Richard Devine is an Editor at Windows Central. A former Project Manager and long-term tech addict, he joined Mobile Nations in 2011 and has been found on Android Central and iMore as well as Windows Central. Currently you'll find him covering all manner of PC hardware and gaming, and you can follow him on Twitter and Instagram.
Having been a staple on Windows Phone for some time now the popular music service, MixRadio, is entering into a state of transition as it goes from being a Microsoft property to one owned by Line. Having recently met with the team at Mobile World Congress we're able to confirm that the service will remain on Windows Phone, with development continuing into the future. Oh, and a little...
Our favorites from Barcelona's big mobile show So, Mobile World Congress is done for another year, and that means that before we left we had to pick out our collective favorites from the event. MWC isn't just about the devices, though, it brings together app developers, accessories, something to cover the whole mobile ecosystem. As such, we've been able to pick a good selection of top...
You might have noticed that other company is having an event today. At said event, Apple just "reinvented the notebook." Their words, not ours. The brand new MacBook is 12-inches, slim as hell, has a Retina Display, an Intel Core M CPU, comes in gold and has almost nothing in the way of ports. Starting at $1299, it's definitely a premium priced product (as if you'd expect anything less...
Micrsoft's Gabe Aul is a busy guy, and that isn't going to get any better when he's getting constant questions from Windows fans asking about when the next build of Windows 10 is coming. It's never fast enough for some of the excited fans out there, and honestly, it'll always come when Microsoft is good and ready to push it out. Today, in a post on the Windows blog, he's offered a good...
Kazam as a brand is still less than two years old, but it already boasts an impressive portfolio of mobile devices. Covering Android, Windows 8.1 and Windows Phone, it's the latter of those three we're focused on here as we take a closer look at the latest Microsoft powered handsets: The Thunder 450 and 450WL. The Thunder 450W may be familiar to regular readers as the Blu Win HD...
Xiaomi is a pretty interesting manufacturer, in that it makes phones, software, accessories but also a ton of other items including headphones, wearables and even an air purifier. It's the wearables in focus here, though, with news surfacing of a third-party developer working on a Windows Phone companion app for the Xiaomi MiBand. The MiBand is a pretty basic fitness tracker, not close...
We're getting ready to pack up and leave Mobile World Congress for another year and while we've got a few posts still left to wrap up, we're reflecting on what's been a pretty decent show for Microsoft and the Windows device ecosystem. As a small token, Microsoft gave us three Skype gift cards of $10 value each at the event, so we're giving them away to you guys. $10 of Skype credit...
Coship BVC is one of a bunch of new ODM partners for Microsoft and Windows Phone and at Mobile World Congress we managed to snag one for a first look. As is becoming less unusual, Coship offers the X1 in two varieties: One with Windows Phone, one with Android. The two are identical in terms of the hardware, just offered with a choice of different software. Specs wise we're...
Here's something we didn't expect to see at Mobile World Congress, a Windows Phone running the Windows 10 Technical Preview from Alcatel OneTouch. The phone is the Pixi 3, one of its range of low cost devices that can be had in a variety of screen sizes and running either Android, Firefox OS or Windows Phone. Only this version of the Windows Phone has the Technical Preview on it....
While hanging out with the Microsoft OEM Partners division at Mobile World Congress we got chance to see a bunch of different Windows and Windows Phone devices that are sold by regional partners and retailers. Like this, the Cherry Mobile Alpha (Neon, thanks to John Terence Vidal in the comments for the assist!), a lower-end Windows Phone for the Philippines. And it's not bad. The...
Prior to the start of Mobile World Congress we got word that Kyocera was bringing a prototype device to Barcelona that would be running Windows Phone. So we dropped by to take a look at it, and prototype is definitely the key word here. That's because this is literally a version of the Android powered Torque smartphone with Windows Phone as the OS. The hardware is 100% identical, right...
Part of the fun of events like Mobile World Congress is not only the new devices, but getting to see ones you'd never normally come across in every day life. The Panasonic Toughpad FZ-E1 is one such device that we saw while hanging out with Microsoft's OEM partners division in Barcelona. You won't see many around, but it's the toughest Windows Phone there is. Windows and Windows...
The new Lumia 640 and 640 XL that were just announced at Mobile World Congress both come out of the box with Windows Phone 8.1 Update 2. On the face of it there's nothing much different, but the settings menu has been given a little visual refresh and organization. Now, as you'll see up top, there's no longer just a long list of menu items, they're broken up into sections like...
It's time. MWC officially opens the show floor this morning and Microsoft is first out of the box with an early morning press event. We'll be on hand to cover it all live, and we're bringing you with us. So put on a pot of coffee, grab some breakfast, and join us in the liveblog below! Everything kicks off at 8.30 a.m. local time, which is 7.30 a.m. GMT, 2.30 a.m. Eastern so for...
Remember those recent rumors about Microsoft services coming pre-loaded on the Samsung Galaxy S6? Turns out they were true. Now the phone (and its sibling, the Galaxy S6 edge) is officially official we know that it's a thing, but a pretty limited thing. OneDrive and OneNote are preloaded, with 115GB (odd number, sure) of free storage for two years, and the hands-on our buddies at...
It's been some time since we've talked about Acer in the context of Windows Phone. But, it's back in the game with the Liquid M220, the company's first Windows Phone 8.1 device just announced at Mobile World Congress. It's a budget phone, costing just 79 Euros when it goes on sale in April in the Europe, Middle East and Africa region. It'll be competing directly with the likes of the...
Acer is officially back in the Windows Phone game. Announced this morning at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain, the Liquid M220 is the Taiwanese manufacturers very first Windows Phone 8.1 device. Better still, alongside introducing the device, Acer is announcing it's commitment to upgrading it to Windows 10 down the line. The phone is announced alongside the Liquid Leap+...
Mobile World Congress is the biggest event of the year for mobile. Gone are the giant halls of televisions, washing machines and refrigerators you get at something like CES. It's all mobile, all the time. Mobile Nations is on the ground in Spain all week to bring you, our community, the very best the show has to throw at us. There will be a lot of posts, not just from Windows Central,...
Greetings from Barcelona! The Mobile Nations team is on the ground ahead of the Mobile World Congress activity starting tomorrow, March 1, and Mark Guim and myself will be representing Windows Central. But, it's not just on the homepages where you'll find the best that MWC has to offer. For the full experience, be sure to follow the whole team on the socials, where you'll more than...
It's that time again. The time to say goodbye to families, pack a couple of bags and hit the dusty trail for another major show. This time out it's Mobile World Congress, the annual gathering of the world's biggest and best that the mobile industry has to offer. For me, MWC is what I'd class as a home event after CES, with Barcelona a mere 2 hours away by plane. The event may be closer...