Nokia To Launch Four Nokia Windows Phone 7 In Early 2012

There has been a lot of debate over the Nokia and Microsoft Partnership, especially regarding when Nokia will start the production of the Windows Phone 7 devices. While the exact dates are yet to be announced, Mobile Review revealed that we can expect at least 4 devices in early 2012.

Another area Nokia and Microsoft are having a challenge in agreeing is the naming convention of the new phones. It will be difficult for both to modify their existing conventions to please the other, but at large the Nokia Windows Phone devices will be carrying a "W" prefix. This will be the link factor for the Nokia phones running on the Windows operating system.

As per the details made available, Nokia will be releasing the first handset in early 2012, which will be a modified version of the Nokia X7. It will have an 8MP camera, a Qualcomm QSD8250 chipset and a WVGA screen. A Windows Phone version of the Nokia N8 will also be in the markets towards the end of the first quarter or early in the second one. It will, like the N8 have a 12MP camera and also boast a Dual-Core Qualcomm processor.

From the specifications of the sets mentioned, it appears that Microsoft and Nokia are both in harmony to continue with the focus on camera phones. One interesting thing to note here is how Nokia is being made to adopt the Qualcomm processor to power its devices, the credit of which largely goes to Microsoft.

There are two more, one that will be a touch screen QWERTY phone and another low priced model aimed to cater to the lower tier of the smartphone market. While the 4 are just the beginning, Nokia will be releasing at least a dozen Windows Phone 7 devices. There is a lot more to come from this Nokia/Microsoft handshake for sure. Let's wait and see how 2012 shapes for both the giants and how they can benefit from each others’ position.

UNO HD Offered as Windows Phone 7 ‘Deal of the Week’

his week’s ‘Deal of the Week’ promotion on Windows Phone 7 is the successful UNO HD. Original launched alongside the Windows Phone 7 handsets, UNO HD is now available at a reduced price for one week only.

            The world-famous card game is faithfully reproduced for mobile and also features exciting new rules. Match colours or numbers with all your favourite cards or challenge yourself with increasingly difficult games in Tournament Mode. UNO HD features intuitive touchscreen controls: simply drag and drop cards using your finger on the screen and be the first to get rid of all your cards

Players can also customise their games with varied rules including 7-0 and Jump-In. UNO HD is available now on the Zune Marketplace for Windows Phone 7, priced at £2.49. Next week it will revert to its original price, and a new Deal of the Week promotion will be available, with which Electronic Theatre will keep you updated.

TuneIn Makes Good Use of Windows Phone 7 FM Radio

TuneIn, already available on most smartphone platforms, today launches as a free mobile application for Microsoft Windows Phone 7 handsets. The software streams Internet radio from more than 50,000 AM and FM radio stations over Wi-Fi or a mobile broadband connection. One key difference in the Windows Phone 7 version is that the application integrates with the handset’s internal FM radio to save battery life or listen to local radio programs that could be blocked on the web.

TuneIn is now available on practically all mobile platforms: iOS, BlackBerry, Android, Palm, and even Samsung’s Bada operating system. But among those, Windows Phone 7 is the only smartphone platform that requires an FM radio tuner in handsets. The radio requirement is a “nice to have” feature in my opinion, although some likely couldn’t do without it, and the younger generation wonder how we ever lived before iTunes. It’s clever of TuneIn to leverage the lower-powered radio, so users can shift from Internet to local airwaves and listen longer. And the app can be used exclusively with the integrated FM radio without using up mobile broadband data.

Aside from the new hybrid listening feature specific to Microsoft smartphones, TuneIn offers several key features for all platforms. Search for an artist or song, for example, and the software returns all of the stations currently playing either. A handset’s GPS will find local stations — useful while traveling. Podcasts too are supported by the app, so you can carry around and listen to your favorite mobile technology show.

An app that uses the FM tuner of a smartphone isn’t going to set Windows Phone 7 handsets apart from the pack, or boost handset sales, by any means. However, I do wonder if the FM radio will make a comeback in future phones on other platforms. Internet radio is certainly ubiquitous these days, but as we begin to pay for the data that we use, thanks to tiered data plans, that good ol’ fashioned traditional radio could rise in value.

Few Smack and Whack Games for Windows Phone 7

1.Whac-A-Mole

This one reminds me of the good o’l whack a monty game which i used to play in my Windows Mobile days.The game play is simple yet fast,you just have to hit the Moles which are coming out from the holes in the given time span,quite fun and addictive game for all ages,good enough to pass the time while traveling or even at home.

