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Tag: windows-phone-8

  • Microsoft announces Windows Phone 8 event

    The following month will be very important for Microsoft, since they are about to launch the highly anticipated Windows 8. Along with Windows 8, we are also expecting the Windows Phone 8 handsets, which are also expected to increase Microsoft's share in the mobile market.

    Microsoft is having an event on October 29 in San Francisco, inviting the journalists to "meet Windows Phone 8". As it seems, Microsoft is about to announce the release of the brand new Windows 8 handsets and reveal all the details that are related to them. From what we already know about Windows Phone 8, it will be compatible with all the Windows 8 devices, being an extension of Windows 8. What's more, Windows Phone 8 will have a customizable start screen, but it will also feature the NFC technology.

    As for the phones, there will be handsets from HTC, Samsung, Huawei and Nokia, with the latter being the big advocate of Windows Phones lately. There is also a rumor that Microsoft will create a Surface device with Windows Phone 8, but there isn't a confirmation yet, which means that we have to be patient for it.

    What we know for sure, is that Microsoft has high expectations on the big release of Windows 8 and Windows Phone 8, hoping to boost their income during the highly profitable holiday period. Although we have already reported the disappointment of the Windows Phone 7 owners, Microsoft is aware of the big competition in the mobile industry and they can only have a share with ambitious projects. And Windows Phone 8 is definitely one of them.

    More details about Windows Phone 8 at the end of the month then.

  • Microsoft to Release Windows-Based Smartphone

    Microsoft prepares a Windows smartphone under its own brand. Designed for the premium segment, the prototype is already operational, currently being under testing, according to sources inside the company, quoted by wpcentral.com, which reinforce the rumors previously circulated in the Chinese media.

    The Microsoft phone is different from other models that run the Windows operating system on the market, being a single product, said a source inside the company, who did not provide information on the smartphone’s features, prices or expected date of release.

    The cited person added that the phone already exists as a prototype and is being tested.

    China Times wrote on Monday, without sourcing the information, that Microsoft is working on a Windows phone.

    Microsoft introduced this spring the Surface tablet, proving that it has the resources to create their own completely new hardware product. The company avoided leaking information to the press shortly before disclosing the tablet. Surface will be available after the release of Windows 8, scheduled for October 26.
    Windows Phone 8 was adopted by Nokia, the main hardware partner of Microsoft, but also by Samsung and HTC, which presented their own competing models. Windows Phone 8 phones will be available somewhere in November, after the release of the operating system.

    Redmond company may choose to sell their hardware products on Microsoft Store, in order to don’t bother hardware partners, which largely depend on the sales by telecom operators at subsidized prices with the signing of a subscription for a period of time, usually two years.

    At the same time, preparing its own smartphone could represent a “plan B” for Microsoft to promote Windows Phone 8, if Nokia’s models will not be successful.

    Another possibility circulated in specialized media would be an alleged state of discontent in Microsoft’s management board regarding Nokia’s marketing strategy, which would focus too much on Lumia brand and too little on Windows. This variant seems to be reinforced by Microsoft’s participation at the recent event held in New York and organized by HTC, which showed its Windows Phone 8 models, a competition for Nokia’s Lumia range.

  • What to expect in Windows Phone 8 and not Windows Phone 7.8

    Microsoft has already announced that Windows Phone owners should expect another update on their smartphones, the Windows Phone 7.8 update.

    Although every update is received with satisfaction, this time was rather different. Windows Phone owners were not happy when they heard that their current Windows Phone 7 smartphones won't be updated to Windows Phone 8. Microsoft sees Windows Phone 8 as part of the whole Windows 8 change and sadly for current Windows Phone owners, it couldn't be done on their existing smartphones. Windows Phone 7.8 update will contain some new features, but unfortunately it won't be like the Windows Phone 8 update.

    According to a French document that leaked at the Internet, Windows Phone 7.8 will lack the following features, comparing to Windows Phone 8:

    – Windows Phone Wallet
    – Internet Explorer 10
    – Real Multitasking
    – NFC
    – Device Management
    – MicroSD card support
    – Secure boot and encryption
    – Multi-core processor support

    Nokia did not comment on whether the document is correct, although the French blog "Smartphone France" claims it as authentic.

    Even though we are not totally sure of the document's authenticity, we do know that current Windows Phone owners will feel "betrayed" by Microsoft, since their relatively new smartphones will become obsolete sooner or later. Buying a smartphone just a few months ago and being obliged to leave it does not seem the ideal situation for any customer. Although Microsoft does plan something bigger, they still know that they need to win the current Windows Phone owners.

    Windows Phone 8 handsets are expected to arrive in the following months, with Nokia collaborating with Microsoft once again. The fact that the new iPhone arrives in the mid-September raises the competition even more, with Microsoft being aware that Windows 8 should make the difference. It's their chance to prove they can make it big in smartphones, too!

