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.

Microsoft accidentally spills the beans on Windows Phone 8 is a post from: mobiputing

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.

There’s no app store for jailbroken Windows Phone 7 devices, so right now in order to sideload an app you’ll need to connect a phone to your PC. But you can find instructions for jailbreaking supported devices at the developer’s website.

You can also find more details about the project at the xda-developers forum.

via Electronista

WindowBreak: Jailbreak tool for Windows Phone 7 is a post from: mobiputing

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

ChevronWP7 will unlock your Windows Phone 7 device for $9 is a post from: mobiputing

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

Windows 7 ported to 2009′s Toshiba TG01 smartphone is a post from: mobiputing

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.

Xbox Companion app for Windows Phone coming soon is a post from: mobiputing

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.

Windows Phone Marketplace app store now available on the web is a post from: mobiputing

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.

Microsoft: Windows Phone 7.5 Mango coming within two weeks is a post from: mobiputing

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

Sonic the Hedgehog coming to Android, iOS, Windows Phone is a post from: mobiputing

GroupMe is a group messaging service that lets you create groups from the contacts on your smartphone and start conversations involving everyone in the group. The company offers clients for iOS, Android, BlackBerry and Windows Phone 7 and also works over SMS.

Today Skype announced that it’s acquiring GroupMe — which actually means Microsoft is buying GroupMe, since Microsoft acquired Skype recently.

Skype offers voice, video, and text chat services for PC, Mac, Linux, and mobile devices. Earlier this year the company also acquired Qik, a service for recording and sharing short videos.

In a press release, Skype says the GroupMe acquisition will bring the company’s expertise in “text-based communications,” location sharing, and photo sharing to Skype. In other words, we could see group messaging capabilities coming soon to Skype’s mobile apps — as well as some of the company’s SMS features which allow you to engage in group communications with non-smartphones.

Skype acquires group messaging service GroupMe is a post from: mobiputing

Following HP’s announcement that it would discontinue all webOS hardware including smartphones and tablets, Microsoft’s Brandon Walsh reached out to webOS developers, promising free phones and other tools if they were interested in developing for Windows Phone 7. So far he’s received over 200 replies.

For its part, HP is trying to convince webOS developers not to jump ship. While the company will no longer make devices that run webOS, HP hasn’t yet put the operating system to bed. Instead, officials are hoping to get other companies to license the software for use on their own devices, much the way Microsoft and Google already do with their smartphone operating systems.

The problem is that it’s hard to see a future for webOS at the moment. Less than two months ago HP was gung ho about the TouchPad tablet. Today the company is liquidating its inventory by selling the tablet for just $99. Since there currently aren’t any other companies using webOS, who’s to say that a month from now HP might not just pull the plug on the software division as well?

HP is trying to persuade developers to stick around, and promises to keep supporting webOS. But all HP has to offer at the moment are words and a user base that won’t be growing for a while (at least not once this weekend’s HP TouchPad fire sale is over). Microsoft, on the other hand, is giving developers free phones.

Microsoft courts webOS developers while HP tries to hang onto them is a post from: mobiputing

Up for some good times with your Windows Phone 7-toting friends? Firing up the new We’re In app puts you on the fast track for geolocation-powered fun.

Select friends from your phone’s contacts, let “your peeps” (Microsoft’s words, not mine) know what you’re up for, and let the app know how long you’d like to make your location known. We’re In offers built-in group messaging — which we already knew was coming system-wide in the Windows Phone 7 Mango update — and lets your friends ask questions and post updates (like “stuck in traffic” or “almost there”) right inside the app. When the event expires, location sharing stops automatically. Participants can also tap “leave” at any time to opt out instantly.

We’re In is sort of like an answer to check-in apps like Google Latitude and Foursquare, though it doesn’t yet offer goodies like check-in deals or badges. Of course, with Microsoft’s affinity for Facebook there’s a decent chance that We’re In could add support for Facebook Places and Facebook deals in future versions of the app.

Keen-eyed observers might also detect some similarities between We’re In and another Microsoft app for Windows Phone 7, Lunchbox. Lunchbox, however, is a more 9-to-5 take on things and is geared toward business use — power lunches, spontaneous meetings, and the like.

