Microsoft has published twinned "Switch to Windows Phone" apps on the Google Play and Windows Phone Store. On Android devices the app will first check to see what apps are installed and then check whether they are available on Windows Phone, before returning an apps available on Windows Phone percentage. The results can be saved, so that they can later be retrieved using the Windows Phone version of the app, which provides links to quickly install the matched apps.
Thanks to our readers the AAWP has won Nokia Conversation's App March Madness competition, earning eternal glory and a snazzy gold medal graphic. We would like to take this opportunity to thank all those who voted for the app through the various rounds of the competition.
Pandora, a personalised radio service that plays music and comedy, is now available for Windows Phone. As an exclusive promotion Pandora, when used on Windows Phone, will be ad-free and have no monthly streaming limits. Pandora usually charges a $3.99 per month subscription (or $36 a year) for ad-free listening and limits free mobile listening to 40 hours per month, but there will no charge or limits for Windows Phone users throughout 2013.
Back in late January Microsoft started rolling out the Windows Phone 7.8 update for existing Windows Phone 7.5 devices, bringing the Windows Phone 8 Start screen experience to older devices. However, the roll out of the update was paused after an issue with Live Tile updates emerged for some use cases. The issue has now been resolved and Microsoft has updated the update, allowing the roll out of the Windows Phone 7.8 to resume.
Nokia Glam Me, an app which lets you enhances self-portrait pictures taken with the front facing camera of Lumia devices, is now available for download from the Windows Phone Store. The app, which was announced last week at MWC, will automatically enhance any photo it captures, but you can also apply manual adjustments, and apply creative filters.
The first software update to Windows Phone 8, code named Portico, has now entered the third phase of its roll out. By the end of the month most Windows Phone 8 devices will have received a notification to apply the update. The update includes additional messaging functionality, the ability to send text replies in response to incoming calls, an option to switch off image loading in Internet Explorer, improvements to WiFi and Bluetooth connectivity, and a number of performance improvements and bug fixes.
The Nokia Music+ service is now available in the UK for all Nokia Lumia devices (both Windows Phone 7 and 8). The premium version of Nokia's music service allows for unlimited skips, unlimited downloads (of music 'Mixes'), higher quality streaming and downloads, lyrics support, and a web-app player that lets you use the service on any Internet-connected device (PC, Smart TV, tablet). A free 7 day trial is available for all users, with the full subscription costing £3.99 per month.
Starting today, as expected, Microsoft and Nokia are making the beta of Nokia Drive+ available for free to all Windows Phone 8 customers - (explaining the asterisk in the headline above) at least, in the United States, United Kingdom and Canada. Nokia Drive+ had previously been a Nokia exclusive title on its Lumia range, but the legalities and finances have presumably all been worked out to bring full turn by turn navigation to all Windows Phone 8 users, again presumably with a roll out around the rest of the world in due course.
Nokia has announced the start of the roll out of a software updates for the Lumia 920 and Lumia 820 in Canada (Rogers) and the US (AT&T). The update (PR 1.1) combines the Windows Phone 10211 platform update with a number of firmware updates specific to Nokia. The platform update includes enhancements to Messaging, WiFi and Bluetooth connectivity, and a number of performance improvements. The firmware updates includes enhancement to imaging performance and battery management.
A new version of the Nokia Music app is available for Lumia devices running on Windows Phone 7.5 or Windows Phone 8. The new version includes a number of UI tweaks that help streamline the Nokia Music user experience. The latest update follows in the footsteps of a recent update that added support for rich artist information (swipe left from player screen), saving of artist images, and improved language support.
