One of the exclusive applications for Nokia's Windows Phone 7 devices is from the sports network ESPN. There are many apps out there providing news and media clips to sports fans, but with the ESPN brand name behind it, many people are going to grab this for their Lumia. Given the exclusive nature, Nokia might be banking on this app to help sell Lumias. If so, they may be disappointed.
So far, Rafe has given us his in-depth hardware review of the Lumia 800, and Steve has looked at the still and video capture performance of its camera. After months of everyday use, it's time to turn our attention to the software of the Lumia 800. Yes, most of the Lumia 800's built-in software is the same on all Windows Phone 7 devices, and so this is a review of the platform as a whole too. This part (three) of the review will look at communication and personal information management (PIM) software. Parts four and five will go on to look at Office, multimedia, exclusive Nokia apps, and much more.
It might have been around for the last year, gathering fans and turning them into addicts, but now that Wordament has hit the Xbox Live branding, it's going to be discovered by a much larger audience - and mobile word play gaming will never be quite the same. Has the underground indie hit made a successful transition? Yes it has.
Look past the quirky name that sounds like a comedy cop show on Bravo TV and you'll find that Jellies vs Paul is a smart puzzle game for Windows Phone, mixing "obsessive collection" with the "escape the maze" genre. This is definitely one for the puzzle fans out there, but it's accessible enough that it could become a sleeper hit for the platform.
You wouldn't think that Curling would make an absorbing game for Windows Phone, but thankfully the team at MaxNick decided otherwise. Curling3D brings the target game from the ice rink into your Windows Phone handset with a delightful mix of graphics and computer AI, to provide a big gaming challenge.
You've got to love a 'labour of love' utility that opens with a splash screen of a 'hungry chipmunk working tirelessly to start your app' - in this case GPS Calculator. Not quite what you might expect - rather than divulge the inner workings of your GPS satellite reception, it's more a mathematical aid, based around your position and around points on the Earth's surface. With widgets and calculation aids galore, and with a price of 'free', this is a must-download for orienteers and map-heads across the world.
It's another strategy game. It's another strategy game on Xbox Live. It's another strategy game on Xbox Live from Sid Meier. But the difference between Pirates! and Civilization Revolution (reviewed last week on AAWP) is that Pirates! trades the longevity of Civilization to reduce the difficulty and make the game more approachable for those new to the game.
Secure database utilities ('password managers') are a common enough category of utility on all mobile platforms and Windows Phone is no exception. I've already looked briefly at Handy Safe in covering its launch on Windows Phone and at how to take its data from other platforms, and will no doubt return to this for the full review treatment, but in the meantime here's a new alternative, Password Jinni, with a few unique features (and a few others missing....)
Announced back in December last year, 7digital released their Windows Phone music store last week. Available as a free app download from Windows Marketplace, is it worth making a song and dance about? I think it is.
The long running strategy franchise has reached Xbox Live for your Windows Phone. First released back in 1991, it's a solid game that has a huge number of fans that's balanced by people who simply cannot get into the game with its huge depth and scope. How does it cope with Microsoft's smartphone platform? Let's find out.