We’re In app for Windows Phone 7 helps you plan group outings is a post from: mobiputing

Microsoft is discontinuing its eBook platform. Long before EPUB and Amazon Kindle books had become the de facto standard, the Microsoft Reader .lit format was one of the most popular eBook formats around. I read some of my first digital books using Microsoft Reader for Pocket PC (back before Microsoft’s mobile operating system was rebranded as Windows Mobile and then Windows Phone).

The company has also offered Reader software for desktop and laptop computers as well as tablet-style devices.

Starting on November 8th, 2011 you won’t be able to purchase any new books in the .lit format, and Microosft will stop offering Reader software from its website on August 30th, 2012.

If you’ve already purchased eBooks using the .lit format, you can continue to read them using  Reader software or any other compatible client after that point.

You can use Calibre or other eBook software to convert DRM-free .lit files to EPUB or another format. If your books have DRM you’ll need to remove the copy-protection first using software such as ConvertLIT first.

via The Digital Reader

Microsoft Reader eBook software has a year left to live is a post from: mobiputing

Microsoft will soon begin pushing out Windows Phone 7 Mango as an over-the-air software update for devices currently running Windows Phone 7. But if you’ve got an HTC phone and you’re willing to do a little hacking (and warranty voiding) you don’t have to wait. DarkForcesTeam has put together a custom ROM for most HTC Windows Phone 7 devices.

The DFT Freedom ROM is based on Mango, which means that you get all the new features including support for multitasking and improved Windows Live Skydrive integration and an improved media player.

It’s also pre-jailbroken, which means you should be able to install apps that aren’t available from the Windows Phone Marketplace. The developer shave removed the apps that are typically preloaded by carriers such as T-Mobile or AT&T, but left the HTC apps intact.

The custom ROM should work with the HTC Pro 7, HD3, Surround, Trophy, and HD7 and it’s available in 22 different languages.

You can find more details at the xda-developers forum, where you’ll also find links to the download files and information on installing the custom firmware. The instructions aren’t really written for beginners, so either make sure you know what you’re doing… or you’re willing to risk breaking your device before proceeding.

Custom ROM brings Mango to older HTC Windows Phone 7 devices is a post from: mobiputing

You know a mobile operating system has arrived when developers start writing classic video game console emulators for it. So it looks like Windows Phone 7 has arrived, because a Gameboy emulator called Wario’s Jewels launched last month.

The app features a virtual gamepad, smooth graphics and frame-rates, and a file browser and game information menus that look pretty good on Windows Phone 7.

So far the developer says the emulator can support about 500 different games, and you’ll will be able to add games to their smartphones by uploading them to a server so that they’ll be automatically downloaded to your device.

Unfortunately Wario’s Jewels is not available in the Windows Phone Marketplace. You’ll need to unlock your phone with a developer account or using ChevronWP7 in order to install the Gameboy emulator.

via xda-developers

Wario’s Jewels: Gameboy emulator for Windows Phone 7 is a post from: mobiputing

Nokia will start offering smartphones running Windows Phone 7 in the US and other markets later this year. But for the next year or two the company will continue to offer phones running the Symbian operating system as well as cheaper “feature phones” with web browsing, chat, and other internet apps — it just won’t offer them in the US.

All Things D reports that once Nokia starts selling Windows Phone 7 devices in the States, it will pull out of the Symbian and feature phone spaces.

The single-minded focus on Windows Phone 7 for the US also helps explain why Nokia has no plans to launch the N9 smartphone running MeeGo software in the United States.

Symbian phones were never very popular in the States anyway. The operating system was one of the dominant smartphone platforms in Europe up until recently, but the OS has been losing market share to iOS, Android, and other platforms in recent years.

Nokia has already promised to offer support and software updates for Symbian phones for the next 5 years, so if you’re currently using a Symbian smartphone you might not need to replace it anytime soon.

Nokia to go all-Windows Phone 7 in the US (no more Symbian, feature phones) is a post from: mobiputing

Evernote has launched an update to its Windows Phone 7 app which adds support for rich text editing, sharing URLs for notes, and more.

What makes Evernote special is the fact that it combines native note-taking apps for mobile devices such as an iPhone, Android, or Windows Phone device and a web-based service so that all of your notes are backed up online. So that new URL sharing feature allows you to create a note on your phone and then share it via email, IM, Twitter, or another service. Then the recipient can click the URL to view your note on the web.

