Mobile Phone Blog:

Right then, we all know that Microsoft want lots of apps on Windows Phone 7; after all, it seems to be one of the big things that loads of people ask for these days, when they’re after a smartphone. The thing is that Windows Phone 7, currently, doesn’t have a lot of apps available. That could be about to change, though, because according to Microsoft themselves, they’ve come up with a new tool that’s supposed to make it much easier for devs to port apps across from iOS onto WP7.

Basically, it’s an API Mapping tool, that works out what bit of code in iPhone 4 (or earlier models, obviously) an app accesses, and then finds which bits of code it needs to access, in WP7, to get the same result… (more…)

Ooh, now then, here’s something rather cool. We’ve all seen how important “apps” are to this generation of smartphones; just look at Apple’s entire marketing strategy for the iPhone 4, if you don’t believe me. Having a breadth of apps available seems to be one of the key factors in why people choose their new phones, these days.

So, it’s kinda cool that Microsoft Research have come up with a way for you, the average punter, to create your own apps on the phone itself.

That’s rather cool, that is. The app has a list of all the kind of codey things that developers use, and you can basically put ‘em all together, to make an app. Cool, no? (more…)

Ooh goody, looks like it’s nearly time for another HTC product unveiling. We know this because, y’know, they’re sending out invites left, right and centre, to industry types and journos, for what can only be a product unveiling. The big mystery, of course, is precisely what they’re unveiling, because the invite looks a little weird.

In fact it looks just like a certain mimetic polyalloy Terminator that we all know and love, from the second film. So, what could it be? Well, there’s speculation going about that it could be the European launch of the HTC Evo 3D, since the invite maybe, possibly, looks like a phone screen with a bulge in it. Are us Brits about to get our hands on the first 3D HTC phone? (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…)

Right folks, you know me, I love a good concept phone every now and again. I especially like it when it offers something you don’t see anywhere else on the market, so with that in mind, say hello to the “Triple Flip”, a phone whose main gimmick is completely given away by the name…

Pretty funky, innit? Granted, it’s unlikely we’ll ever see a phone like that actually being made, ‘cos it doesn’t fit in with the chassis guidelines that prescribe phones like the HTC Mozart or the Samsung Omnia 7 (what with the Triple Flip having those extra flappy button panels on it), but still, ’tis kinda cool to see what could be possible, if it was allowed. Which it’s not. But let’s not focus on that bit, ‘cos it’s depressing. Okay? (more…)

As you may or may not know, the video game BAFTAs happened last week. The film industry’s had these awards ceremonies for chuffing years, so it’s about time video games were recognised as the burgeoning artform they are, innit? That’s why, since 2003, the BAFTA Video Game Awards have been going on, a formal recognition of video games as an artform.

And this year, Cut The Rope, published by Chillingo, became the first iPhone game to ever win a BAFTA award. Think about that for a second; the Handheld Game category was won, not by a Sony PSP or Nintendo DS game, but a fun little game on a mobile phone. I would suggest that’s kind of a big deal… (more…)

I do love it when new mobile phones get leaked online, especially when the phones that get leaked are by my favourite manufacturer (HTC, obviously). However, the thing you should always bear in mind, with handset leaks, is the ever-present possibility of them being inaccurate or, basically, a load of old cobblers.

So, that brings me to the latest leak, as reported on by Pocketnow, where three alleged upcoming HTC phones have appeared online, and the reason for that preamble is simply this: I’m not convinced this leak is on the level. The renders themselves might be, but the specs… nah, I’m sensing bad juju, man, with a high probability of being complete bobbins. And I shall tell ya why… (more…)

Ooh, awesome! We’ve been waiting to hear the release date of the Sony Ericsson Xperia Play (what with it being one of the most anticipated mobile phones in history)… and now we know!

Put a note in your dairies, folks, ‘cos the Sony Ericsson Xperia Play will be released on March 31st. At the end of this month, mobile gaming becomes all PlayStation-y, and therefore, better. Oh aye, but it ain’t just the PlayStation badge on it that’ll make mobile gaming better. The dedicated buttons will also do that.

Also, the six pre-installed games will make mobile gaming better, purely by virtue of the fact that one of ‘em is Crash Bandicoot… (more…)

We all know that copy & paste is coming to Windows Phone 7, in the form of the operating system’s first properly major update (the actual first one from a little while back doesn’t count, and anyway, it went wrong on 10% of phones). We all know that Microsoft said it was originally planned to be released in “early March”.

However, “early March” is nearly over, so when is it coming? Well, according to Frogz (Google translated link of what appears to actually be Microsoft France, who’ve humorously called their blog “Frogz”), the copy & paste update, aka. the NoDo update, is now due to arrive in late March. Which, really, doesn’t tell us any more than “early March”; so when exactly are we looking at? (more…)

We all know how these things go with Sony Ericsson, by now: a phone will get leaked and then, more often than not, it’ll get completely debunked (yes, okay, sometimes it’ll get confirmed as real, like the Sony Ericsson Xperia Play, but I still have bad memories of the P5). However, when all of that happens within the space of 24 hours, I can’t help but find it slightly amusing.

Yup, according to Engadget, that’s what’s happened over the weekend, with this pic of a purported Sony Ericsson phone that runs on Windows Phone 7, which was rumoured to be coming out as their first WP7 offering. Except the thing is, apparently, that it’s not. So, what’s going on here, then; exactly what is it? (more…)