Download Now:[ Whac-a-Mole ]

2.Smack Apple

Deceptively similar to the Whac-a-Mole game with almost the same gameplay,only difference is that here instead of smacking the Moles coming out of the hole you hit the Apples,ideal for all Microsoft Fanboy’s and Apple Haters :P.

Download Now:[ Smack Apple ]

3.Zombie Bash

If the Second one was for the Apple haters,well this one is a treat for all the zombie haters.The game play is a bit different than the first 2 games.Here you have to smack the Zombies revolving everywhere around your display screen to advace to the next level.Each level provides you with different background of cities and to go with some mazes.

Download Now: [ Zombie Bash ]

WakaCube : free 3D physics crate knockdown game

 WakaCube is a new WP7 game that gets a bit of its inspiration from that game. In this game you have to knock-down the crates using limited number of throws, but it has some unique elements to the gameplay , check it out in our windows phone 7 game review below

WakaCube is free 3D physics game by Vectorlight Games. The idea behind the game is quite simple, you have to knock stacks of crates over and land the specially marked crate on the target and you have to do all this in a fun 3D environment. When you launch the game you are presented with the level selector, there are 16 levels in total and each level is unlocked once you complete the previous level. You can get a 1-3 star for each level you complete and the games tells you points are awarded for movement, spin and accuracy of your shot. ( I am not sure how that works , I could not figure out how to add spin , movement to the throw ) and there seems to an some issue with unlocking the stars on some levels coz in level 3 I got a score of 17,627 and I am still on one star 

There are quite a few different things that come in to play like you have to time your throws to get to the target past the obstacles include targets being blocked by suspended blocks, getting the angle right to get the marked crate to land on the big smiley face on the floor, etc. You have some bonus items that you can pick up, for example the cannon ball that can knock down more items in a single throw. I kinda wish the dev would include a way to look around the environment to check the distance you have to throw.

WakaCube Gameplay Video

WakaCube Screenshots

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app picks for April 17, 2011

Eat

A restaurant guide available in two flavours: Sydney and Melbourne.
Everyone needs to eat, right? Sometimes, though, you just don’t know where to go to do so. Walking through a large city with a hole in your belly can often lead to a meal disaster as you jump on the first kebab you come across.

Thankfully, in the mobile age, there are digital sages available to you. Eat is one such sage. Available in Sydney and Melbourne flavours, these apps are based on the Deck of Secrets food guides, which are decks of cards that list the very best places to dine in a given city.

The app version is, of course, handier than the original card format. You can see what restaurants are nearby, read a review, and make a reservation at the one that takes your fancy. The app will then guide you on your way, so you don’t have to worry about getting lost.

The lack of a “browse by suburb” view or refined categories are a disappointment, but the information is great, and you can be sure that you’ll never stumble across a bad meal again.

Also available from Deck of Secrets are Sydney and Melbourne Drink apps, which tell you all the best places to – you guessed it – drink.

$4.99 > Deck of Secrets > deckofsecrets.com/apps/

Graphic.ly

Graphic.ly is a social network meets comic book store, and they now have a Windows Phone 7 app available.

Comics range from free to US$1.99, and the most compelling feature – besides the massive back catalogue, hardware accelerated deep zooming, or thumbnail navigation – is the ability to leave public comments about specific panels.

Graphic.ly compares itself to the couch in the middle of the comic book store – only this couch has hundreds of thousands of comic book fans on it.

Free > Graphic.ly > graphic.ly

Poynt

Poynt – which combines location awareness with local directory listings – started rolling out Australian data last October.

While Google Maps offers similar functionality, Poynt differentiates itself with more in-depth features, like the ability to watch movie trailers and read reviews before booking movie tickets, and local weather forecasts.

You can search nearby for restaurants, hotels, and other businesses, and call them directly from within the app, or get directions to their doorstep.

Poynt is also available for iOS, Android and BlackBerry OS.

Free > Poynt > poynt.com/wp7.html

Voxofon Call Abroad

With Skype making no plans to release a Windows Phone 7 app, you may think that you will never talk to your Skype buddies again.

Thankfully, Voxofon has heard your cries, and has brought Skype – as well as GTalk and other SIP-providers – to Windows Phone 7.

Add in the ability to make cheap international calls (after buying some Voxofon credit), and you have a handy app, indeed. The app even shows you the price of the call before you dial. Nice.

