SkyMotion Weather App Now Available For Windows Phone Devices

SkyMotion Weather App Now Available For Windows Phone Devices

December 29, 2012 | By Pradeep

SkyMotion weather app is now available for Windows Phone users. This app lets you know exactly when precipitation will start and end for your exact location. Plan the next 2 hours with precise knowledge of how precipitation will impact you, your family or your business. The only downside of this app is that it is available only in US and Canada for now.

Features:

• Accurate Minute-by-Minute Precipitation Schedule
• Forecasts Rain, Snow, Freezing Rain, Ice Pellets and Hail
• Live Tile Support
• Interactive Weather Data Received in Real-Time
• Data available in Fahrenheit or Celsius
• Save & Personalize Unlimited Number of Locations as Favorites
• Available in 16,000,000 Zones Across the Contiguous United States and Canada

Download it for free from Windows Phone Store here.

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AT&T HTC 8X now available from free on Amazon Wireless

AT&T HTC 8X now available from free on Amazon Wireless

December 29, 2012 | By Surur

While the HTC 8X is still $99 on contract on AT&T’s website, the handset is now available for much bigger discounts on Amazon Wireless.

There the 8 GB handset can be purchased from free on contract if you are willing to wait a few weeks for delivery, or for either $39.99 for the 8 GB handset or $49.99 for the 16 GB version.

While the device generally plays second fiddle to the Nokia Lumia 920, also available for similar prices on AT&T, it is definitely the device for those who prefer a light, svelte device with an amazing screen and more than passable camera.

Seen the offers at Amazon here.

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Mehdoh Twitter Client Updated With WP8 Support And New Features

Mehdoh Twitter Client Updated With WP8 Support And New Features

December 29, 2012 | By Pradeep

Mehdoh, one of the popular Twitter clients on Windows Phone Store just got updated with WP8 support. The new version 3.0  which is currently only available for WP8 devices brings many new features such as Lock screen notifications, fast app resume and more.

Change log:

+ lock screen notifications (icon + text, WP8 only features)
+ voice commands (WP8 only feature) – UK only at present
+ twitter profile banner images
+ twitter api 1.1
+ changed menu options around
+ fast app resume (WP8 only feature)
+ lots of small bug fixes
- removed several retweet homescreen options (due to 1.1 API)
- temporarily removed custom themes (WP8 only)
- unfortunately removed tile options in order to provide lock screen info (WP8 only)

Find the app here from Windows Phone Store.

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Windows Phone Hacker’s Notification Centre now in the Windows Phone Store

Windows Phone Hacker’s Notification Centre now in the Windows Phone Store

December 29, 2012 | By Pradeep

Jaxbot has finally managed to get his Notification Centre app in the Windows Phone Store.

The app collects notifications from a variety of apps sent to the phone, and uses an online server component run by Windows Phone Hacker.

For this reason it is unfortunately not a free app, but the $2.99 app does have a free trial. The app will only work on Windows Phone 7.5. This is not a standalone app, so you need to configure the app with a desktop executable.

Instructions:

1. Install Notification Center on the phone

2. Run NotificationServer on your PC

2. Connect your phone to your computer, and sync it with Zune

3. Restart the phone, without disconnecting

4. Run Notification Center

5. Done!

Give the app a try by finding it in Marketplace here and read more about the app at Windows Phone Hacker here. I tried it several times and faced “Request Timed Out” issue. Let us know your experience in the comments below.

Thanks Jens for the tip.

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Portico hits UK as T-Mobile UK starts pushing out Windows Phone update to the HTC 8X

Portico hits UK as T-Mobile UK starts pushing out Windows Phone update to the HTC 8X

December 28, 2012 | By Surur

The Windows Phone 8 update has been making its very slow progression around the world, and we have just been informed that the software is now being pushed out to the HTC 8X on T-Mobile UK.

As a reminder, built 8.0.10211.204 is meant to bring:

Messaging improvements. A great messaging experience is now even better. You can now add multiple recipients at the same time when you send a text message and automatically save unsent text messages as drafts. You can even edit received text messages before you forward them.

Text replies to incoming calls. Can’t take a call? Now you can send a prewritten text reply to a caller directly from the call answer screen. It’s a nice way to let people know that you’re not ignoring them.

