All Articles by Abhishek Baxi

Microsoft India releases a fun promo video for Xbox One

Submitted by Abhishek Baxi on Fri, 03/27/2015 - 12:02

Microsoft India has released a fun promotional video for Xbox One - #AIBMeetsXboxOne - showcasing the gaming culture in India. The video features India's leading standup comedians Gursimran Khamba, Tanmay Bhat, Rohan Joshi, and Ashish Shakiya from the popular comedy group All India Bakchod, usually abbreviated as AIB.

Get ready to pay more for apps on Windows Store from next month

Submitted by Abhishek Baxi on Sun, 03/22/2015 - 11:30

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Microsoft will update the price tier values for Windows Store during the week of April 13, 2015. Windows Store supports 96 tiers that publishers can use to price paid apps and in-app products. These price tier values are updated periodically to maintain consistency across currencies, accounting for changes in foreign exchange rates, taxes, and other geographic pricing considerations. The information comes through an email Microsoft has sent out to developers, alerting them of the change.

Beginning April 13, the price tier values will be updated and while the US Dollar (USD) price in each tier will remain the same, the prices in all other currencies adjusted relative to the USD price.

Long Tweets allows you to cook up a tweetstorm from your Windows Phone

Submitted by Abhishek Baxi on Fri, 03/20/2015 - 19:34

Since a few years, Twitter has made everybody think-and-tweet in 140 characters. On some occasions though, most of us has had the need to post a long comment on Twitter through multiple tweets.

The News Point App brings regional dailies from The Times Group to your Windows Phone

Submitted by Abhishek Baxi on Tue, 03/17/2015 - 18:10

Last month, Times Internet, the digital venture of The Times Group, India's largest media group, launched a news app that went under our radar. News Point App brings you a comprehensive news experience from the group's regional language publications.

Microsoft India announces exchange offer for existing Asha customers to upgrade to a Lumia 435

Submitted by Abhishek Baxi on Tue, 03/10/2015 - 10:34

Microsoft has announced a Smart Exchange offer for existing Asha consumers in India that enables them to upgrade to a brand new Lumia 435, and experience the latest and always upgradeable Windows Phone operating system.

First Impressions of the Microsoft Lumia 532

Submitted by Abhishek Baxi on Tue, 03/03/2015 - 18:21

Last week, Microsoft announced the launch of the Lumia 532 in India. Another budget device, the Lumia 532 fares well on the specifications sheet and costs less than Lumia 535, the other latest phone on the shelves right now.

The phone promises an uncompromised Windows Phone experience with an excellent Lumia design and always dependable build quality to compete in a crowded market of budget Android smartphones.

Explore travel destinations and things to do there with the HappyTrips app

Submitted by Abhishek Baxi on Mon, 02/23/2015 - 07:10

HappyTrips.com is an upcoming travel portal by Times Internet, the Internet subsidiary of The Times of India Group, India's leading media house. The portal features over 15,000 articles, guides, and photo-galleries, covering over 300 destinations in India and worldwide.

Earlier this month, the official HappyTrips Travel Guide app arrived in the Windows Phone Store. The app intends to position itself as a go-to app for all your travel planning needs, inspiring you to travel by browsing through picture galleries or reading about trending destinations across the globe.

Aeries is a brand new and powerful Twitter client for your Windows Phone

Submitted by Abhishek Baxi on Fri, 02/20/2015 - 13:26

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There's been a plethora of Twitter apps for Windows Phone devices, and a lot of them went packing due to Twitter's API restrictions, but here's another one, and it looks quite good. Aeries has been designed to make using Twitter easier and features a neat and intuitive UI.

I've been using a beta version of Aeries for a few weeks, and I can safely say that along with Tweetium, it is definitely one of the top Twitter apps for Windows Phone in 2015.

Microsoft India officially launches the new affordable Windows Phone devices – Lumia 532 and Lumia 435

Submitted by Abhishek Baxi on Thu, 02/19/2015 - 12:47

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At a press event in New Delhi, Microsoft formally announced the launch of its latest affordable Windows Phone devices in India – the Lumia 532 and Lumia 435.

The two smartphones bring the prices of entry-level Windows Phone devices further down while packing in decent hardware. The phones feature a 4-inch display and are powered by Qualcomm's Snapdragon 200 CPU with 1GB RAM. The phones also do not cut corners on ancillary features like Glance and include the ambient light sensor as well as the proximity sensor.

Yog is a fun and addictive mathematical game

Submitted by Abhishek Baxi on Wed, 02/18/2015 - 10:32

Yog is a fun, casual game that requires great reflexes along with hand and eye coordination. Yog means union or conjunction in Sanskrit, or addition in mathematical context.

The game isn't a mathematical quiz, and you don't have to add numbers. As you go along, additions are displayed, and you have to specify if those are correct or not. As the game progresses, the difficulty level of question increases.

Everything you wanted to know about Operator Billing in India

Submitted by Abhishek Baxi on Fri, 02/13/2015 - 17:15

It was the end of 2014 when we reported that Idea Cellular subscribers in India can now buy app and games from the Windows Phone Store via operator billing (or carrier billing). Idea Cellular is India's 3rd largest mobile operator, with over 150 million subscribers.

India's leading television show, Comedy Nights with Kapil, finally arrives on Windows Phone

Submitted by Abhishek Baxi on Fri, 02/06/2015 - 06:59

Comedy Nights with Kapil (CNWK) is an Indian sketch comedy show that features celebrity guests in a talk show format. Conceptualized and anchored by Kapil Sharma, the popular stand-up comic from India, it is one of the leading television shows in India across genres.