AT&T's Windows Phone 7 NoDo update coming April 19th? (update: 'scheduling')

Looking forward to April 19th? If you just so happen to hold a Windows Phone 7 device on AT&T, you are now. According to a leaked memo posted up over at Winrumors, Ma Bell has just wrapped up its testing of the famed NoDoupdate, and if all goes well, it'll be pushed to end users on Tuesday. Owners of the LG Quantum and Samsung Focus will see it first, while HTC Surround owners will need to watch this video on loop until "mid-May." Just think -- next week, you'll be copying and pasting this very article as often as you please. Huzzah!

Update: Microsoft's Eric Hautala confirms that the LG Quantum and Samsung Focus are getting updates ahead of the Surround -- both are "scheduling" now -- as the HTC handset requires "additional testing by both Microsoft and AT&T" before it gets pushed out. Also, these AT&T phones will get somethign called "WISPr," which is a protocol that will automatically connect to AT&T WiFi hotspots in range. Sounds pretty cool.

Microsoft asks users not to jailbreak Windows Phone 7

Microsoft has used its Windows Phone 7 update blog to ask users not to jailbreak their handsets so that they can upgrade to a new operating system that includes copy and paste.

Eric Hautala, General Manager of Customer Experience Engineering, writes that the firm is “not going to be happy until everyone gets their update”. He says, however, that although “we’ve started delivering the March “copy and paste” update to customers of O2 and SFR in Europe…I’ve noticed that some of you are turning to homebrew solutions to update your phone immediately.”

Jailbreaking is the practice of giving an individual user more control over their phone than the manufacturers of the hardware or software intended.

Hautala says that “As an engineer and a gadget lover, I totally understand the impulse to tinker. You want the latest technology and you’re tired of waiting. Believe me, I get it. But my strong advice is: wait.”

Unofficial updates are not supported by Microsoft, which says that “you might not be getting the important device-specific software we would typically deliver in the official update. Or your phone might get misconfigured and not receive future updates. It’s even possible your phone might stop working properly.”

Windows Phone 7 Mango will support 3rd party custom camera UI with camera button integration

With the ability to have raw access to the camera feed also comes the ability to create a whole new custom UI for the camera. 

Unlike Apple which has banned an app for using the volume button as a hardware shutter button, Microsoft has made it easy for devs to use the actual shutter button as intended, including access to half press to focus and full press to snap.

Developers will however not be able to fully replace the native app, as pressing the button outside the app will always launch the pretty good but somewhat flawed native Windows phone camera software.

Windows Phone 7 Gets a Spec Boost

The next generation of Windows Phone 7 handsets will have to run a little bit faster, per Microsoft's orders.

Microsoft has confirmed new minimum specs for Windows Phones. The tech jargon version: Qualcomm's second-gen MSM8x55 or MSM7x30 Snapdragon processors will replace the MSM8x50 chips found in current handsets, and Adreno 205 graphics will replace the Adreno 200. In English, that means future Windows Phone 7 devices will get a minimum boost in performance on par with HTC's Thunderbolt or Sony Ericsson's Xperia Play Android devices.

add to list

Phone makers also have the option of including a gyroscope, which would allow for more accurate motion control in video games.

Nice as these spec boosts may seem, it's discouraging not to see a front-facing camera among the requirements. To date, no Windows Phones have them, and they're not supported in the software. Android and the iPhone both have front-facing camera support, so Windows Phone 7 has fallen behind. It'd also be nice to see Windows Phone 7 start supporting dual-core processors, but I wouldn't expect that to be a minimum requirement for future devices.

More important for Microsoft is improving the software. Copy and paste is rolling out for some phones now, after problems with an earlier update gummed up the whole process. Multitasking, HTML5 support and Twitter integration won't arrive until the fall.

Silverlight 4 support coming into the Windows Phone 7

Windows Phone 7 Support

Another factor that is important to Microsoft is to let Silverlight 4 support coming into the Windows Phone 7 platform with the Mango update coming this fall.  (Mangois the upgrade which has been slow in coming is critical to both Microsoft and Nokia who are looking to launch new WP7 phones by Christmas.) Silverlight and XNA melded together, allowing developers in the Mango timeframe to use a combination of the two tools when writing a single app. (The XNA Framework provides game developers with run-time libraries they can include with their product for redistribution on Windows XP and Windows Vista and Windows 7.)

