rumour

New Contact and Live Tile animations suggest Windows Phone 8

May 22, 2012 | By Surur

The strangest things things turn up in the strangest places. WPCentral noticed this interesting new live time behaviour in a PCadvisor.co.uk ad for the Nokia Lumia 900.

The ad shows :

Contacts – The tiles flip and it says "Meet up with Sarah"
Photo Hub – Flips and splits into two tiles, one with the latest photo, the other with a count

Both are of course new behaviour, which could have been dreamt up by an ad man, or could be designed for an ad which wont have to be recoded after the Windows Phone 8 announcement on June 20th.

What do our readers think? Real or fake? Let us know below.

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Windows Phone Future leak or Fan Wish list?

May 21, 2012 | By Surur

Insideris received the following pictures, which their tipster claimed was “The first look at Windows Phone 8”.

Insideris themselves was not clear if this was an interim update between Windows Phone 7.5 and 8 (as has been rumoured my come to current generation devices), Windows Phone 8, or simply a fake.

The two pictures above shows separate volumes for music and ring tones, and notifications in the volume bar.

It also shows potentially animated 3rd party tiles.

The second pair shows an already familiar feature, groups in the people hub.

The picture above shows how folders expand into individual tiles, which can presumably be scrolled horizontally.

The middle picture shows the multi-tasking screen with a close button, shortcuts or toggles to WIFI, 3G etc, and also short cuts to “quick Apps”. The last slide suggests that besides alphabetical jump lists there is also the potential for jump lists by category.

The last two shows the potential for a transparent lock screen, allowing an application to show through, while the last picture show how app folders are created. It also shows the ability to add categories to tiles or change the image associated with them (presumably for folders)

Many of these are of course features which users have been demanding, leaving open the possibility that this is simply a fan wish list.

Either way, we will leave it up to our readers to decide, and of course if Microsoft sends a take-down notice we will be sure.

Via Insideris.com

Thanks Angry for the tip.

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Windows Phone 8 build numbers revealed

May 16, 2012 | By Surur

WP7Forum.ru have posted a list of Windows Phone 8 build numbers harvested from a Windows Phone 7.5 app running on devices running the updated OS.

The build numbers start at 8.0.9666 and has advanced to 8.0.9688. WP7Forum.ru observes that the OS seems to have escaped from emulators and are being tested on real devices, and that there seems to be an indication that the OS is nearing its final release date.

WP7Forum.ru, quoting a reliable source, have previously claimed the OS would RTM by July 2012, so it seems to be right on track for this date.

Via WP7Forum.ru

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Samsung creating a new CDMA Windows Phone 7.5 handset for China?

May 14, 2012 | By Surur

In what I suspect many would call a bizarre turn of events, on the eve of Windows Phone 8 a whole collection of low end Windows Phone 7.5 handsets are popping up.

Samsung recently joined the party with the lower-end Samsung Omnia M and Samsung Focus 2, and now the company appears to be working on another Windows Phone 7.5 handset with CDMA.

The "SCH-S759" manufactured by Samsung Electronics is a CDMA2000/GSM phone which passed through the Wi-Fi certification group on the 4th May, 2012.

The WIFI b/g/n handset also passed through the Bluetooth SIG with 2.1 + EDR Bluetooth, now unfortunately a hallmark of Windows Phone, given that near everyone else have upgraded to Bluetooth 3.0 and 4.0.

Lastly, as the cherry on the cake, Blog of Mobile found a user agent string (Mozilla/5.0 (compatible; MSIE 9.0; Windows Phone OS 7.5; Trident/5.0; IEMobile/9.0; SAMSUNG; SCH-S759) which definitively identifies the handset as a Windows Phone 7.5 device.

It is unlikely Verizon will be releasing a new Windows Phone 7.5 handset anytime soon, and Blog of Mobile suggests the device may be heading to the CDMA networks in China.

The handset may be the Samsung Minuet rumoured for a June release in China with Tango on board.

Either way, it seems Samsung is not content to let Nokia play in the Windows Phone pen all by itself.

Via unwiredview.com

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Now Sprint also likes Windows Phone 8

May 8, 2012 | By Surur

Sprint has not been the best of Windows Phone fans, famously suggesting HTC Arrive buyers should recycle their 6 month old phones for a new iPhone. The HTC Arrive is still their only Windows Phone.

Now Sprint’s director of consumer acquisition, David Owens, has expressed more positive sentiments towards the successor of Windows Phone 7, saying he was "still bullish on Apollo" at the CTIA trade show today.