While there has been a CNWK app for iOS and Android for a while, the app has finally made it to the Windows Phone Store. The app is one stop destination for fans of Kapil Sharma or the show and allows you to catch up on all missed episodes and engage around your favorite show.

Xbox 360 500GB comes to India with price drops on existing models

Submitted by Abhishek Baxi on Mon, 02/02/2015 - 06:28

Close on the heels of huge promotions for the Xbox One, Microsoft has announced the launch of the Xbox 360 500GB model in India at just INR 19,990 ($ 323). The special bundle for the launch includes two games - Call of Duty: Black Ops II and Call of Duty: Ghosts – as well as one month of Xbox Live Gold membership.

India's HDFC Bank revamps its app as part of a new Go Digital campaign

Submitted by Abhishek Baxi on Mon, 12/29/2014 - 02:18

On the sidelines of the launch of HDFC Bank's Go Digital campaign in Varanasi, the spiritual capital of India, the bank's Windows Phone app got a fine update as well, with more capabilities coming soon. The launch saw HDFC Bank announcing a technology agnostic Bank Aap Ki Muththi Mein (Bank in your hand) offering which aims to turn a mobile phone into a bank branch.

The official HDFC Bank app has been very efficient, and has garnered positive reviews and small updates every now and then, but a major refresh in the first week of December went awry. The update brought a set of new features allowing customers to use the app without logging in for contacting the bank for various services and support channels, sharing feedback, and locating nearby ATMs and bank branches.

Microsoft launches Lumia 638 in India; to be available exclusively on Amazon

Submitted by Abhishek Baxi on Tue, 12/16/2014 - 07:07

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In an unusually quiet announcement, Microsoft today launched the most affordable smartphone 4G device in India, the Lumia 638.

The latest affordable Lumia on the block, the 638 features a quad-core processor with 1GB RAM. The device sports a 4.5" LCD ClearBlack display. In a first, the Lumia 638 will retail exclusively on the newly launched Microsoft Store at Amazon India at a price of ₹8,299 ($135). The device will be available for pre-booking from December 17.

The latest Cleartrip update is a complete rewrite of the app, and it's great

Submitted by Abhishek Baxi on Sat, 12/06/2014 - 14:27

Cleartrip is one of the more popular travel websites in India, which allows booking of flight and train tickets as well as hotels. Incidentally, two years ago, Cleartrip was one of the first OTAs (Online Travel Agent) in India to launch a Windows Phone app, and Windows Phone was also their first platform of choice.

While that gave the service a positive mindshare among Windows Phone users, the app was long due for an update and the limited ability irked most users, as reflected in the reviews on the Windows Phone Store. The app finally got a decent refresh in June this year while still being limited in functionally.

Restaurant finder Zomato gets another update to make your feed more useful

Submitted by Abhishek Baxi on Wed, 12/03/2014 - 04:06

Zomato is a popular restaurant finder Windows Phone app that gives you recommendations for restaurants in your area and lets you look at menus, pictures, contact info, and directions.

Available in 41 cities across the United Kingdom, India, Brazil, the UAE, New Zealand, South Africa, Indonesia, Turkey, Portugal, the Philippines, Qatar, and Sri Lanka, the Windows Phone app has just been updated to version 6.2.0.0.

Lava Iris Win1 announced in India, to go on sale December 4 for ₹4,999

Submitted by Abhishek Baxi on Tue, 12/02/2014 - 03:07

Lava International, a leading domestic handset maker in India, today announced the launch of its first Windows Phone, the Iris Win1. The device will be exclusively available online on Flipkart starting December 4 at a price of ₹4,999 ($80).

The Lava Iris Win1 is a 4-inch device with a WVGA TN display. Powered by a 1.2 Ghz Qualcomm Snapdragon 200 quad-core processor, the device packs in 1GB RAM and 8GB internal storage. That's double than what the similarly-priced Celkon Win 400 offers. The smartphone comes with a 5MP auto-focus rear camera with LED flash and 0.3 MP front camera. Unlike many budget devices, the dual-SIM device does not miss out on sensors and packs in all the three – accelerometer, proximity sensor, and ambient light sensor.

Hands-on with the Celkon Win 400 as it officially launches in India for ₹4,979

Submitted by Abhishek Baxi on Mon, 12/01/2014 - 07:22

In a press event in Hyderabad today, Celkon Mobiles, one of India's largest domestic handset makers, officially launched the Celkon Win 400, the company's first Windows Phone device.

The dual-SIM entry-level Windows Phone device packs a 1.2GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 200 quad-core processor with 512 MB RAM. The Win 400 will be available in online and offline stores in two color variants – black and white – starting today at a price of ₹4,979 ($80).

Learn Chinese easily with the HANYU.CO for Windows Phone and Windows

Submitted by Abhishek Baxi on Sat, 11/29/2014 - 19:16

Few days ago I wrote about Duolingo, a fun app to learn new languages. The popular app features many languages, but incidentally Chinese is missing. If you'd want to learn Mandarin Chinese, fret not. Available for both Windows Phone and Windows 8 devices, HANYU.CO(hanyu.co) is a great app dedicated to the Chinese language.

Brought to you by Spiffy Ventures, the company that developed Effectual, HANYU.CO is a complete Mandarin Chinese language learning service with hundreds of useful lessons, guided learning, progress reporting, and useful tools like a dictionary and HSK vocabulary lists.

All Articles by Abhishek Baxi

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