Brendan Arndt from Three gives us a nice first look at their upcoming Asus Windows RT (Vivo Tab) tablet and it's looking good. While many are wondering how WinRT tablets are going to sell in traditional markets, one thing is certain, the mobile industry is set to embrace these quickly. Unlike the Surface RT device, the slender Asus unit will come with built in support for connection to...
Samsung hasn’t exactly been forthcoming with showing off its ATIV S device so it’s good to see others getting unofficial hands on time with it. We get some nice shots of photo and video backup options, as well as the text message backup. Interestingly in this revealment we see a new option for call blocking functionality in the system settings. Call blocking feature, we like the look...
Some leaked photos have appeared showing what looks to be the Lumia 920T destined for China Mobile. A Chinese version of the Lumia 920 will be a leap for Nokia in the large Asian market, where the manufacturer retains strong brand recognition with previous reports suggesting Nokia Windows Phones overtaking Apple's iPhone. The device, which has the familiar prototype branding printed on...
Microsoft have now officially unveiled their new music service. Simply called Xbox Music, it's going to begin rolling out tomorrow. Designed to replace the Zune services of old, Xbox Music will bring with it new capabilities and eventual availability on other platforms in the coming year. We had already reported that Microsoft would be adding a free streaming aspect to the service,...
The next version of Windows Phone is just around the corner, with it comes some fantastic hardware and the promise of new features. But what about the next gen apps? While we have spent a great deal of time looking at the coming phones and peeking at the new underlying operating system did we forget that it’s the apps that matter? While we know that existing apps will work fine on the...
In his latest letter to shareholders, Steve Ballmer has reiterated the desires of the company to become a devices and services company, contradicting what Charlie Kindel, former Windows Phone General Manager, had to say about the hardware dream with the Surface. With the coming release of Windows 8 and the subsequent decision for Microsoft to dive in and develop its own tablet, it’s...
Microsoft appears to be pushing out the golden envelopes for the final reveal-all of Windows Phone 8. The event is scant on actual details but the data is locked in for 5pm GMT on October 29th, London. This matches the upcoming event in San Francisco. The events held so far have seen journalists physically restricted from properly playing with the OS, so aside from videos and SDKs...
Late last week we wrote in length about the unwarranted uproar caused by the AT&T exclusive Nokia announcements. At the centre of the controversy was the notion that there would not be a Nokia Windows Phone 8 device coming to Verizon. [Actually, it was about them not getting the Lumia 920 -Ed.] We could be seeing the first signs of life from the coming Nokia refresh for Verizon as...
Microsoft has announced that they are buying PhoneFactor, a purchase aimed squarely at bolstering the companies enterprise authentication offerings The service is designed to allow folks to use their mobile devices as a way to authenticate against key Microsoft services such as Active Directory, Azure and Office 365. The unstoppable rise of adoption in smartphone uptake means that...
Nokia had recently brought down the price of the Lumia 800, no doubt to help clear some inventory for the Windows Phone 8 launch. Seems like the price cut is doing wonders for sales in Finland where it’s purportedly selling out. The Lumia 800 and 900 with the 100 Euro price cut certainly put them in the too good to miss bargain category. Could this price cut be just what Windows Phone...
Windows 8 has been pegged with the RTM title for some time but that does not mean it is really done. The code was simply ready to ship to PC makers and for developers to get busy creating apps. The end user experience in Windows 8 has remained problematic, mainly due to the incomplete nature of the core app experiences when using the tile based WinRT interface. Whilst there have been a...
Nokia are still telling the compelling story of all they have packed into their upcoming Lumia 820 and 920 devices. We have compiled charts and graphs that include these speeds and feeds but so far, we haven’t touched on their sound capabilities. Our smartphones increasingly act as our only music source so it’s good to see that Nokia haven’t left sound out in the cold for their new...
We had already created a comparison guide for the higher end Windows 8 devices but many requested a complete guide that included the HTC 8S and Lumia 820. The specs guide is not designed to be exhaustive but should cover the key differentiators between models. We have the visual guide for comparing the devices by size included below as well should make the decision of what to go for...
Yesterday saw the unveiling of the HTC 8X and with that, we now have the full picture of what devices now form the top tier of the Windows Phone 8 line-up. There is still one launch partner, Huawei we have yet to hear from but initial indications are that they will be releasing a device aimed near the mid to low end of the market. We have already drawn up a comparison of the 8X and the...
HTC have finally put their cards on the table and released details of the HTC 8X, their new flagship Windows Phone 8 device. Gone are the HTC ultra-utilitarian design aesthetics and in its place we see a smooth curvy body design that comes in some cheeky colours. HTC have been with Windows Phone from the beginning and many have eagerly awaited the pronouncement of their new devices....
This will prove to be good news for those who were slightly disappointed to see Nokia’s new Lumia devices were only going to support Bluetooth 3.1. According to a listing on Bluetooth.org, both the Lumia 820 and 920 support Bluetooth 4.0. Bluetooth 4.0 allows for the transfer of information from super low power devices. The reason it’s a big deal is that it will allow for things like...
Asus seems to have leaked it’s pricing for its coming Windows 8 tablets and convertibles prompting some to leap to their word processors and get on the fear, uncertainty and doubt bandwagon. We all know that pricing for tablets is an extremely sensitive subject, just yesterday we looked at Steve Ballmer’s interview to see what he had said about Surface pricing. Even though some sites...
The Seattle Times interviewed CEO Steve Ballmer recently and the man behind Microsoft is sounding quite confident about this year’s upcoming launches. During the interview, Ballmer gave his impression of how momentous this year’s launch line-up will be for Microsoft and he even pulled out two Lumia 920 phones from his pockets. Many have speculated wildly on this interview in relation to...
We saw the 820 revealed not so long ago, I even have it pegged as My Next Windows Phone. The folks over at Nokia Conversations have gone into a little more detail about the options we'll be seeing for the replaceable cases. As the Lumia 820 has a replaceable shell design, the options for changing the dynamic of the phone are plentiful, with Nokia will offering glossy, matte and even '...
We have all been asked to write about our next Windows Phone, of course it will be Windows Phone 8. It is a tricky proposition as I have yet to see what HTC are going to bring and I haven’t yet had the chance to touch an ATIV S or Lumia 920. Regardless of that, I’m at the point where I can be fairly certain what I’m going to get when the time finally comes.. There is still much to learn...