Where is the Legoland Windsor application for Windows Phone? Where is the app for the Moto Service Stations dotted around the United Kingdom? Where indeed. The 'corporate' application is another battleground for smartphones, and it's one that Microsoft needs to focus on.
As the summer holidays arrive, everyone can look forward to long queues, time away from home, and a nagging feeling of wanting to have some fun. Which is where your smartphone comes in to play. Windows Phone is a great casual games machine, and to get you through the holidays, here are five games that will help you really enjoy your summer vacation.
With updates appearing thick and fast for all mobile OS, the landscape is ever-changing. In this update to my older 'Showstoppers' article, I look at the potential obstacles to moving (in this case from Symbian) to Windows Phone 8 or Android. There's an admittedly personal slant to my long list of possible showstoppers, but as a power user I suspect I'm fairly typical of the breed and that you'll be needing most of these things too. The original piece just looked at moving to Windows Phone, but I've included parallel information about making your destination Android too, in the interests of fairness.
Like many other aspects of modern technology (NFC and Bluetooth spring to mind) headsets are something of a minefield in terms of compatibility in the phone world. In theory, one could have a three (or more) button handset that could be inserted into any modern smartphone with perfect - and consistent - results. Instead, what we've got is a patchwork quilt of behaviour, though I lay out below the behaviour you can (and should) expect from one and three button headsets that aren't explicitly marketed as for the 'iPhone' - I'll bet there's a button press or combination you didn't already know about!
Nokia's plans for Windows Phone are relatively clear, and Samsung's intentions (while not what Microsoft would hope for) are also easy to divine. It is less clear for the manufacturer in second place on Microsoft's mobile platform. HTC's presence is welcome, but with slower sales on WP compared to Nokia (and much slower than Samsung on Android) they are not in a comfortable position.
Continuing our coverage of the forthcoming Windows Phone 8 GDR2 software update, in this mini-feature and video we look at the return of FM Radio, as demonstrated on the Nokia Lumia 925. FM Radio functionality, which remains an important feature point in many markets, is not new to Windows Phone. It was previously available on Windows Phone 7.5 devices, but was not included in the jump to Windows Phone 8.
Another major press event by Samsung, and another opportunity to launch a Windows Phone handset passes by. What is the South Korean company up to with Windows Phone? As it turns out, doing the same as they always have, which is not much. No matter how hard the other members of the ecosystem push Windows Phone, Samsung are the anchor in the ointment, holding back the platform.
Continuing our coverage of the new software functionality available in Windows Phone 8 GDR2, we look at Data Sense on the Nokia Lumia 925. Data Sense provides a way to monitor data usage, on both an overall, and app-by-app basis. It's useful as it makes it easier to stay inside any data limits imposed by your operator, thus avoiding overage charges or data slowdowns.
A simple question. What's wrong with Microsoft paying developers to code applications for Windows Phone 8? As the weekend opened, Business Insider noted that Redmond was paying 'up to $100,000' for hand picked developers to write for the mobile platform. Of course, the vast majority are looking at a much smaller return. But what, precisely, is wrong about an app bounty?
Windows Phone 8 GDR2, the latest software update for Microsoft's mobile platform, is mainly focused on quality improvements (bug fixes and performance improvements), but there are a number of new features. One of these is the addition of CalDAV and CardDAV support when setting up a Google account (Gmail, Google Contacts, and Google Calendar) on a Windows Phone device. In this feature we explain the background to this new feature and offer a brief video demo.
