Windows Phone 8 introduces new Start screen

Posted on 20/06/2012 by Billy Steele

Yes, Windows Phone 8 is coming later this year, and it introduces some important changes to the user interface. The most noticeable is probably the new Start screen, which offers more customization and makes more efficient use of its real estate. As a user, you'll be able to choose any tile and tweak its appearance to suit your sensibilities. Sizing can be configured with a resize arrow while in customization mode and offers the option of small, medium or double-wide tiles that span the entire width of the display. All current applications will be automatically designed for small and medium versions by default and devs will be able to dive in to add support for the larger options should they feel the need to do so -- something that until today was reserved for Microsoft and its partners / carriers. What's that? You want more colors? Yeah, you'll get those too.

Gallery: Windows Phone 8 Start screen

To check out the latest updates from Microsoft's Windows Phone event, visit our liveblog!

Windows Phone 8 introduces new Start screen originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 20 Jun 2012 12:45:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Windows Phone 8 to support multi-core CPUs, HD resolutions, SD cards and NFC

Posted on 20/06/2012 by Jon Fingas

Microsoft is on stage at the Windows Phone Developer Summit offering us a bite of what's to come in Windows Phone 8, and one of the tastiest morsels may just be the noticeably more diverse hardware it will support. The new platform won't just support dual-core processors -- it will support as many as 64 cores, should such massively parallel chips come to exist in the platform's lifetime. Also gone is that long-criticized 800 x 480 display resolution ceiling: if phone builders like, they can either opt for the increasingly common 1280 x 720 or a rarer 1280 x 768. A few subtler feature parities are coming with the upgrade, such as NFC for tags and payments as well as a long, long requested support for SD cards beyond the crude initial expansion. All told, Microsoft just brought Windows Phone right up to hardware parity with its biggest rivals, and possibly a bit beyond.

To check out the latest updates from Microsoft's Windows Phone event, visit our liveblog!

Gallery: Windows Phone 8 Hardware

Windows Phone 8 to support multi-core CPUs, HD resolutions, SD cards and NFC originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 20 Jun 2012 12:28:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Live from Microsoft’s ‘sneak peek’ at Windows Phone!

Posted on 20/06/2012 by Brad Molen

Can the days of Apollo's reign finally be upon us? Microsoft's Joe Belfiore -- along with a select entourage of other speakers -- will soon take the stage to show us a sneak peek at Windows Phone, and we're hoping it's everything dreams are made of and more. Join us as we bring the news straight to you as it happens!

June 20, 2012 12:00 PM EDT

Live from Microsoft's 'sneak peek' at Windows Phone! originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 20 Jun 2012 12:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Microsoft’s Photosynth app lets (some) Windows Phone users in on the panorama craze

Posted on 30/05/2012 by Edgar Alvarez

Are you one of those folks who enjoys taking snaps of everything around you and own a Mango-flavored Windows Phone slab? Well, we've got some phenomenal news for you: Microsoft has placed its Photosynth application up for grabs on the Marketplace. It's simple, the app -- which doesn't cost a dime -- will let you shoot some 360-degree photos in both landscape and portrait mode. Additionally, you'll be able to share those all-around shots with your friends on Twitter as well as the newly public Zuck network. You can snag Redmond's Photosynth v1.0 now straight from your WP device or from the Marketplace link below -- let's just hope you can give that London panorama a run for its money.

Microsoft's Photosynth app lets (some) Windows Phone users in on the panorama craze originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 30 May 2012 10:46:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Nokia axes Skype client on Lumia 610, claims user experience wasn’t ‘up to par’

Posted on 22/05/2012 by Brad Molen

It took nearly a full month, but Nokia has finally been convinced that Skype is indeed incompatible with low-memory Windows Phones. In reaching out to a spokesperson, the company confirmed to us that it has decided to yank the official client from the Marketplace on the Lumia 610. The device -- which utilizes a scant 256MB of RAM -- originally allowed the service to be downloaded despite Skype's claims that 512MB was the minimum amount of memory required for the app to function properly. The internet phone service, as it turns out, was correct: Nokia, stating that the user experience is "workable" but not "up to par with Nokia's and Skype's expectation," has pulled the plug on any future downloads. Users who managed to snag the app before it disappeared can still enjoy (or hate, depending on your experience) it on their Lumia 610, but until Skype is able to lower the memory restrictions, it looks like everyone else is out of luck. Head below for the full translated statement.

Continue reading Nokia axes Skype client on Lumia 610, claims user experience wasn't 'up to par'

Nokia axes Skype client on Lumia 610, claims user experience wasn't 'up to par' originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 22 May 2012 14:24:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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WMPowerUser | source

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Samsung’s Focus 2 arrives at AT&T today, a slice of LTE-equipped Mango for $50

Posted on 20/05/2012 by Joe Pollicino

Not long after Samsung's SGH-i667 "Mandel" looked like it would never see the light of day, the Windows Phone 7.5 device made its official debut at CTIA, dubbed as the Focus 2. As expected, the phone is officially on sale today at AT&T retailers across the US, giving folks another option aside from the flagship Lumia 900 for a fix of LTE and Mango on the network. To refresh your memory, you'll find a 4-inch Super AMOLED display and VGA camera up front, and a 5MP shooter on back that capture 720p video. Internally, there's a 1.4GHz single-core CPU (exceedingly par for the course for Windows Phone at this point) and a 1,750mAh battery to hopefully ensure you'll have enough juice to get through the day. Despite the speedy connectivity, we'd be remiss not to mention that the Focus 2 packs a paltry 8GB of non-expandable storage and only comes in Glossy Pure White -- but for fifty bucks under a new two-year agreement, we won't kvetch too much. Our full review is coming soon, so hit the source link for more details in the meantime.