  • No Windows Phone 8 Upgrade for Current Nokia Lumnia Phones

    One of the significant hits given yesterday by Microsoft refers to the lack of possibility to upgrade to the new OS – Windows Phone 8 – for the owners of Lumia smartphones, even for the owners of high-end models such as Nokia Lumia 900.

    Although Windows Phone 7.8 will be a significant sample of the functionality of WP8, the guys at The Verge consulted Kevin Shields from Nokia to hear an official opinion regarding the company’s trust or distrust in the Lumia.

    "I definitely think it's more than enough. I think that ultimately your typical customer probably isn't all that aware of this upgrade thing," said Shields. When asked about the upgrade prospects for Lumia 900, the same Kevin Shields said that he definitely thinks that with “products like the Lumia 900, where a consumer walks in and buys that product they're getting great value and they're getting a great offering that's going to have a long lifetime of innovation”.

    Although there will exist new applications that would take advantage of the functions implemented exclusively in WP8, Nokia representative was keen to ensure that users will constantly get new features through updates and applications made in house by the company. Applications like Camera Extras, which will reach on all the Lumia terminals until the end of July, represent a clear proof of these statements. Camera Extras will allow users to capture intelligent panoramic and group pictures.

    As a subjective note, we think that Nokia undermines users’ intelligence with such statements and, although Lumia 900 is a sensational terminal, in the world we live increasingly more people think about the future and put in balance the free upgrade options and the extended support. Since these elements are missing from all Lumia terminals on the market, we believe that Nokia has received a new hit in this period.

  • HTC Releases First Details on Its Windows Phone 8 Smartphones

    Besides Nokia, HTC is one of the leading supporters of the mobile platform from Microsoft and this does not seem to change with the new version of the platform – Windows Phone 8.

    After yesterday’s event in which we learned the first elements, more or less spectacular, related to Windows Phone 8, HTC rushed to make give the first official details for its next generation of smartphones running on the new operating system from Microsoft.

    HTC Rio is the low-end model powered by WP8. The smartphone will feature a 4-inch WVGA screen, will support HSPA data connection of 14.4 Mbps and will have an integrated 5-megapixel camera with video capture capability in 720p resolution. The processor used will be a Qualcomm MSM8227 from the new series Snapdragon S4 Plus, and the amount of RAM will be only 512 MB.

    HTC Accord will be the second model on the price scale. This one will have a 4.3-inch Super LCD 2 screen and a native resolution of 720p. It will integrate an 8-megapixel sensor, and will jump to 1080p when capturing video content. In terms of data, the new smartphone will support 42Mbps HSPA+ as well as NFC connection. HTC Accord will be powered by a dual-core processor – probably Qualcomm MSM8260A, while the amount of RAM will jump to 1GB.

    HTC Zenith will be the new flagship of the WP8 range of smartphones. It will feature a 4.7-inch Super LCD 2 display with a native resolution of 720p and will integrate the same 8-megapixel sensor. Also concerning the similarities with HTC Accord, HTC Zenith will also feature the same processor and quantity of RAM.

    The first two terminals and HTC Rio and HTC Accord are scheduled for launch in October, while HTC Zenith will be available shortly before the end of the year.

  • Windows Phone 8, Detailed in a Massive Leak

    Pocketnow.com managed to take a look at a video presentation of the future Windows Phone 8, in which Joe Belfiore, Windows Phone Senior Vice President at Microsoft, speaks to Nokia partners and from which results major changes that will affect the platform in the fall.

    Along with the leak from pocketnow.com, Paul Thurott hurried up to partially confirm the information he had in a blog post (probably under NDA).

    Basically, Windows Phone 8 – which will be called Apollo as it has been speculated for a long time – will be an important step from the current Windows Phone 7.5 from, actually, all points of view.

    DataSmart: Optimizing Data Connection
    Those who own a Windows Phone definitely know that the management module for data connection is not very intelligent and that sometimes the user has to insist until the phone connects/reconnects to a Wi-Fi. This is why in Windows Phone 8 will appear an option called DataSmart that will make order on how data connections are used. First of all it will focus on optimizing and prioritizing connections via Wi-Fi when available instead of 3G. In the Local Scout channel in Bing Maps will be provided detailed information about hotspots.

    Even more interesting is that Internet Explorer 10 will be able to use a proxy server feature through which data will come optimized, similar to the current option in Opera mobile.

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    It was expected that at some point the BitLocker feature will reach the mobile platform too. It seems that Windows Phone 8 will have that and it will use the same 128-bit encryption technology seen on the PC version.

    Detailed information is very important and shows an interesting direction towards which Microsoft wants to go with Windows Phone, but what is not said yet is: Would the current Windows Phone devices have any chance to upgrade to Windows Phone 8 in the upcoming fall?