Internet Explorer improvements. You can now change your settings to prevent pictures from downloading automatically—an easy way to help keep data usage low. You can also delete selected sites from your browsing history and leave the rest intact.

Wi-Fi connectivity. Got a favorite Wi-Fi network? Windows Phone 8 will now prioritize Wi-Fi connections based on your connection history.

Other improvements. Includes many other improvements to Windows Phone.

Have any of our other readers received the OTA update yet? Let us know below.

Thanks Aenedor for the tip and screen shot.

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HTC updates ‘Make More Space’ app

HTC updates ‘Make More Space’ app

December 28, 2012 | By Surur

Here is an HTC exclusive app which I did not even know about.

HTC has created an app which allows users to monitor the amount of free space on their phone and also tell you what is taking up your space, thereby allowing you to manage your content better.

The app is meant for the HTC 8S, which only has 4 GB of storage, and does not work on the HTC 8X, which come in 8 and 16 GB variants.

The app has now been updated to version 1.2, hopefully fixing the compatibility issues,  and can be downloaded from your HTC device only.

Via WindowsPhoneItaly.com

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VLC KickStarter for WP8/W8 in last 24 hours, contribute now!

VLC KickStarter for WP8/W8 in last 24 hours, contribute now!

December 28, 2012 | By Surur

The VideoLan team is close to concluding their KickStarter round of funding, with only 17 hours left.

After reaching their £40,000 goal 5 days ago, any additional money raised is targeted at speeding the release of VLC for Windows Phone 8, which means if you have not contributed already and want VLC on your Windows Phone sooner rather than later now is the time to do so.

In their latest update the VLC team writes:

Dear backers,

We have come a long way and we are finally there. It’s 24 hours to go for our Kickstarter campaign. So far, more than £45,000 were pledged by almost 3000 backers.

This is a tremendous success and we are very pleased about it. Thanks so much!

In the last week, we’ve prepared our project management tools, collected hardware and software needs for the developers who will work on VLC for Windows 8, RT and Phone and set up our major development milestones. We will start right-away as soon as the campaign is over.

Our fulfilment team is set up, too, so we can ship all the goodies on time. Thanks again and you’ll hear back from shortly!

Jean-Baptiste & Felix for the VLC for Windows 8 team.

See the update and contribute at KickStarter here.

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IM+ Cross Platform IM Client Updated To v2.6 With Performance Improvements

IM+ Cross Platform IM Client Updated To v2.6 With Performance Improvements

December 28, 2012 | By Pradeep

IM+ cross platform, cross network messaging app just got updated to v2.6 with new features and performance improvements.

Change log:

- Beep mobile-to-mobile instant messaging service;
- Customizable Push sesssion timeout;
- Performance improvements.

You can download the app for free here. 

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Rdio Music Streaming App Updated With WP8 Support And Improved UX

Rdio Music Streaming App Updated With WP8 Support And Improved UX

December 28, 2012 | By Pradeep

 Rdio is a music streaming service that lets you listen to millions of songs ad-free on your Windows Phone devices. Rdio app got updated with Windows Phone 8 device compatibility and improved UX. Find the full change log here.

New in version 3.14:

• Windows Phone 8 compatibility
• Improved online streaming/playback
• Browse Recommendations
• Metro Interface Enhancements

Download the app here from the Windows Phone Store for free.

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Windows Phone on track for a 7 million + sales in Q4 2012

Windows Phone on track for a 7 million + sales in Q4 2012

December 28, 2012 | By Surur

(Gartner quarterly WP sales vs Quarterly MAU of the built-in Facebook app added, Q4 2012 sales predicted)

It seems Windows Phones have continued to fly of the shelves, and in Nokia’s case as fast as they can make them.

Our proxy numbers, monthly active Facebook users, have continued to soar in the month of December, adding half a million MAU in December and more than 1 million in Q4 2012. This compares to 100,000 added in December last year and 250,000 for the whole Q4 2012. It seems sales have held true to Microsoft’s earlier estimate of being 4 times as fast as last year.

Translating that into actual devices sold, that would correlate to around 7.4 million handsets sold this quarter. up from 4.05 million sold in Q3 2012, which is a rather healthy boost.   On the other hand in that quarter only 550 thousand MAU of the built-in Facebook function was added, vs more than a million in this quarter, indicating that there are definitely more new phones in more hands.

