Daniel Rubino

Daniel Rubino is executive editor of Windows Central. He has been covering Microsoft since 2009 back when this site was called WMExperts (and later Windows Phone Central). His interests include Windows, Surface, HoloLens, Xbox, and future computing visions. Follow him on Twitter: @daniel_rubino.

Unofficial Snapchat app 'Swapchat Free' returns to the Windows Phone Store [Update: and it's gone]

Daniel Rubino 7 years ago 62

Just over one week ago, we received word that Swapchat, the first fully functional app that can access Snapchat on Windows Phone was being pulled. The reason was due to a copyright complaint from the Snapchat makers, who legally exercised their right to protect their content. That was an unfortunate blow to Windows Phone users who were enjoying the service and it was very different from...

US bank Wells Fargo working on Windows Phone solution

Rich Edmonds 7 years ago 85

Wells Fargo, a bank and financial services establishment in the US, is reportedly developing a Windows Phone app. We've covered numerous other banks in multiple markets releasing apps for the platform, but it's always good to see further support rising from the ground. Wells Fargo currently has solutions for Android, BlackBerry, iOS and even Palm OS, so it only makes sense for Windows...

Nokia Video Trimmer helps you shorten videos; shows up in the Store, but you can't download it yet

Rich Edmonds 7 years ago 56

Nokia already has a plethora of apps available in the Nokia Collection, but the manufacturer isn't halting with what's currently available. Video Trimmer is an app we covered at the Lumia 1020 launch event, which enables consumers to conveniently shorten videos. All it takes is some magic and some sliding controls to cut down the duration to a single clip. The app has now arrived in...

Flight Control Rocket and Blobster now available to all Windows Phone users

Paul Acevedo 7 years ago 23

Windows Phone 7 users must be feeling a bit left out of the Xbox gaming fun lately. We spent the majority of last week celebrating the release of Halo: Spartan Assault and publishing detailed strategy guides for Order & Chaos Online, both excellent Windows Phone 8 games. But what are the Microsoft mobile users who haven’t upgraded to Windows Phone 8 yet going to play? Former Nokia...

Design and logo teased for upcoming unofficial Instagram app, 6gram

Rich Edmonds 7 years ago 117

Rudy Huyn is a busy bee and has been working hard throughout the weekend to build the foundations for an unofficial Instagram app for Windows Phone. We covered the good news yesterday. This app, now referred to as 6gram, will enable consumers on Microsoft's mobile platform to interact with and manage their Instagram accounts. Today we can relay a screenshot and tile logos that have been...

Have Xbox Live Gold? Assassin's Creed 2 is now available for free on your 360

Rich Edmonds 7 years ago 34

Assassin's Creed II is the next game available as a free download for consumers with Xbox Live Gold subscriptions. Simply boot up your Xbox 360 console and download the game from the Marketplace. As a title that's usually priced at $19.99, this is an absolute bargain, especially if you've played the first game and have not yet looked at continuing the experience. The second instalment...

Talk Mobile Platforms Week Recap: The best things you said

Talk Mobile 7 years ago

It was meat and potatoes time for Talk Mobile: platforms was the topic. Spanning everything from hardware to software to services, Talk Mobile Platforms week was easily the most engaged set of discussions we had so far. It really encompassed the ethos of Talk Mobile: stop talking about the specs and let's talk about what really matters. Your feedback is tremendously important to us and...

Editor’s Choice: Fotor v2 Photo editing app for Windows Phone 8

Daniel Rubino 7 years ago 52

While there’s no shortage of solid photo editing apps for Windows Phone 8, for those who are about ot plunge in with the Lumia 1020 (or if you picked up a Lumia 925 this week), you’ll want to know what is the best. Certainly Nokia’s own Creative Studio is a must have but it’s also not as fully comprehensive as some may want. Fotor, an app we’ve covered in the past, has gone to version 2...

Have a Windows Phone with 512MB RAM? Report shows you can enjoy 99% of apps and games

Rich Edmonds 7 years ago 132

There have been numerous discussions surrounding exactly how many games and apps are available to Windows Phone 8 smartphones with only 512MB of RAM. All About Windows Phone, a fellow community dedicated to the platform, looked into their database of Windows Phone apps found on the official store to see exactly how many apps and games don't work on low-end hardware. The results are...

HopStop purchased by Apple, immediately halts Windows Phone support

Rich Edmonds 7 years ago 243

Apple has purchased HopStop (www.hopstop.com), the online city transit guide and has appeared to immediately halted Windows Phone support. Windows Phone consumers have spotted HopStop missing on the store, which can only be tied to Apple's acquisition. This shouldn't come across as much of a surprise to anyone. If you've been a fan of the app, unfortunately it's no longer published and...

Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson is gifted a Lumia 1020, right from Nokia

Daniel Rubino 7 years ago 190

Confession: I’m a huge Rock fan (so is Sam). The dude makes fun movies (if you missed Pain and Gain, catch it on DVD), helped make Fast and Furious cool again, has a hit TV show (The Hero) and has a highly entertaining Twitter account. He’s also super motivational and helps this jaded soul to get back into the gym. Evidently, Nokia thinks the Rock is pretty awesome too as they stopped...

Grin is the best Imgur app for Windows Phone 8

Sam Sabri 7 years ago 29

If you’re a frequent user of Reddit then you won’t need much of an introduction to Imgur. The online image hosting service exploded in users, photos, and popularity as both Digg and Reddit grew over the past few years. They don’t have an official app for Windows Phone users, but this is one of those scenarios where a third-party developer rises to the occasion and we can’t see an...

There’s a Nokia Lumia 1020 in our Forums right now, see it go against the Lumia 920

Sam Sabri 7 years ago 79

Let’s get Rebecca Black up in here and get the weekend started, it is Friday after all. What better way to kick off the weekend then by going to the Windows Phone Central Forums where there’s somewhat of an impromptu AMA (Ask me anything) and Nokia Lumia 1020 vs. 920 thread going on. It just so happens that when of your fellow Windows Phone Central Member unternull has a Lumia 1020...

HD Photo Viewer updated, adds editing tools and Cinemagraph support

George Ponder 7 years ago 23

HD Photo Viewer is a Pictures Hub alternative for our Windows Phone 8 devices. The native Windows Phone Pictures Hub reduces image resolution to improve performance and speed when you pan/zoom images. HD Photo Viewer maintains the original resolution giving your photos a sharper look. Especially when you are viewing larger DSLR images from your Windows Phone. The version 3.0.1 update...

Order & Chaos Online Beginner's Guide Part 2 for Windows Phone 8

Paul Acevedo 7 years ago 23

Yesterday we published Part 1 of our guide to Order & Chaos Online for Windows Phone 8. Today we follow up with the second installment, which covers lots of fun subjects like guilds, auction houses, and crafting. This installment includes a brand new video guide as well! Remember, these guides apply to the iOS and Android versions of the game as well as the Windows Phone 8 version,...

Tour of Nokia’s Glance screen on the Lumia 925 and Amber update

Daniel Rubino 7 years ago 74

We’ve reported quite a bit on Nokia’s Glance screen in the past but we also know some of you are new to Windows Phone and may have picked up a Lumia 925 this week or a Lumia 1020 next. If that’s the case, you may not be familiar with how to enable Glance (or even what it is) and all the options that it has available to you. So we whipped up a little tutorial video to show you how to...

Rudy Huyn going after Instagram, working on new app for Windows Phone

Rich Edmonds 7 years ago 148

Rudy Huyn is not planning to stop making apps for Windows Phone, which include 6Sec (Vine) as now we've got word that the esteemed developer is looking at Instagram. Consumers are still struggling to get by with third party alternatives and now we're going to be having yet another solution published to the store. Here's a quick tweet from Huyn: Tonight: hack instagram API Saturday...

InstaWeather Pro, coming to Windows Phone from iOS and Android, lets you share your current conditions

Daniel Rubino 7 years ago 56

Here in the North East, we’re dealing with a kind of nasty heat wave, so weather and apps seems appropriate (our “real feel” is 109F, which is crazy). That’s why we’re kind of excited to see the app InstaWeather Pro headed to Windows Phone in the coming weeks. We’ll give you a sneak peek, including video of it in action, in addition to launch details and what’s it all about....

Nokia 1020 official ringtone, message tone and alarm clock sounds get posted online for your ear pleasure

Rich Edmonds 7 years ago 53

The Lumia 1020 is a brand new smartphone from Nokia. Not just a different flavour of one that's already available on the market, this new Windows Phone sports a 41MP camera and some other goodies. It surely deserves a new ringtone, message tone and alarm clock sounds, right? Nokia also believes so, which is why we've got these sweet new tunes to share with you. The official ringtone...

Having trouble downloading Halo: Spartan Assault for your Windows Phone? Microsoft working on a fix

Daniel Rubino 7 years ago 63

Last night at 7PM ET, the world finally got their hands on the highly anticipated first ever mobile Halo game, Halo: Spartan Assault. At least, that was the plan. We already knew that here in the US, Verizon would have an exclusive for 30 days before those on AT&T, T-Mobile and Sprint could grab it, but as it turns out, a lot of others in the rest of the world also had difficulty...