The new rich text editor may not be exactly what you think. Typically when people talk about rich text editing, they’re talking about the ability to add bold, italic, or underlined text or make other changes to the text formatting. But what Evernote is letting you do is make edits to documents such as web clips that already have rich text formatting including images. Previously there was no way to change the text or pictures in this sort of note.

Evernote 1.2 also adds support for checkboxes so you can access any notes you already have with checklists  – although you cannot create them on your Windows Phone 7 device yet. Users can also now rotate and save images inside of web clips or decrypt notes that were encoded using Evernote’s desktop service.

You can download Evernote 1.2 for free from the Windows Phone Marketplace.

Evernote for Windows Phone 7 gets rich text editing is a post from: mobiputing

The Mango update for Windows Phone 7 will be available any day now, and while Microsoft has pointed out some of the highlights, it turns out there are a few hidden gems in the new software as well. For instance, Being Manan noticed that Mango lets you stream music from your Windows Live SkyDrive account to your phone.

Basically if you’ve already uploaded MP3 music to SkyDrive, all you have to do is fire up the SkyDrive app on your phone, find the Music folder, and select the song you want to play. What happens next is a little silly: You’re redirected to the SkyDrive website. But if you tap the song on that website, the file will load and you can stream it using your phone’s music player.

What’s interesting is that while the Internet Explorer 9 web browser in Windows Phone 7 supports this feature, it may not have been a high priority for the SkyDrive team. Instead, according to the folks that control the SkyDrive Twitter account, the focus is on making sure that users can access SkyDrive photos and documents on their Windows Phone 7 devices.

via LiveSide

Mango adds SkyDrive music streaming to Windows Phone 7 is a post from: mobiputing

Microsoft recently released Windows Phone 7.1 Mango to manufacturers, which means that the first smartphones running the updated operating system should start hitting the streets in the next few months. But phone makers aren’t the only ones getting a new version of Windows Phone 7 this week. Microsoft has also released a new beta for developers.

The Windows Phone 7.1 Beta 2 refresh isn’t exactly the same as the RTM (release to manufacturing) build. But it’s pretty close and it does give developers the tools they need to update apps or write new apps that will work with Windows Phone 7.1 once it’s available to the public.

The new beta has built-in support for taking screenshots on your device, and features locked APIs, which means that any apps designed to work on the beta release won’t rely on features that will function differently in the final release.

New Windows Phone 7 Mango beta available for developers is a post from: mobiputing

There’s good news for those of you who are waiting for the Windows Phone 7 Mango update to arrive on your smartphones: Mango has been released to manufacturers and is being sent to cellular carriers for certification.

That should mean things are right schedule for the previously-announced September launch, though we could see Mango roll out even sooner. Fujitsu’s IS12T is set to hit retail shelves in Japan in August, and it’s expected to ship with Mango. There is, of course, that small hurdle of carrier certification to clear, and we’ve already seen just how long that can take. Some Windows Phone 7 owners are still waiting for their last pre-Mango updates to arrive.

While Windows Phone 7 devices haven’t exactly been flying off the shelves, customer satisfaction rates have been high and the platform has seen the arrival of a number of top-tier mobile apps (including Evernote and IM+) recently. Mango’s 500+ new features will open up scores of new possibilities for developers, which should help boost retail sales once the Mango-friendly apps start rolling in to the Zune Marketplace.

Mango’s other big improvements — like turn-by-turn directions, speech-to-text, group messaging, built in support for Live Messenger and Facebook chat, and a greatly improved email app — should help Microsoft win some new fans, too.

via Liveside.Net

Windows Phone 7 Mango hits RTM, heads to carriers for testing is a post from: mobiputing

Google is expanding its suite of mobile apps for the Google+ social network. When the service first launched a few weeks ago the company only offered an Android app and a mobile web site. This week an iPhone app hit the iTunes App Store. And now it looks like we’ll see a Windows Phone 7 app next week.

The Google+ social network is still in private beta, which means you can’t start using the service without an invitation. But while invites were pretty scarce in the first few days, Google has been pretty liberal with the invitations recently and there are already millions of registered users.