Back in March there was a rumour of a LTE Windows Phone 8 handset coming to Sprint after the fall, and I guess Sprint will be dipping their toe into the Windows Phone pond once again.

Via PCMag.com

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Rumour: Microsoft pitching a Facebook phone to Facebook

May 8, 2012 | By Surur

Business Insider is claiming Microsoft is trying to pitch Facebook a Windows Phone as the long-rumoured “Facebook phone”.

According to BusinessInsider’s source Microsoft is trying to convince Facebook not to go down the custom Android build like Amazon, but to adopt a version of Windows Phone instead. The phone would carry Facebook branding, something like “The Facebook Phone, powered by Windows” and would have even deeper Facebook integration than Windows Phone has already.

According to BI a Microsoft Facebook phone would have significant advantages for Facebook:

We’re not Google – Facebook and Google are direct competitors at present so making a phone that’s reliant in even a small way on Google would not sit well with Facebook.
We know what to do and how to do it. Making a phone is not easy. You have to develop the OS, get manufacturers to build handsets for it, get carriers to carry it, market it, sell it, and ship it. Facebook has no idea how to do any of this. Microsoft does, and it will offer to help Facebook with all of it.
We know everyone. Microsoft has relationships across the industry. Samsung, HTC, and Nokia are already making Windows Phones. LG was. AT&T, T-Mobile, Verizon are already carrying the phones. Microsoft spends hundreds of millions of dollars with ad agencies every year. It’s working with a logistics firm, Brightpoint, to get the product shipped to stores efficiently.

The advantages to Microsoft, according to BI’s source, would be:

Some of the appeal is being able to drive mobile traffic to Microsoft’s online properties, particularly Bing.
Microsoft’s grandest desire is deep penetration in mobile that will allow it to someday offer consumers a NFC-powered payments product.
Microsoft wants to do something like PayPal, but in the physical world. It wants to get there before Google figures out how to fix Google Wallet.
Microsoft is not particularly interested in the concept of location-based advertising.

According to the source the phone is not imminent, but Microsoft is hanging around until Facebook gets serious about its phone move.

Facebook PR declined to comment to BI on the rumour.

Rumour: Nokia to release a Bluetooth File Transfer app for Lumia handsets

May 6, 2012 | By Surur

Here’s a rather tasty rumour, courtesy of NokiaPowerUsers (no affiliation, but we’re flattered).

Apparently one of their readers, Amit, attended a Nokia event yesterday, where the Tango update for the Nokia Lumia handsets were shown off, which also features WIFI internet sharing.

More interesting however was the news of future updates, which apparently will include an app which allows Bluetooth File Transfer.

Nokia is no stranger to adding Bluetooth profiles to Windows Phone 7, with their proprietary Contact Transfer app, which adds Bluetooth Address Book access, and Stephen Elop has said the company was working on bringing in-demand Symbian features to Windows Phone.

Adding Bluetooth FTP support via an app would be a good compromise, allowing the app to still be a gate keeper for the operating system, making sure files are added properly to the on-device libraries, while reducing the chance of introducing bugs to the system. Hopefully the app will support music, ring tone and picture transfers, the most common uses in emerging markets.

NPU further suggests Nokia will be rebranding Marketplace to Nokia Marketplace, with their own logo, and that the Tango update will bring improved battery performance.

Lastly Amit also asked about the Apollo update, and reports Nokia saying Lumias will receive many future updates including “Major ones”.

Here’s hoping…

Nokia to launch a range of tablets and “hybrid” smart mobile devices

May 3, 2012 | By Surur

Could a Windows Phone 8 "Padphone" be on the way?

Speaking to Financial Times, Nokia’s outgoing chairman Jorma Ollila said the phone giant was looking to will launch a range of tablets and “hybrid” smart mobile devices with exciting “form factors” for devices and exclusive services.

“Tablets are an important one, so that is being looked into, and there will be different hybrids, different form factors [handset designs] in the future.”

Ollila did not explain what a so-called hybrid device would be, but possibilities which come to mind include large-screened “fablets” like the Galaxy Note or other combinations of phones and tablets like the Padphone, where the phone slides into a tablet.

Commenting on the progress of their switch to Windows Phone so far he said:

“[I am] happy with what is happening. When you have such strong competitors in the marketplace it will take a bit of time but things are going well,” he said.

Explaining the need for the switch he said:

“Four years from mid-2008 to today the returns have not been where they should have been. The company saw it and it was broadly accepted but the software capability and particularly the platform software knowhow was not there.

“The competitors were faster, and bringing their solutions to the marketplace faster.”

However he said that the combination of new products and Nokia services would “make a difference”. Mr Ollila said the company was now “on time” with product delivery.

