As more people start to buy into the Windows Phone system, more app developers will be looking at the platform and wondering how to make best use of the opportunities on offer. One route I personally hope that they ignore is 'cloning' popular applications from other platforms and dropping them into Microsoft's mobile machines.
Guest photoblogger Harry Myhre has had his new Nokia Lumia 928 for a week and here presents his unboxing photos and thoughts, largely positive, with special appreciation for Microsoft's SkyDrive as a 'file system' in the cloud. Note that the Lumia 928 is an exclusive design for Verizon in the USA - it's unlikely that any of the regular AAWP writers will get to try the device in a real world capacity.
As part of the Lumia Amber software update, coming soon to existing Lumia Windows Phone 8 devices, Nokia has added a number of customisations to Windows Phone's display functionality and settings. These include an option to have an always-on clock displayed on screen when your device is fully locked ('Nokia Glance Screen') and the ability to adjust the colour display characteristics of the screen ('Lumia colour profile'). In this feature, we offer an in-depth look at the new functionality as seen on the newly released Nokia Lumia 925.
Just under a month after it was announced, the Nokia Lumia 925 goes on sale this week. Sales start in a number of European countries (Germany, UK, and Italy) with the US and China expected to follow shortly afterwards. The SIM free price, before taxes and subsidies, is €469 SIM-free, which translates to a UK high street price of approximately £475, but initially the devices will only be widely available through operators (from free on the £33-£37 two year contract tier). We're kicking off our coverage of the latest Lumia with a video introduction and unboxing.
With the announcement of iOS 7 for developers at Apple's WWDC, one of the rival mobile operating systems to Windows Phone steps forward with new ideas and presentations. But if you take a closer look at iOS, is there anything that stands out as a lesson that Windows Phone needs to learn? Here are six...
Whatever your thoughts on the exact meaning of Nokia's 'PureView' term, the arrival of Optical Image Stabilisation (OIS) in the smartphone world with the announcement of the Lumia 920 did at least make a few tech hearts flutter. Mounting the entire optical assembly in a 3-axis, accelerometer and gryo-controlled MEMS 'barrel shift stabiliser'? Admittedly, this did mean a few compromises in terms of the size of the camera itself (at least, compared to the huge unit in the Nokia 808), but OIS did promise a lot. Does it deliver? Armed with latest firmware, I put the Lumia 920 up against the HTC One, currently the only other smartphone in the world with OIS.
Any reading of Nokia's current situation in the smartphone world will always include dire warnings of what could befall the Finnish company if Microsoft turn round and do something "evil". If you are to believe anyone commenting on the Internet, all Nokia then needs to do is say "we are switching to Android" and all will be well for the Finnish company. Nobody ever stops to consider what would happen to Microsoft if that scenario was to happen.
2013 should see, somewhat belatedly, a feature that has been standard on Nokia's Symbian since 2009 (and also on Meego) finally make it onto Windows Phone. Admittedly, there are some technical considerations here, since the feature only works if the devices have an AMOLED screen (most of the Symbian smartphones do/did), but there have also been issues of OS support, I suggest. What I'm talking about is, of course, the 'always on clock', about which I eulogise below, along with gratuitous shots of owls and leaves....
Here's a little bit of idle speculation to start the week off. Almost everyone expects Microsoft to talk more about the integration between Windows Phone's gaming features and the new Xbox One console at the upcoming E3 trade show in June. There is also a long-standing rumour that Microsoft are working on their own smartphone, the so-called Surface Phone. Our personal feeling is that it's more research and development led than something aimed at retail. But... what if we make these observations are the same side of a single coin?
Microsoft's big reveal this week for the next generation of Xbox console, the Xbox One, was bereft of any news on the future of the Xbox Live ecosystem on Windows Phone handsets. That's to be expected - the focus was on establishing the Xbox One as the default device in living rooms around the world. But what can we expect to see happen between your Windows Phone and the Xbox One?