There are a few key features that set Google+ apart from competitors including Facebook and Twitter. The first is an emphasis on “circles,” or easy to configure groups of contacts. You can create circles by dragging and dropping your contacts into groups using a desktop web browser and then choose which updates you want to share with the public and which you only want to share with specific groups. You can also choose to only view updates from members of groups you’ve created.

The mobile apps also offer a nifty group chat feature that lets you create a “huddle” and invite friends to send messages in real-time. Android users can also enable automatic uploading of photos from their camera roll. The iOS app doesn’t support automatic uploads, but it does allow you to manually send photos from your phone to Google+.

There’s no word on which features will be available in the Windows Phone 7 app, but the Google Plus team some random guy has put out a list of updates coming next week, and the Windows Phone 7 app is on the agenda.

Update: False alarm… maybe. It looks like this news came from an unofficial Google Plus news blog.

via IntoMobile

Google+ for Windows Phone 7 coming soon? is a post from: mobiputing

Microsoft is set to release the next major update to Windows Phone 7 soon. The update (code-named Mango) will bring a number of new features including support for multitasking, better messaging, an improved user interface for switching between apps, and support for visual voicemail. Another update is tight integration with Twitter and LinkedIn.

This week Microsoft released a video showing how the new social features will work.

In a nutshell, updates from Facebook, Twitter, Windows Live LinkedIn will all show up in your phone’s People Hub. But if the stream gets too crowded, you can filter by social network.

There’s also a new social notification feature that works with a Live Tile on your home screen. When there’s new activity from your social networks, you’ll see it on your home screen. When you tap the tile it will take you to a notifications window where you can see if someone has mentioned you on Twitter, written on your Facebook Wall, or taken other action. You can also reply to messages from this window, retweet Twitter messages, or perform other actions.

In other words, while on most mobile platforms you need to install separate apps to get the most out of Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and other social networks, the built-in social features of Windows Phone 7 Mango may be enough for many users. Of course, if you don’t actually use any of those social networks, this feature might just be a waste of space, but it’s probably a small waste at worst.

via WP Central

Microsoft shows off Windows Phone 7 Mango’s social networking features is a post from: mobiputing

A group of independent developers is working with Microsoft to provide an officially sanctioned tool for jailbreaking Windows Phone 7 devices. Right now if you want to install apps that aren’t available from the Windows Phone Marketplace you need to pony up $99 for a developer license. But the upcoming ChevronWP7 tool will let you do it for just $9.

One of the developers unveiled the pricing today on Twitter.

The tool is aimed at developers that want to test their apps on the platform before committing to spending nearly a hundred bucks to join the official developer program. But it could also provide a way for Windows Phone 7 owners with no coding skills to install unofficial apps without going through the Marketplace — assuming developer start to write such apps for the platform.

via WM Power User

Soon you’ll be able to jailbreak Windows Phone 7 for $9 is a post from: mobiputing

Group text messaging is one of the 500 some-odd updates coming to Windows Phone 7 Mango. It’ll arrive inside the updated messaging hub and will even be smart enough to route messages to your contacts via IM when they’re online. But Mango isn’t due for a few months yet, and maybe you want to group message right now.

Those who want a heard start can now download the GroupMe app for WP7. Its arrival on Windows Phone 7 rounds out support for the four major mobile platforms, with iOS, Android, and BlackBerry users already invited along for the ride.

Two of the features your iPhone or Android toting buddies can enjoy are also available in the WP7 app — messaging and conference calls. If a Wi-Fi connection is available, GroupMe will use it to send your messages. If not, SMS will suffice. Location mapping and photo sharing are in the works, but weren’t ready to go at launch time.

Head over to the Marketplace on your phone and search GroupMe to install, or launch the Tag app and scan below!

via WP Central

Windows Phone 7 gets group text via GroupMe ahead of Mango release is a post from: mobiputing

The Windows Phone 7 Mango update is coming soon(ish), and Microsoft is taking to the streets (or at least the web) to tout some of the upcoming operating system’s new features.

Curiously, Microsoft chose to title its blog post “navigational improvements,” which probably got a lot of curious readers thinking they’d see Mango’s turn-by-turn directions feature shown off in greater detail. Unfortunately, they were talking about navigating the screens on your phone, specifically the Apps list.

