We had a very busy week starting off with our hands-on review of WP7.5 "Mango" (preview verson), followed next by some "leaked" Nokia WP7 hardware. In addition, there have been a good number of other headlines that should be highlighted, including Verizon planning to introduce tiered data usage plans by July 7th, a new version of SkyDrive is released, Kik Messenger is destined for WP7 by the end of this month, Nokia outsourcing Symbian development to Accenture and possibly having Android as their backup option should WP7 'flop'.
Gaming has had an eventful week too with Plants vs. Zombies being made available in the Marketplace, not to mention Twin Blades makes a miraculous return after being removed. Babaroga, makers of Zombies!!! are interviewed by our Paul Acevedo and we see a demonstration of how Kinect and WP7 can work together to make your life easier.
Zune HDs are back in the news with the confirmation that selected apps available to the music player will be ported to WP7. Evernote 1.1 was released, which fixed the white screen of death issue many were experiencing. A Mango beta was reported by Neowin via their trusty 'sources', which of course turned out to be false (we were pretty sceptical ourselves) and the NoDo roll-out is finally complete with Orange scheduling and Telefonica sending notifications to users.
Hardware, we see Nokia dominating technology headlines with previewing their 'Sea Ray' handset. Images are released showing this Nokia device to feature virtual buttons, but we believed Photoshop played a role. On the other hand we had high resolution 'Sea Ray' mock-ups that showed promise and potential. All in all though, WP7 hardware is overall more reliable than Android.
It's all fun and games from here on out. We look at how to change the colour scheme on your handset with the help of homebrew. TouchyBooks is set bring over three hundred children’s books to WP7, neat eh? Hopefully they all wont be an app for each title. We have a video tour on hand of the new Microsoft Houston store opening. FoodSpotting app hits the Marketplace, and if that isn't your thing then how about a potential Gameboy emulator?
The scrapped Mango beta ROM for developers rumour may hold some ground still with a Mango beta for developers potentially still on the table. Excited by the N9 design and look? Why not implement it onto the WP7 emulator?
To know what's what, head on past the break.
Highlights
- WPCentral Review: Windows Phone "Mango" (preview release)
- Tiered Verizon plans coming July 7?
- New version of Skydrive released
- Gartenberg experiences carrier anti-WP7 bias, 'Tattletale site making progress
- Kik Messenger coming to WP7 this month
- Accenture taking on Symbian through 2016
- Android is Nokia's backup plan? [Rumor]
Gaming
- There's zombies on the lawn! Plants vs. Zombies now available on the Marketplace
- This week's top Xbox LIVE games for Windows Phone are...
- Twin Blades returns, kind of, and now features 'green blood'
- Developer Interview: Babaroga, makers of Zombies!!!
- Xbox Kinect and WP7 integration
Software
- Zune HD apps to be ported to WP7
- Evernote 1.1 available; no more white screen of death
- "Mango" beta coming soon? [Updated]
- Telefonica receiving updates, Orange scheduling. NoDo rollout is completed.
Hardware
- Nokia's first WP7 device, 'Sea Ray', demoed
- Image of Nokia's 'Sea Ray' reveals virtual buttons? We're not so sure.
- High res Nokia Sea Ray mockups based off of N9 show potential
- Study finds WP7 hardware more reliable than Android
Fun
- Change background colour in WP7 [How To]
- TouchyBooks will bring over 300 childrens books to WP7
- Watermark helps you make your mark
- Video tour of Microsoft Houston store opening
- FoodSpotting app hits Marketplace
- WP7 to feature Gameboy emulator [Homebrew]
Developers