Now we have seen some who doubt the correlation between added Facebook users and Quarterly sales according to Gartner (who claims to measure handsets sold to consumers rather than shipped devices), so we went to the trouble of working out the R-value of our data from Q2 2011 to Q3 2012, and the result is 0.92, which is pretty close to a straight 1:1 correlation.

We chose to use numbers from Q2 2011, as that was, according to Gartner, from then no significant numbers of Windows Mobile handsets were sold, which would of course have messed up the correlation.

See the data below:

	Quarterly Added MAU FB WP	Gartner Quarterly WP sales	Ratio
Q2-2011	209855	1723800	8.2
Q3-2011	189778	1707900	9.0
Q4-2011	248607	2759000	11.1
Q1 2012	457143	2712500	5.9
Q2 2012	571429	4087000	7.2
Q3 2012	549206	4058200	7.4
Q4 2012	1022222	7432300 (Predicted)	7.3

Note this does not necessarily mean Nokia will boast large sales on the 24th of January.  We know from other sources that some of the best selling handsets were Nokia Lumia 800 phones which Nokia must have shipped 3 quarters ago and Nokia Lumia 610s which shipped in Q3. However developers do not care about shipments but phones in the hands of potential customers, and from the data available it seems that market just grew by close to 30% this quarter.

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Exclusive Nokia Weather Channel app updated to version 2.6

Exclusive Nokia Weather Channel app updated to version 2.6

December 28, 2012 | By Surur

The Nokia Weather app, which is their custom Weather Channel App, has been updated from version 2.0 to 2.6.

As is often the case, there is no changelog, but Windows Phone Italy compared the old and new apps side by side, and found a number of UI tweaks, and also the ability to pin the weather of a specific city as a secondary live tile.

The app has been updated for both Windows Phone 7.5 and Windows Phone 8 and can be found for free in the Nokia Collection or via this link.

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HTC 8S unable to install Guns for Hire due to 1 GB RAM limit

HTC 8S unable to install Guns for Hire due to 1 GB RAM limit

December 28, 2012 | By Surur

Its Tango all over again, as the 512 MB RAM in the HTC 8S is starting to show its limitations.

WinPhoneViet reports that the HTC 8S, HTC’s low-end Windows Phone, is unable to install the Guns For Hire game, with the warning that it needs a device with at least 1 GB of RAM, a warning which interestingly does not appear in the listing for the app in Marketplace.

This will presumably also affect the Nokia Lumia 620, which also has 512 MB RAM, and which I expect will be a wildly popular device.

It is likely it will mostly be high-end games which are affected, rather than apps, but buyers should be aware that app limitations are also part of buying a cheap handset.

Via WinPhoneViet.com

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UI Designer For Windows Phone lets you design your app on the move

UI Designer For Windows Phone lets you design your app on the move

December 28, 2012 | By PeyPey

UI Designer

The Idea -I built the UI Designer in hopes of allowing anyone anywhere to design UI for the Windows Phone.

The Functions – The UI Designer currently has 6 basic controls you can add, Text Boxes, Text Blocks, Buttons, Check Boxes, and Radio Buttons. You can customize various things about the control such as title and color of the control. The ultimate goal is to have every function available to users by the final update. We will also be developing a full blown YouTube curriculum along with it.

The Trial -The trial includes a limit on the number of controls you can add to the page at one time, but allows you full access to the various customization options.

The Paid Version -The paid version unlocks full access to all the controls.

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Petition for Google apps on Windows Phones

Petition for Google apps on Windows Phones

December 28, 2012 | By Ferrarifan

To this day, Google has ignored Windows Phone users by making the controversial and arguably anti-competitive decision to not build apps for the platform beyond a very basic search app.  Here is a petition that the goal is to make Google hear the Windows Phone community and to get them on the path of making polished apps on the Windows Phone platform.

Sign by clicking here.

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Nokia Lumia 510 received second Windows Phone 7.8 ROM update

Nokia Lumia 510 received second Windows Phone 7.8 ROM update

December 28, 2012 | By Surur

If there is any doubt Windows Phone 7.8 is still a work in progress the news of Nokia is pushing out a second ROM update for the Nokia Lumia 510, which ships with the OS, should erase it.