Now that the Marketplace is starting to fill with apps you actually want to install, your list could be getting quite lengthy. To make locating specific apps easier, Mango will add a search feature and quick jump list like the one currently available in your People Hub. Type in a few letters of the app you’re after and suggestions appear instantly below — just tap to launch. To keep clutter to a minimum as is the Metro M.O., the search box only appears when users have more than 45 apps installed.

And since finding and launching apps is so much easier in Mango, you’ll need a way to seamlessly switch among them, too. That’s where Mango’s webOS-inspired card switching comes in, finally bringing multitasking to WP7 phones.

Hit up the official blog post for full details, and then return to twiddling your thumbs while you wait patiently for Mango to RTM and be approved for deployment by carriers.

Windows Phone 7 Mango usability improvements shown off by Microsoft is a post from: mobiputing

Voicemail and answering machines changed the way we use voice communications by allowing people to leave spoken messages in non-real time. But who has the time to listen to all those messages your friends, family, and colleagues leave on your phone? Visual voicemail changed all that by providing text transcripts of spoken messages allowing you to read your voicemail at a glance.

Google Voice brings free visual voicemail features to many Android smartphones. Transcripts aren’t always very good, but they often give you the gist of a message. Third-party services such as YouMail offer a similar feature for iOS, Android, or BlackBerry.

Now it looks like Microsoft may be bringing visual voicemail to the next version of Windows Phone 7. Developers have begun working with beta versions of Windows Phone 7 Mango, and some users have noticed a new option for visual voicemail built into the OS.

The option shows up in the dialer settings on some handsets. It looks like the feature needs to be enabled by wireless carriers. Some users report that it works with T-Mobile in the US, but not with phones on AT&T’s network.

via WM Power User

Visual voicemail coming to Windows Phone 7 Mango is a post from: mobiputing

You know those 25,000 apps that are now available for Windows Phone 7? It looks like you can count an official New York Times  among them. While there were already a handful of unofficial apps which allowed you to read the latest stories from the Gray Lady, this is the first time the newspaper has offered its own app for the platform.

Top news stories will be available for free, just as they are in the iOS and Android apps. You’ll have to sign up for a subscription to access all the sections including blogs, videos, and slide shows.

Users can share stories through Facebook, Twitter, and email, and the app allows you to download articles for offline reading.

The official NY Times app is available as a free download from the Windows Phone Marketplace.

via WP Central

Official NY Times app for Windows Phone 7 is a post from: mobiputing

The Windows Phone Marketplace is expanding at a pretty decent clip. While there aren’t nearly as many third party apps available for Windows Phone 7 as for Android or iOS yet, there are more than 25,000 apps in the Marketplace according to windowsphoneapplist. That number may be a little off, since other trackers have different figures. But WinRumors notes that it was just a few months ago that only 15,000 apps were available.

Of course, quality counts at least as much as quantity. After all, do you really need access to 400,000 iOS apps, or just to the few dozen you want the most? But we’ve also seen some movement on that front, with some of the hottest Android and iOS apps finding their way to Windows Phone 7. This week alone we saw the introduction of Angry Birds, Kik Messenger, Gowalla, and Epicurious, among others.

At this rate it’s going to take a long time for Microsoft’s app store to catch up to Google’s or Apple’s. But you can certainly make a case that you don’t need to attract the most developers — just the best ones.

In other news, nobody is even coming close to toppling Apple’s lead in the tablet app space. MacStories notes that as of this week there are more than 100,000 iPad apps available in the App Store. That’s not counting all of the iPhone apps you can also run on the iPad — these are apps designed specifically for the 9.7 inch tablet’s 1024 x 768 pixel display.

HP says there are about 300 tablet apps for webOS this week, and there are only a few hundred apps available for Android 3.x Honeycomb tablets even though the first Honeycomb tablets started shipping in February.

Windows Phone Marketplace tops 25,000 apps — The iPad has 100,000 is a post from: mobiputing

Microsoft is making Windows Phone 7 Mango available to developers starting today. The software update brings a number of new features including support for multitasking, an improved web browser with support for HTML5, better communications tools, and more powerful live tiles for the home screen.

Mango will be available as a free download for users later this year, but by granting developers early access Microsoft is giving them a heard start on developing apps that will take advantage of the new features so that some of those apps will be available by the time you can actually run Mango on your own phone.