What do our readers think of these new promised radical form factors. Would it be a distraction from the actual phone market with low returns, or is it just what Nokia needs to differentiate itself? Let us know below.

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Something big going down at June Windows Phone Developer Summit and we are invited

May 2, 2012 | By Surur

Microsoft is sending out invitations to a Windows Phone Developer Summit at the end of June 2012, and the buzz going round is that it must be Windows Phone 8 related.

If it is it would be the first official revelation of the OS which has been shrouded in mystery, with information only revealed in leaks, unlike Windows Phone 7 and 7.5 which were both well described well before its official release on devices.

The WMPU team has also been invited to the event, and we look forward to having one of the first hands-ons with whatever mystery Microsoft unveils that day.

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Is Nokia hinting at a Pureview Lumia “in the coming months”?

May 2, 2012 | By Surur

In a recent press release about the launch of the Nokia 808 Pureview, which will be hitting the market in May, the company may have hinted that a Windows phone version is closer than earlier suspected.

The press release has said Jo Harlow, executive vice president of Nokia Smart Devices saying:

Carl Zeiss was a crucial partner in the creation of the first PureView experience. The benefits of our ongoing collaboration will be more PureView innovation and further advancements in smartphone imaging in the coming months and years.

According to AllaboutSymbian.com the “in the coming months” statement all but guarantees a Windows Phone version of the handset will be released this year. So far Nokia Lumia handsets with Pureview have only been expected in 2013.

AAS speculates that a slimmer version with less megapixels may be released, but of course that design we saw leaked earlier did not look particularly slim, so we may still have access to the full 41 megapixel glory after all.

Would our readers choose megapixels over form factor? Let us know below

Via AAS

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Rumour: Windows Phone Samsung Galaxy S3 on the way in October

April 27, 2012 | By Surur

A bad mock-up of a Galaxy S3 running Windows Phone

Here’s another tasty morsel. WP-Life claims to have info from a trusted source that Samsung is planning to pour Windows Phone 8 into the upcoming Samsung Galaxy S3 and deliver this slightly modified handset in October this year, calling it the Samsung Focus S II (presumably on AT&T).

The handset will have virtually the same specs as the Galaxy S3, including:

Faster dual/quad core processor (depending on region)
4.7-inch HD display
12-megapixel rear camera, 2-megapixel front-facing camera
NFC capabilities
Dedicated camera button
Samsung Cloud Support
Improved Photo Studio
LTE support

The handset will apparently also share the Galaxy S3’s appearance, but of course with Windows Phone buttons, branding and the dedicated camera key.

According to WP-life the handset will not be confined to AT&T, but will also show up on Verizon and Sprint’s LTE networks.

With Windows Phone 8 supporting the same headline hardware as Android handsets the rumour is of course relatively realistic – lets hope a picture leaks soon to confirm it.

Via WPCentral.com

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Nokia Saudi Arabia saying the Nokia Lumia 900 is coming to KSA in October with Windows Phone 8

April 27, 2012 | By Surur

Here is another tasty titbit to digest before Microsoft asks for it to be deleted.

Nokia Saudi Arabia was asked about the arrival of the Nokia Lumia 900.

They responded that the Nokia Lumia 900 will be available in October with the Windows Phone 8 update and with 100% Arabic support.

NOKIA SAUDI ARABIA @ NokiaKSA
@ IMousa7 Nokia phones will be available in Saudi Arabia to Umia in ten AD, Arab,100% God willing, system and Windows 8

Of course all God willing

Of course we heard a similar story regarding the Nokia Lumia in South Africa, and of course it makes perfect sense to continue to use a relatively new handset over the Windows Phone OS update.

Appreciate the tweet while you can here, before the story changes again.

Thanks Samsam for the tip.

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LG Italy says no Windows Phone 8 upgrade for the LG Optimus 7: Update: LG apologizes for “erroneous information”

April 27, 2012 | By Surur

Adding another data point to the rumour mill, in response to a question on twitter whether the LG Optimus 7, a moderately popular first generation Windows Phone handset, will get a Windows Phone 8 upgrade, LG Italy responded, saying:

Hello, no, no upgraded to Windows 8 as confirmed by Microsoft.

Of course this conversation is far from confirming anything, but it is helpful to dial back expectations with so many sources denying an upgrade will be coming.

Update: Well, that did not take long. LG Italy has now recanted their statement, saying:

We apologize for the erroneous information. We are still investigating the possibility of upgrading the Optimus 7

Anyone get the feeling Microsoft wants to keep us in the dark?

Via Plaffo.com

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