Microsoft is still working on software updates for Windows Phone 7 — but the company is also looking ahead to Windows Phone 8. While Microsoft hasn’t had much to say publicly about its next-generation smartphone OS, the folks at PocketNow got a look at a leaked video which spells out an awful lot of details.

Paul Thurrott followed up with more details at WinSuperSite.

Here are a few of the highlights:

• The operating system will be based on the Windows 8 kernel, not Windows CE.
• While Windows 8 apps won’t run on Windows Phone 8, the two operating systems will share enough code that developers can port Win8 apps to WP8 easily.
• The Zune Client desktop sync app will go away and Microsoft will launch a new app dedicated to synchronizing Windows Phone 8 devices with Windows computers.
• Windows Phone 8 will support multicore chips, new screen resolutions, NFC radios, and other high-end hardware.
• There will be a Wallet app to compete with Google Wallet.
• Microsoft plans to use a proxy server to speed up webpage load times in Internet Explorer 10.
• Windows Phone 8 will support 128-bit full-disk BitLocker encryption.
• Microsoft is introducing a “lens app” for camera functionality.

The new mobile operating system is expected to ship around the same time as Windows 8, which probably means the second half of 2012.

There’s a new jailbreak tool for Windows Phone 7 under development. It’s called WindowBreak and right now you can use it on some Samsung smartphones to enable support for apps that aren’t downloaded from the Windows Phone Marketplace.

Jaxbot, the developer of the project, hopes to add support for phones from different manufacturers.

The tool basically lets you do the same thing you can do with the ChevronWP7 tool — but you don’t have to pay $9 to use WindowBreak.
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If you want to install apps on a smartphone running Windows Phone 7, you have two options: Get your apps from the Windows Phone Marketplace or pay $99 for a developer account. Scratch that… now there are three options.

Today the folks at ChevronWP7 have launched a new tool that lets you sign in with your Windows Live ID, pay $9 via PayPal, and get a token which will allow you to unlock your device so that you can install third party apps without a developer account.

You’ll need to install a tool on your Windows PC to unlock your device. There are 32-bit and 64-bit versions available.

Once you unlock a device, your $9 token cannot be used to unlock another phone — but you can use it to unlock the same device over and over.

Right now the ChevronLabs Unlock utility is aimed primarily at developers that want to test apps on a phone without signing up for a full developer account. But as more developers start to create third party apps that aren’t available from the Windows Phone Marketplace, the ChevronWP7 utility will let casual users and coders alike try out those apps on their phones.

If you do later decide to sign up for a developer account with Microsoft, you should send an email to the ChevronWP7 team to deactivate your account in order to prevent any conflicts with your Microsoft developer account.

via WP Central

When Microsoft launcher Windows Phone 7 last year, the company basically created a nice big, thick line between newer Windows phones and older models. Windows Phone 7 cannot run any apps developed for Windows Phone 6.5 or earlier — and Microsoft didn’t offer WP7 as a software updated for any phones designed to run earlier Windows Phone or Windows Mobile software.

That move didn’t sit well with some folks, who figured there weren’t huge hardware differences between some of the last Windows Phone 6.5 devices and some of the first Windows Phone 7 devices.

It didn’t take very long for hackers do port Windows Phone 7 to run on the HTC HD2, one of the most powerful phones to ship Windows Mobile 6.5. But it’s taken a bit longer to get Windows Phone 7 up and running on another phone. But now it’s finally happened.

Xda-developers forum member Nokser has released an early Windows Phone 7 build for the Toshiba Tsunagi TG01/TA01 smartphone.

The phone was released during the summer of 2009, and it features a 1 GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon QSD8250 processor, 256MB of RAM, 512MB of ROM, and a 4.1 inch, 480 x 800 pixel display.

The Windows Phone 7 port is still pretty rough around the edges. The camera doesn’t work, the phone signal and 3G data signal are pretty bad, and the battery charges slowly. In other words, if you actually want to use your phone, you should probably avoid updating. But if you’ve got an older Toshiba TG01 lying around that you’re not using and you want to see what it would have looked like if Microsoft or Toshiba had offered an update, now there’s a way.

via xda-developers

Microsoft has announced that it will soon launch a new app for Windows Phone devices that allows users to interact with an Xbox 360 game console using a phone.

The new app is called the Xbox Companion App and it will let users search the Xbox LIVE Marketplace for music, movies, TV shows, and games. You can also view more details about the media playing on you Xbox. For instance you can view cast information for the movie you’re watching without interrupting playback.

Xbox Companion will also turn your phone into a remote control for the Xbox, letting you hit a play button when you find media you want to play — or start controller mode to play, pause, fast forward, or rewind while connected to an Xbox over your home network.

Microsoft has started pushing out Windows Phone 7.5 Mango software. This means that sometime in the next week or so there’s a good chance existing Windows Phone 7 users will be prompted to download and install an update. There are plenty of new features coming in Mango, including tighter integration with Microsoft’s SkyDrive cloud services, improved social networking and music features, and turn-by-turn driving directions.

Microsoft is also making it easier to discover Windows Phone apps — even if you don’t have a Windows Phone device. Anyone can now browse or search for apps in the Windows Phone Marketplace using a shiny new web interface.

You can view featured apps and games from the home screen, and sort apps by free, top, and new. Clicking on any app takes you to a page where you can views screenshots, reviews, and more details. And if you do have a supported device you can login with your Windows Live ID to purchase apps from the website.

The process isn’t quite as smooth as Google’s. If you have an Android device, you can tap a button on the web and your phone or tablet will automatically start to download and install an application. But the Windows Phone Marketplace will instead send you a link via email or SMS. You have to click on that link to start installing the app.

Microsoft has been working on a major update to the Windows Phone 7 operating system for months, and now it’s finally ready to roll. The company has made two announcements today:

• The update will be called Windows Phone 7.5 (Mango was just a code-name).
• It will be available “in the next week or two.”

While Microsoft will be rolling out the software update, users will get the new software from their phone manufacturer, not directly from Microsoft. Once it’s available you should be prompted to download the update.

If you’re running a leaked, pre-release copy of Windows Phone 7.5 you may not receive the notification when the final build is available for download, so Microsoft is encouraging users to stay away from leaked software.

Microsoft has also updated the Zune software for Windows computers and Windows Phone 7 Connector software for Macs. You can download these apps today to get ready for the update.

The Windows Phone 7.5 Mango update includes a number of new features and improvements, including enhanced support for Microsoft’s SkyDrivecloud storage service, new social networking features, visual voicemail, and new music and podcast functionality.

Perhaps the most disenfranchised Sonic the Hedgehog game, Sonic CD, will be the first to hit the Android and Windows Phone operating systems.

Sonic CD, the ‘CD’ standing for the add-on device (Mega-CD) of the Mega Drive console that originally hosted the game, is a curious first choice from Sega. It was considered one of the best Sonic games ever made by critics at the time (1991), but it’s not the most well-known. The traditional storyline in which Sonic saves his love interest, Amy Rose, from the evil Dr. Eggman is present, so all the Sonic action you’re familiar with will be in this game.

Now that it’s going mobile and will reach Android, Windows Phone and iOS (which already has several Sonic titles), platform-specific features will be included. This means special iOS features, Xbox Live Achievements, and more will be integrated into Sonic CD.

The game is also expected to drop on the PlayStation Network, Xbox 360, and Windows PC. It’s expected to launch soon, but an exact date hasn’t been released.

via Slashgear