In related news, it looks like we may have a code-name for the next Windows Phone software update. DigiTimes reports that it will be called Tango, and that Taiwanese device maker Compal has already signed a contract with Microsoft to license Mango and Tango. There’s no word on what new features will be included in Tango, but it’s not the only update in the works. Boy Genius Report reminds us that another update code-named Apollo is also under development — although we might not see it until next year.

Windows Phone 7 Mango heads to developers, Tango and Apollo coming next is a post from: mobiputing

A number of top tier apps have finally found their way to Windows Phone 7. This week the popular Angry Birds game flew into the Windows Phone Marketplace, along with mobile check-in app Gowalla, cross-platform messaging service Kik, and cooking app Epicurious.

The sudden rush of apps from big-name developers could be a sign that Windows Phone 7 has finally arrived and that developers aren’t solely focused on iOS and Android anymore.

On the other hand, the fact that it’s big news that apps which have been available for Android and iOS for ages is telling. It’d probably be more exciting if we saw stories about big apps launching first on Windows Phone 7.

Still, if you’re a Windows Phone 7 user, it’s nice to know that there are a growing number of third party apps available for your platform including some of the most popular apps for other mobile phone platforms.

New Windows Phone 7 apps include Angry Birds, Kik Messenger, Gowalla is a post from: mobiputing

Microsoft plans to release a major update to Windows Phone 7 soon. Code-named “Mango,” the next-gen mobile operating system will offer tighter integration with Microsoft’s cloud services, an improved media experience, a new web-based app store, and much more.

A preview version of Windows Phone 7.5 Mango is making the rounds, and a number of tech sites have published early reviews. Here are some of the highlights:

• SlashGear: The addition of multitasking, a streamlined messaging experience, and better multimedia make Mango a big leap forward — but the small number of third party apps when compared with iOS and Android could hold the platform back.
• Laptop Magazine: Mango adds a lot of new features, but still lacks some that are common to other platforms such as video calling, WiFi hotspot capabilities, or free voice navigation.
• Gizmodo: Windows Phone is finally playing in the big time now with support for multitasking, attractive animated effects, and speedy overall performance.
• WP Central: The Windows Phone experts at WP Central provide a detailed breakdown of how Mango compares with earlier builds of Windows Phone 7. The short version? It’s faster. Software buttons and other navigation graphics are larger and easier to interact with. The web browser is faster, and oh yeah, it finally handles HTML5 and other web standards.
• This is my next: Mango fixes many of the annoyances with earlier builds, but developers will need to update their apps to take advantage of new features such as multitasking and enhanced Live Tile integration.
• ZDNet: The whole WP7-doesn’t-have-as-many-apps criticism is overblown, and Mango actually makes it easier to find apps from the 20,000 apps in the Marketplace.
• PocketNow: This is one of the most detailed previews I’ve seen, complete with a bunch of hands-on videos, most of which you can check out after the break.
• MobileBurn: While PocketNow put together a ton of videos, MobileBurn put together just one 16 minute video that runs through as many new features as possible in a relatively short period of time. That’s surprisingly difficult to do given just how many updates Mango brings.

Overall everyone seems to agree that Mango is a big step forward for Microsoft. True multitasking is finally here, and the overall user experience has been improved. The web browser finally supports the same web standards found in other mobile browser, which means that maybe Microsoft can stop releasing Bing web services that work on Android and iOS before Windows Phone.

The Windows Phone Mango update will be available as a free upgrade for Windows Phone 7 users later this year. You can check out some of the videos from the previews below.

Windows Phone 7.5 Mango preview roundup is a post from: mobiputing

Windows Phone 7 includes a music player that looks strikingly similar to the software that comes on the Zune HD media player. Soon it looks like the video games and other apps designed for the Zune HD may also be available for Windows Phone 7.

I reviewed the Zune HD a few years ago and I was impressed at how well the little guy with an NVIDIA Tegra processor and widescreen touch display performed as a media player. I was underwhelmed by the tiny number of apps for the platform, especially when compared with the hundreds of thousands of apps available for the Apple iPod touch. But there were a few gems, including a Texas Hold ‘em poker game that I grew rather fond of.

In a recent podcast, a Microsoft exec explained that the company is looking at porting some of the apps it developed for the Zune HD to Windows Phone 7. There are a handful of third party apps for the Zune HD, and it’s entirely up to the developers of those apps to decide if they’ll launch WP7 versions, but it looks like the first party apps will be making the leap soon.