New firmware for the handset has just appeared on Navifirm which takes the OS from firmware version 12460 to 12490.

There is no word on what’s new with this build, but presumably at the very least it brings performance and stability tweaks.

Have any of our readers flashed the new ROM? Let us know what’s new below.

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Windows Phone Store breaks 150,000 apps

Windows Phone Store breaks 150,000 apps

December 27, 2012 | By Surur

Slightly hidden in Todd Brix’s announcement from this morning was the news that the Windows Phone Store has passed 150,000 apps.

The statement reads:

Over the last year we’ve certified and published over 75,000 new apps and games (more than doubling the catalog size)

… which gives us a total of more than 150,000 apps in the Windows Phone store.

As can be seen from the graph above, the acceleration brought on by the launch of Windows Phone 8 is very clear, and with the steadily increasing audience size drawing in developers I think it will not be too long before we cross 200,000 apps also.

Will the store then finally get some respect?

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Nokia: Lumia Device Sold On Discounts Are Fairly Standard At This Time Of Year

Nokia: Lumia Device Sold On Discounts Are Fairly Standard At This Time Of Year

December 27, 2012 | By Pradeep

Nokia started selling Windows Phone 8 devices few months back and since then the prices of these devices have come down significantly. For example, Nokia Lumia 920 which was originally listed as $99 on 2 year contract from AT&T is now available starting $39.99 from retailers like Amazon. Even Verizon and T-Mobile have discounted their Nokia Lumia WP8 devices.

Nokia spokesman Doug Dawson said in an email to WSJ that these are fairly standard at this time of year.

“pricing is always a carrier decision, but holiday season promotions are fairly standard at this time of year.” He noted that Samsung Electronics Co. phones are also being offered for free in some markets.

Even T-Mobile has said that its move was part of a broader limited-time offering. Is Nokia subsidizing carriers to accelerate sales or carriers doing on their own?

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Nokia Updates Accessories App For Lumia Windows Phone Devices

Nokia Updates Accessories App For Lumia Windows Phone Devices

December 27, 2012 | By Pradeep

Nokia today released an update for its Accessories app for Lumia Windows Phone devices. Accessories app is a companion for your Nokia Accessories like Fatboy Pillow, PowerUp speakers that will allow you to manage battery life, control them, etc,. The new update brings the sleeping mode screen that shows you the weather, time, and upcoming calendar events at a glance when your Lumia device is docked to Nokia Accessories.

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HTC HD2 WP8 port leads to Windows RT on the HTC HD2

HTC HD2 WP8 port leads to Windows RT on the HTC HD2

December 27, 2012 | By Surur

The HTC HD2 is famous for running every OS ever written, and now the latest to add to that is full Windows RT.

The pictures above and after the break were tweeted by Cotulla, who has been working on porting Windows Phone 8 to the HTC HD2.  It seems the work on getting UEFI to work on the device also paid off for Windows RT, which makes sense since both Windows Phone 8 and Windows RT boast the same kernel.

It is unfortunately unlikely the work will come to other handsets (except possibly Android handsets) but it does show that Microsoft could potentially create a phone that ran bot Windows Phone 8 and Windows RT if they really wanted to.

See many more pictures after the break.

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Help a 22 year old blogger choose Windows Phone

Help a 22 year old blogger choose Windows Phone

December 27, 2012 | By Bernard

Taylor Soper, blogger at GeekWire.com, is in the market to replace his HTC G2 for T-Mobile, and is debating between the Apple Phone 5 and the Samsung Droid Galaxy 3. He hasn’t discounted Windows Phone, though he thinks he “just won’t go that route”. Let’s convince him otherwise.

Taylor is 22 years old and owns a Machintosh computer (hello Windows Phone Companion for MAC). He already blogs frequently about Microsoft. His most used applications on a phone are social networking, camera, maps, music, and voice recording. I have never met a more appropriate user for Windows Phone, with its integrated Facebook and Twitter, stellar camera (and picture sharing ability), downloadable maps, cloud-based Xbox Music (as well as Spotify, Rhapsody, Nokia Music,free Pandora, etc.), and the ability to post voice notes using WP8′s OneNote.

