Mobile Phone Blog:

Normally, I don’t put a lot of stock in things that analysts say, but I’m going to be a bit open-minded, today, and give Gartner a chance to put their viewpoint forward, to see if it is indeed accurate, before tearing them a new one. Basically, the crack is this: Gartner has done some analysis type stuff, and one of the points they’re making is that Windows Phone 7 is underperforming, selling only 1.6 million phones in the first three months of its life.

In fact, they say that Windows Phone 7 was, during this three month period, outperformed by old school Windows Mobile, the OS that WP7 was meant to replace! If that’s the case, then surely it’s a bit rubbish, no? So what’s the crack? What, in actuality, is going on? (more…)

Ooh, here we go; I wondered if this would happen, after people started doing unofficial updates on their Windows phones. You may have heard that the last update Microsoft sent out had a staggered release, and some people were waiting ages for it. Well, enterprising people managed to make it available early.

The problem is that Microsoft said it would leave handsets in a “non-serviceable state”, and now, thanks to Microsoft themselves, we know what that means. Basically, it means that if you did the unofficial update thingy, it left your phone in a state where it now cannot get future official updates.

Oopsie… (more…)

Ooh, here we go, another unsubstantiated rumour, this time coming in the form of a Youtube video. The video in question purportedly shows a new HTC phone which, based on the buttons on it, runs on Windows Phone 7. Oh, and it also purportedly has a 16MP camera…

Right, so, the question now is: is this 16MP HTC Windows phone fact or fiction? Or, as I prefer to say it, is it real or cobblers? Well, let’s examine it critically, shall we? (more…)

Here we go, a story that I can’t honestly say I’m particularly bothered about, since I don’t actually use Skype, but hey. Yes, the latest news, according to Engadget, is that Windows Phone 7 is going to be getting Skype, and it should be arriving this autumn. Or, at least, that’s what Microsoft’s Joe Belfiore says, speaking to developers at the MIX conference.

This is slightly surprising news, considering that there were rumours going about, which stated that Skype wasn’t happening on Windows Phone 7. But then, it’s not actually surprising for people who considered that those rumours were (as has been proven to be true, now) complete and utter cobblers. So, if you’ve got a phone like the HTC HD7, then yay, you’ll soon be able to use Skype on it… (more…)

We all know how Nokia are transitioning from Symbian across to Windows Phone 7, right? And we also know how some phones can dual-boot between two operating systems, don’t we? So, what if there was a phone that could dual-boot between Symbian and Windows?

Well, there is, according to AkihabaraNews; however, it doesn’t dual-boot between Symbian and Windows Phone 7. No sirree, it dual-boots between Symbian and Windows 7. Yes, the PC version. And that is gloriously excessive, not to mention a bit pointless. Put it this way, you remember how there was that phone that used Windows XP, and how I said the screen was too small? Yeah, this one, as you can see, has a smaller screen… (more…)

I’m not sure if I’ve mentioned it on this blog before, but there is one app you can guarantee to be the first one I buy whenever I get a new phone. It’s called IM+, it’s an instant messaging app that supports just about every instant messaging platform out there, and it’s brilliant.

In part, it’s also brilliant because they let me transfer my licence from my X1 to my HD2, without having to pay for a new registration key, but that’s a different story altogether. No, the point is, right, that with IM+ being available on damn nearly every phone out there, I was waiting for it to happen on Windows Phone 7, and apparently, according to WMPoweruser, it’s not far off appearing on Microsoft’s newest OS… (more…)

One of the trends you often see in the mobile gaming arena is that one were publishers port games from consoles over to phones; er, or more accurately, they make a phone version inspired by a certain game or some such, like EA did with Dead Space and Mirror’s Edge. The point is, though, that the IP gets ported from consoles to phones.

That might be about to run in reverse, though, according to a story on Winrumors. Apparently, Microsoft are looking to bring Silverlight to Xbox 360 consoles, and Silverlight is a big part of Windows phones. So, we may very well be seeing mobile games appearing on Xbox Live. It may also mean that the console get an app store pretty much the same as Windows phones have… (more…)

After the news, yesterday, that Google have teamed up with Citigroup and MasterCard to make NFC payments a reality with Android phones, I guess it was only a matter of time till Windows Phone 7 got the same feature. And while it hasn’t got it yet, the rumour is that it’ll be enabled in the next update to the OS.

According to Bloomberg, NFC capabilities are being baked into the next version of the OS, and so, if the rumour is indeed accurate, future WP7 phones will let you do mobile payments, too. However, don’t expect current phones like the HTC Mozart or the HTC HD7 to let you do the same thing, even if their core software is updated to include the same apps as future phones. Why? Simple… (more…)

You know me, I’m never one to shy away from sweeping hyperbole, but I reckon I may have outdone myself with that title. Really, Technical Markus, a phone that’s ostensibly a business-oriented phone is really the best Windows Phone 7 handset ever, REALLY?

Yes I am of sound mind and body, and no, I’m not tripping. I genuinely reckon the HTC 7 Pro may very well be the best Windows Phone 7 handset on the market. And I shall tell you why, although the reason might be a bit weird. And it may seem arbitrary. But this is me we’re talking about, so you’d be disappointed if I did it any other way, right?

Anyway… (more…)

Ooh, look, a story about Windows Phone 7 that’s not about Nokia! After a week full of stories about those two entities getting into bed together (unfortunate mental image ahoy!), with another such story coming after this blog post, it’s nice to write something about WP7 that doesn’t involve the Finnish manufacturer.

Nope, this story is about the camera software in Windows Phone 7, because apparently the camera app in the OS keeps resetting the settings back to the defaults every time you go into it. In the time honoured tradition of saying “It’s not a bug, it’s a feature”, Microsoft have come out and said that ah-ha, it’s meant to do that, in the comments on their own blog. (more…)