Another interesting tidbit is that Microsoft is working to bring more apps to the Zune HD as well. Windows Phone Secrets reports that some of those apps may include an email app, a note-taking app, and several additional games.

I’d love to see Microsoft release a next-gen Zune media player that simply runs Windows Phone 7 so that users can choose from the thousands of apps available for that platform instead of the dozens of apps available for the Zune HD. But I suppose this is still good news for Windows Phone and Zune HD users alike.

Microsoft will bring some Zune HD apps to Windows Phone 7… if anybody cares is a post from: mobiputing

The folks at ChevronWP7 introduced the first tool for jailbreaking Windows Phone 7 a while back, allowing users to install third party apps that weren’t available from the Windows Phone Marketplace. But the app was killed last year at Microsoft’s request. Now it looks like jailbreaking days may be here again soon.

The team has announced that a new tool for unlocking WP7 devices will be available soon for a small fee. The developers have also launched ChevronWP7 Labs which is a new partnership with Microsoft to offer development and unlocking tools for Windows Phone 7.

Update: The utility will be available soon for a one-time $9 fee.

via WP Central

ChevronWP7 prepares an official jailbreak utility for Windows Phone 7 is a post from: mobiputing

Online note-taking service Evernote has offered mobile apps for iOS, Android, BlackBerry, and webOS for a while. You can use these apps to search and view notes stored in your Evernote account or send links, photos, or other content from your phone to the cloud-based service. Now Evernote has added a new mobile app to its lineup with the launch of a Windows Phone 7 app.

The new WP7 app lets you view your notes, notebooks, and tags at a glance, create new notes, or open the camera to snap a new photo to send to Evernote. You can see where you were when you created a note using Bing Maps. And you can share notes via email or Facebook.

Not only can you search for existing notes, but you can also use the app to view previous or saved searches.

Evernote Premium subscribers can also download entire notesbooks for offline access. The basic service is free and offers up to 60MB per month of space for your notes.

Evernote releases Windows Phone 7 app is a post from: mobiputing

Opera Mobile and Mini for Androis and iOS play nice with the company’s desktop browser, too — and now there’s a way to access your Opera data in the cloud on Windows Phone 7. Just download Opera Link for WP7. It’s an unofficial app, but it’s able to pull down your Speed Dial pages, bookmarks, and notes for quick on-the-go access. There’s no built-in browser, unfortunately — links will pop open in a new Internet Explorer window instead.

While an official browser from the crew in Oslo would be most welcome on WP7 (particularly while we’re waiting for Mango to arrive with a more up-to-date Internet Explorer), Opera Link for WP7 will do just fine for those of you who simply don’t want to recreate all your Opera bookmarks on your Windows Phone. Find it in the Marketplace, or scan the Tag after the break.

via WP Central

Sync Opera to Windows Phone 7 with the Opera Link app is a post from: mobiputing

OverDrive provides the platform used by most public libraries to loan eBooks to patrons. The company’s platform works with a number of dedicated eBook Readers including the Sony Reader and Barnes & Noble NOOK line, and OverDrive also offers apps for Android, BalckBerry, iOS, and Windows Mobile. Now you can also add Windows Phone 7 to the list.

The folks at OverDrive launched a WP7 app this week, and it might be the most attractive app from the company yet. It offers all the usual features including the ability to manage your book loans and read digital books or listen to audiobooks on your mobile device. You can also change the screen color and adjust font sizes.

But the menus are a lot more attractive, especially the library and recent areas where you can see large thumbnail icons with cover images for each book.

OverDrive for Windows Phone 7 is available as a free download from the Windows Phone Marketplace. You can check out a demo video after the break.

OverDrive app brings free library eBook loans to Windows Phone 7 is a post from: mobiputing

Microsoft’s Zune Pass service is probably one of the best reasons to get a Windows Phone 7 device or Zune HD media player. While Apple just announced an iTunes in the Cloud service that will let users store their own music collections online and download tracks from any machine, Zune Pass lets subscribers stream millions of songs on-demand over the internet for $14.99 per month.

Users can also keep 10 songs per month, so it’s sort of like paying $14.99 for an album once a month and also getting access to a huge library of online music. Zune Pass is available on a PC or Xbox 360 as well as on a mobile device.