So head on over to GeekWire and answer Taylor’s poll, write in the comments, and tweet him to help him join the Windows Phone camp. He’ll join a good crowd that includes the likes of Jessica Alba, Will Arnett, Andy Samberg, Gwen Stefani, Cam Newton, and most recently Mark Cuban.

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Windows Phone Kid’s Corner Wins Pogie Awards For the Brightest Ideas Of 2012

Windows Phone Kid’s Corner Wins Pogie Awards For the Brightest Ideas Of 2012

December 27, 2012 | By Pradeep

One of the unique features of Windows Phone 8 is Kid’s Corner. It grants your kids access only to the apps, games, videos, and music you choose for them which prevents them from accessing your important stuff. NYT’s David Pogue today posted the “Pogie Awards for the Brightest Ideas of 2012″ and Kid’s Corner was one of them. Remember, Windows Phone have already won this award for Camera button implementation a year back.

KID’S CORNER Windows Phone phones may not be flying off the shelves, but it’s not because the software isn’t any good. And Kid’s Corner is particularly inspired.

The problem: Your offspring in the back seat claims to be bored, begs you to hand over your phone. (Yes, yes, that’s right — it’s a first-world problem. But still.)

In the Windows Phone 8 software, with a quick left swipe from the Lock screen, you open Kid’s Corner, a sanitized version of the operating system that contains only apps, music and videos that you’ve handpicked in advance. Web browsing, e-mail and phone calls are off limits. So are in-app purchases.

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HTC 8X available for only $305 unlocked in Switzerland

HTC 8X available for only $305 unlocked in Switzerland

December 27, 2012 | By Surur

Oliver has written to let our readers know about a neat trick to get an unlocked HTC 8X for pretty cheap.

Apparently Digitec is selling the SIM-unlocked handset deeply subsidized by Orange, such that one can buy it on a two year, 10 CHF contract and a 40 CHF once off payment, resulting in a total bill of only 280 Swiss Francs (305 USD).

Besides the low price of the handset is seems also an easy way to buy the handset which can then be easily used with one’s existing SIM card and plan.

To get this great deal

• Visit Digitec.ch
• You click on "Detailansicht"
• You choose "Buy this product with a new subscription or a renewal of your existing contract and get a Discount" (Sometimes you have to open this link in a new Tab)
• Choose "New subscription" and "Private" (or "Youth" if you’re not yet 27)
• Choose "Me – 0 Min, 0 SMS, 0 GB" for 24 months.

Let us know below if this great deal works for you.

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Facebook For Windows Phone 7.x Devices Updated To v2.8

Facebook For Windows Phone 7.x Devices Updated To v2.8

December 27, 2012 | By Pradeep

Facebook app for Windows Phone just got updated o v2.8. There is no change log mentioned in the release, so if you find any changes, let us know in the comments section below. The previous update v2.7 brought some bug fixes, performance improvements and I guess it will be the same in the case of v2.8 too.

Download it here from Windows Phone Store for free.

Update: Jens was kind enough to upload these screen shots from the app running on Windows Phone 7.8, where the changes are now apparent.  The update allows one to create a double-wide tile, and it will use your banner image or last status update as the content on the banner.

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75,000 Windows Phone apps published this year, 54 apps per phone downloaded

75,000 Windows Phone apps published this year, 54 apps per phone downloaded

December 27, 2012 | By Surur

Speaking on the Windows Blog, Todd Brix, Senior Director of Windows Phone Apps Team, made some announcements about the year in review for the Windows Phone Store.

He noted Microsoft certified and published 75,000 apps and games this year, and approved over 300,000 app updates. They also expanded payment options, including supporting Paypal and Ailipay, and doubled the number of carriers supporting carrier billing. With 75% of the Windows Phone users who have access to carrier billing preferring it, he said it drives over 2x paid downloads compared to credit card billing.

This resulted in an average of 54 apps per phone downloaded and Todd notes developer revenue has increased 40% in the 30 days since the Windows Phone 8 SDK release, with the expectation that this will just continue to grow with new capabilities such as in-app purchases.

This should also increase because the number of supported markets where customers can buy apps has increased from only 35 at the start of the year to 191 under Windows Phone 8 at present, resulting in an over 95% increase in the number of potential customers.

He concludes that there was never a better time to be a Windows Phone developer, and suggests those who are not should jump in.