Samsung's Focus 2 arrives at AT&T today, a slice of LTE-equipped Mango for $50 originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 20 May 2012 17:28:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Samsung’s SGH-i667 "Mandel" Windows Phone surfaces, still shrouded in mystery

Posted on 04/05/2012 by Joe Pollicino

Sure, today's gadget news is saturated with Samsung's new Galaxy S III, but lest we forget that it's been a hot minute since its released a Windows Phone device. The last we saw were the Focus S and Flash, and that was right around when the Nokia Lumia 800 and Galaxy Nexus were still fresh in our minds. Well, this can only be classified as a potential leak, but two purported photos of another Samsung WP7.5 device, codenamed "Mandel," was recently posted at the WPXAP forums. While there's not much in the way of hard details, according to WPCentral, this is the white, LTE-enabled SGH-i667 that passed through the FCC during March with AT&T bands, but then apparently nixed before it could hit stores. Along with the photo, a screenshot from the Zune software shows it having only 8GB of capacity, which likely means it wasn't slated to be a premium offering. That's about all the info that's surfaced for now on the Mandel, but feel free to hit up the links below for more details and analysis. Here's hoping that Samsung will announce more love for Windows Phone soon.

Samsung's SGH-i667 "Mandel" Windows Phone surfaces, still shrouded in mystery originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 04 May 2012 05:57:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Nokia reportedly delays Lumia 900 release in the UK, cites high US demand (update)

Posted on 25/04/2012 by Joe Pollicino

Despite remaining mum on how many Lumia 900s it's moved in the US, Nokia has been raving about how it's trying to keep up with demand for the flagship Windows Phone device. Consider us unsurprised, then, that the company has apparently delayed the phone's previous April 27th release date in the UK to "around May 14th," citing a need to keep the device stocked in the States. The news comes from V3.co.uk, which got the information from a Nokia spokesperson referring specifically to retailer Phones 4u. Hit up the links below if you'd like to catch the full spiel, and why not check out our review of a second time to solidify your decision while you wait.

Update: And just like that, Phones 4u has officially confirmed the May 14th release date and UD demand. The carrier will indeed be the first to carry the device when it launches, and notably, folks who pre-ordered early will also receive a free pair of Nokia Purity by Monster in-ear headphones -- this, on top of the already bundled-for-free Play 360 wireless speaker. You'll find all the details in the press release after the break and at the more coverage link below.

Continue reading Nokia reportedly delays Lumia 900 release in the UK, cites high US demand (update)

Nokia reportedly delays Lumia 900 release in the UK, cites high US demand (update) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 25 Apr 2012 03:18:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Nokia’s White Lumia 900 reportedly available now at AT&T stores

Posted on 20/04/2012 by Edgar Alvarez

We'd previously heard AT&T's White Lumia 900 was slated for a release on April 22nd, but photos tweeted by the outfit's Chris Weber would suggest the Mango device is up for grabs now. By the looks of it, at least a pair of customers were able to walk into a Rethink Possible shop and grab a pale piece of the Lumia pie for themselves. Naturally, AT&T's site still doesn't have the Windows Phone handset listed, while the Cyan flavor remains out of stock. Perhaps, now it's a good time to head to your local AT&T store and cough up those 99 bucks, or get it gratis through tomorrow. Be sure to drop us a line if you were able to take one of Nokia's own unicorns home with you.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Nokia's White Lumia 900 reportedly available now at AT&T stores originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 20 Apr 2012 17:15:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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HTC Titan II review

Posted on 12/04/2012 by Brad Molen

Titan. It's a ballistic missile and one of Saturn's moons. The word also plays a huge role in Greek mythology and in normal use refers to something of enormous power and influence. So it's understandable, then, why HTC seems to prefer it as a name for its phones. So much so, in fact, that the release of the LTE-enabled Titan II on AT&T actually marks not the second, but fourth iteration of the name: if you recall, the company once released two Windows Mobile devices called the TyTn.

We had mixed feelings as we watched the latest Titan get introduced at AT&T's Developer Summit in January. On the one hand, we were intrigued by the idea of a smartphone with a monstrous 16-megapixel camera, as well as LTE -- something the world previously hadn't seen on a Windows Phone device. But the announcement also took place a mere two months after its predecessor launched on AT&T's network, which gave us the sinking feeling Ma Bell's new strategy was to crank out a plethora of refreshed phones boasting only a couple of new features (see: the Samsung Galaxy S II Skyrocket). So what of this sequel we have before us? Will it come out victorious like Remember the Titans or a disaster like Titanic? Is it worth it to new customers to shun the free Nokia Lumia 900 and shell out $200 for this guy instead? Follow us down the page and we'll fill you in.

Gallery: HTC Titan II review