The only catch? Right now Zune Pass is only available for customers in the US and UK. But Microsoft VP Joe Belfiore confirmed this week that Zune Pass will be expanding to additional countries, along with other Microsoft services which are currently only available to Windows Phone 7 users in the US and UK.

There’s no word on when the international expansion will begin, which devices or countries will be supported, or if you’ll need the Windows Phone Mango update. But more details should be coming soon.

via WP Central and 1800PocketPC

Microsoft to expand Zune Pass to additional countries is a post from: mobiputing

Apple introduced its new iCloud service to much fanfare yesterday, offering a way to synchronize your music, documents, photos, contacts, and apps across multiple devices. The full iCloud service goes live this fall, but some portions are already working. But Apple is hardly the first company to bring cloud-based services to mobile devices.

Google Android users have long been able to sync contacts, appointments, and other data across multiple devices and the web. And Microsoft had already offers tight integration between Windows Phone 7 and the 25GB of free cloud storage the company offers with its SkyDrive platform.

Now Microsoft is detailing new SkyDrive featires that will come with Windows Phone 7 Mango. SkyDrive and Hotmail already let users access their contacts, calendar appointments, email, Office documents, and photos across multiple devices. Mango will add support for:

• Sharing photos stored in your SkyDrive account via email, SMS, or IM
• Sharing videos recorded on your phone over the web using SkyDrive
• Browsing all folders and documents in your SkyDrive account on your phone or searching for documents
• Viewing all items that other users have shared with you

You can check out a few demo videos showing new photo, video, and Office features.

Apple’s iCloud service has a few things to offer that SkyDrive does not, including the ability to store your music collection in the cloud. But one key advantage Microsoft is offering is that you don’t have to pay extra for apps to edit text, spreadsheet, or presentation documents. Apple and Microsoft will both store your documents in the cloud, but you have to pay $10 per app to actually create and edit those files in iOS.

Who needs iCloud? Microsoft outlines SkyDrive features in Windows Phone Mango update is a post from: mobiputing

Microsoft is retooling the Music+Videos Hub for Windows Phone. When the Mango software update rolls out later this year it will bring new tools for managing podcasts, a “Smart DJ” option which creates a playlist based on an individual song, artist or album, and better Marketplace search.

The podcast update is long overdue. While you can listen to podcasts on a Windows Phone device you currently need a computer running Zune desktop software to subscribe to podcasts. Mango will add an on-device podcast directory.

The Smart DJ service will create playlists from music on your device. But if you have a subscription to Microsoft’s Zune Pass service, the Smart DJ feature will be able to create mixes by pulling in some of the millions of songs available to subscribers.

Other changes in Mango include new placements for the shuffle, rate, and repeat buttons, better history, and new options for controlling media  playback from your phone’s lock screen.

We got an early look at some of these changes when the Windows Phone 7 Mango emulator hit the streets. But now Microsoft is highlighting most of the major changes to the Zune media software and Musi+Videos Hub in a Windows Team blog post where you can find more details and pictures.

Windows Phone Mango update to bring podcast, music enhancements is a post from: mobiputing

If you’d like a little extra reassurance, an XDA forum member has thoughtfully put together a handy little program which can backup your WP7 phone whenever you like.

A trio of prerequisites are necessary: the Zune software, the Windows Phone Support Tool for your architecture (x64 or x86), and a WP7 update package for any phone (doesn’t have to be the one you own). WP7 Zune Backup will notify if you’re missing one of the components before it attempts to perform a backup.

via WP Central

Create backups of your Windows Phone 7 smartphone data is a post from: mobiputing

Windows Phone 7 is slated to receive more than 500 updates when Mango arrives this fall. Among those will be a handful of improvements to the Live Tiles system, which powers the quadrilateral icons on your WP7 smartphone’s home screen. Want some idea how much more is possible with Mango’s Live Tiles? Just check out the video embed below, where you can see the handiwork of developer Rudy Huyn.

Huyn put together a fully-functional Tetris clone without actually building an app. It’s all done in Live Tiles, and even includes touches like the next block to drop, your score, and the WP7 music player controls allow you to rotate and drop the blocks.

via WPCentral

Windows Phone 7 Mango Live Tiles turned into a Tetris game is a post from: mobiputing