of Windows 8. Little hints and leaks have dropped from Microsoft from time to time and we are all expecting some type of Xbox Live integration, finally the time has come.
Today Microsoft has announced that it will reveal information on how developers can build on its existing platforms including Windows 8 at GDC (Game Developers Conference). Microsoft had the following to say

Developers will learn about the new Windows 8 Metro style application platform and new Xbox LIVE services that deliver breakthrough entertainment experiences across all of Microsoft’s entertainment platforms.

The Conference will be hosted in San Francisco on March 6th from 10:00 am to 5:30 pm. Microsoft will hold sessions on building Metro Style apps and sessions on Xbox Live for Windows 8. Also at the conference will be discussions on Xbox and Windows Phone development.

Here is a Full List of topics that will be discussed straight from Microsoft

  • Entertainment Reimagined
  • Developing a Great Metro Style Game for Windows 8
  • The Making of Metro Style Marble Maze
  • Async Gaming
  • Xbox LIVE on Windows 8 Deep Dive
  • Xbox LIVE Services – Entertainment Powered by the Cloud
  • Game Data Anywhere Using Xbox LIVE Cloud Storage
  • Asynchronous Gaming with Xbox LIVE Services
  • Connecting Xbox LIVE Web Games with Xbox LIVE Services

Any of you excited as we are? Take a look at the games that will be available by the time of the Consumer Preview here.

[Sources:MSDN,Neowin]

0

PODCASTS! Gets an Update

By
Dario
– February 15, 2012

Last year we showcased an app called PODCASTS!, a free, ad supported podcast app (or paid if you didn’t want ads). The app is a great way to keep up with you favorites podcast by letting you download and manage your podcast feeds and episodes.

Although it was pretty handy at these tasks, the app was lacking some of the goodness of the Mango update. With the newest update to the app, those of us that like to have a good podcast manger will find the bump to version 3.1 a worthwhile one. The new version adds the ability to include background playback and background downloading.

The app can be found in the marketplace and it is $1.99 for the Pro version of the app which allows for multiple downloads as opposed to the limited one for the ad supported version.

If you have used PODCASTS! let us know in the comments section. How do you like the new updates? Don’t forget to add us on Twitter @Zunited and like us on Facebook to keep up with all Windows Phone and Windows Phone app news.

0

Smoked By Windows Phone at the Microsoft Store

By
Cristian Reyes
– February 13, 2012

Remember the Smoked by Windows Phone Challenge that Ben the PC guy was doing at CES, no? Well here is the story at CES Ben the PC guy was challenging people into a contest to see which phone is the fastest. If you lost Ben would make you admit on camera that you lost to a Windows Phone and upgrade you for free to slick new Windows Phone. If you won Ben would pay you 100 dollars on the spot. The results were very positive in fact a Blackberry user surrendered before the challenge even started so Ben gave him a new Windows Phone right there and then.

Well that was then, Ben has been hard at work traveling Southern California and challenging people at the Microsoft Stores. The rules stayed the same but now anyone had the opportunity to get Smoked by a Windows Phone. Check out some of these pics Ben took they come straight from his SkyDrive. Read more about the Smoked by Windows Phone challenge here.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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LG Miracle Reveals Itself… or Is It a Fantasy?

By
Cristian Reyes
– February 12, 2012

LG Miracle

Looking for a Miracle? Maybe this is one. Images are leaking around the internet of a new Windows Phone by LG. The LG Miracle pictured above is sporting a front-facing camera and five-megapixel camera in the rear. The phone itself looks like it was designed by HTC. The phone must still be in development because of the “not for sale” stamp on the device.

Also revealed a few days ago, wpcentral caught pictures of another Windows Phone called “Fantasy”. The Fantasy is equipped with NFC and a gyroscope. Could LG be planning to release to separate Windows Phones, or are they one and the same? We will let you be the judge of that.

LG Fantasy

 

1

Now You Can Request Apps for the Marketplace

By
VisionCloud
– February 9, 2012

By now we are all familiar with Suggestion Box by Microsoft which lets us vote on what features we want to see available in future Windows Phone updates. The problem comes when we want specific apps for specific services. It really isn’t Microsoft’s job or place to make an app for every service, nor could they if they wanted to, that’s why we have a marketplace in the first place.

All of us have specific apps that we want to see developed but up until now have had no way to let developers, websites, and web services know. I have spent countless hours searching for and posting on forums of web services that I want to see create an official Windows Phone App. With all my searching and posting, it has all felt a little in vain; that is, up until now.

Microsoft MVP, Scott Dorman has created a Windows Phone Marketplace Request site using third party service UserVoice. Users can go, sign up, submit app ideas and vote for app ideas that they want to see in the marketplace. Each user is allotted 10 votes just like Windows Phone Suggestion Box and can choose to put 1, 2 or 3 of their votes to a single app idea.

Although this site is in no way an official representation of what apps will get created, it is a great way to get developers’ attention as well as the attention of websites and web services that hold sole ownership of the ability to create an ‘official’ app.

So go! Go cast your votes! Let the powers that be know what you want on your Windows Phone. Who knows, someone might be listening.

0

Skype on Windows Phone Coming Soon

By
VisionCloud
– February 9, 2012
Render of Skype on Windows Phone

Skype and Microsoft have begun beta testing on a stand-alone Skype app for Windows Phone. Many sources have verified that Microsoft and Skype employees have been able to download a beta version of Skype for their Windows Phones. This stand-alone app is just a precursor to the full integration that is still to be expected in Windows Phone 8 (Apollo.)

There is still no word on when the Skype app will be made available to the public but it’s not too much to believe that we could see it as early as the end of February. The Mobile World Congress that is just around the corner in Barcelona would be a great excuse for Microsoft to finally release this much sought after app.

 

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