Read much more detail at the Windows blog here.

With Strategy Analytics saying the average number of apps downloaded per phone is around 32, and Windows Phone being nearly double that amount, is there  any concern amongst our readers that the OS does not have enough apps? Let us know below.

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Facebook For Windows Phone 7.x Devices Updated To v2.8

Facebook For Windows Phone 7.x Devices Updated To v2.8

December 27, 2012 | By Pradeep

Facebook app for Windows Phone just got updated o v2.8. There is no change log mentioned in the release, so if you find any changes, let us know in the comments section below. The previous update v2.7 brought some bug fixes, performance improvements and I guess it will be the same in the case of v2.8 too.

Download it here from Windows Phone Store for free.

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75,000 Windows Phone apps published this year, 54 apps per phone downloaded

75,000 Windows Phone apps published this year, 54 apps per phone downloaded

December 27, 2012 | By Surur

Speaking on the Windows Blog, Todd Brix, Senior Director of Windows Phone Apps Team, made some announcements about the year in review for the Windows Phone Store.

He noted Microsoft certified and published 75,000 apps and games this year, and approved over 300,000 app updates. They also expanded payment options, including supporting Paypal and Ailipay, and doubled the number of carriers supporting carrier billing. With 75% of the Windows Phone users who have access to carrier billing preferring it, he said it drives over 2x paid downloads compared to credit card billing.

This resulted in an average of 54 apps per phone downloaded and Todd notes developer revenue has increased 40% in the 30 days since the Windows Phone 8 SDK release, with the expectation that this will just continue to grow with new capabilities such as in-app purchases.

This should also increase because the number of supported markets where customers can buy apps has increased from only 35 at the start of the year to 191 under Windows Phone 8 at present, resulting in an over 95% increase in the number of potential customers.

He concludes that there was never a better time to be a Windows Phone developer, and suggests those who are not should jump in.

Read much more detail at the Windows blog here.

With Strategy Analytics saying the average number of apps downloaded per phone is around 32, and Windows Phone being nearly double that amount, is there  any concern amongst our readers that the OS does not have enough apps? Let us know below.

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HTC 8X down to $100 on contract on Verizon

HTC 8X down to $100 on contract on Verizon

December 27, 2012 | By Surur

Verizon is promoting a new, lower price for the HTC 8X on their network.

Retailing for $199 at the beginning of this month, the carrier is now listing the handset as $149.99 and selling it for $99 after a $50 “online discount”.

The handset comes with Wireless Charging built-in, unlike the AT&T model and supports HSDPA on the AT&T bands and also comes GSM unlocked out of the box, making it a cheap way of getting a handset which can roam on multiple networks.

See the deal at Verizon here.

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AppoinTile now for Windows Phone 8

AppoinTile now for Windows Phone 8

December 27, 2012 | By Jandieg

This tile-app allows you to replace the standard calendar tile with a wide tile designed to give you much more information about your upcoming agenda.

While now being one wide tile, it still allows an optional secondary tile you can use for tap actions like to open Meeting Assistant, create a new appointment, open the full list or just refresh/resync.

More than just “a tile”

The app includes a feature called Meeting Assistant, which pulls up all the info you need in hand by your meeting time. You can setup the app to take you to this screen by just tapping one of the main screen tiles… one tap away!

From the Meeting Assistant screen, you can set alarms to remind you something either before, during or after a meeting.

Ever wanted to remind something during a meeting? or before it starts? or just after it ended? Now you can! You can also send “arriving late” message to all attendees or just the organizer, and opt to send via SMS as well.

You can get the app now from the Marketplace or official website. It has a free trial period of 15 days.

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GasBuddy App Updated With Windows Phone 8 Features

GasBuddy App Updated With Windows Phone 8 Features

December 27, 2012 | By Pradeep

GasBuddy app just got updated with redesigned UX and support for Windows Phone 8 devices. This new app features dynamic lock screens and the main tile that locates you and tells you the current average gas price of the nearest city, state, and then of your country, as well as trending info if prices are increasing or decreasing.

In addition to the above Windows Phone 8 features, app has got lots of improvements to other users with improved location services, maps, speed, reliability, and the new attractive UX.

Download it from Windows Phone Store for free here. FYI, this app is designed for US and Canada users

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