New Beta and Private applications distribution options coming to Windows Phone 7 Mango Marketplace

Microsoft has just announced during the “Making Money with your Application on Windows Phone” MIX11 session (which is currently still underway) that 2 new methods of distributions are going to see the light of the day alongside Mango later this year. As you can see in the slide above developers will be able to submit applications as part of a Beta program (this was announced last year…), privately or publicly which is the only option right now.

Free HTC application allows connection to hidden Wifi networks on its Windows Phone 7 devices

One of the most talked about issue with Windows Phone 7 is its inability to connect to hidden Wifi networks and this has yet to be addressed by Microsoft. Thankfully HTC users should be happy to learn that the company has released a free application called Hidden Wi-Fi that allows the device to connect to 3 different hidden networks manually pre-selected by the user. After manually adding those 3 hidden access point you will be able to connect to them like any other WiFi network. Grab the application here (only for HTC Windows Phone 7 devices).

Slice and Throw : a free fruit ninja inspired game

Fruit Ninja on Windows Phone 7 has enjoyed a nice little success and there were a few clones for this game on the marketplace. we have see Flying Heads which tries to bring the same gameplay on WP7 and now Cheese Zombie Games has released a nice little free game called Slice and Throw which adds a new level of gameplay to this genre. Along with the slicing action with your finger, Slice and Throw requires you to throw shuriken by touching the screen. Check out our impression in the review below.

The game has this nice music that loops around in the background , the gameplay is quite simple to figure out you have to slice the golden and green scrolls that are tossed up and hit the various targets that move around in the background. Avoid the red ones coz each time you slice or hit one of those you lose a life. The same happens if you dont slice up a green or gold scroll. The difficult increases as the levels go up which should keep things quite challenging.

There are a few issues with the game for eg : at times the scroll goes up and falls to the left / right and goes out of the screen which can be a tag annoying. There is no multi-touch so you cant slice multiple objects at once, which is not a biggie , but is a cool feature to have  . Over all its a fun little game that can be enjoyed by anyone and best of all its free.

Slice and Throw Gameplay Video

Slice and Throw Screenshots

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Angry Birds Windows Phone 7 launching on 25 May

Microsoft has today confirmed that hit game Angry Birds will finally arrive on the Windows Phone 7 platform on 25 May.

The hugely-popular game, which has dominated the iOS and Android charts, was originally expected to arrive in February but has been held up by legal delays.

Microsoft chose its WP7 keynote at MIX11 in Las Vegas to announce that the details have been ironed out and that the maladjusted pig-bashers are ready to take flight on the platform.

195 levels

Angry Birds WP7 will feature in the Xbox Live portion of the app marketplace and feature 195 levels of action-packed egg-saving.

We're pretty sure that some of the other versions of the game have a good shot at appearing on the platform as well as some future iterations we're sure to see from the guys at Rovio.

The newly announced version of WP7 coming this autumn, codenamed Mango, will give gamers a better experience on the platform by incorporating full multi-tasking and faster rescue time.

It has been a big day for the Windows Mobile App Marketplace, expanding its reach to 35 countries and announcing to launch of big hitting apps like Skype, Layar, Spotify and Amazon coming with Mango later this year.

Roman Numerals : number converter for WP7

Roman Numerals is a free tool to convert roman numbers and numbers, see press release below

Roman Numerals is the simplest way to inter-convert between Roman and Hindu/Arabic numbers.

The app instantaneously converts the value you enter. It also checks the Roman Numeral entered and notifies if there is any error or any rule of use Roman Numerals is violated

personal finance manager for WP7

Just Money is a personal finance manager for Windows Phone 7 , Press release below

Just Money one of the best personal finance management applications for Windows Phone 7. Simple, intuitive and well-designed interface helps you to add transaction in a seconds. Beautiful dashboard designed to help you to track your expenses easy and fast.

Features:
-Dashboard account status indicator
-Top expense categories
-Expense tracking
-Easy to use monthly salary setup
-Build-in calculator
-Reports
-Transaction history by months

Gyroscope coming to new Windows Phones devices

Gyroscope was not a launch feature for Windows Phone 7 and now reports from MIX11 confirms that Gyroscope is coming to Windows Phone 7, but it will only be available on the new generation Windows Phone devices , probably the ones that ships with Mango WP7 Update. So developers will get access gyroscopes functions uaing Microsoft’s Motion SDK and can start releasing awesome apps using these features, but sadly since the hardware is missing in current Windows Phone 7 Chassis 1 devices, they will not be able to make use of these apps.

Microsoft delays cut-and-paste update for Windows Phone 7

Windows Phone 7 (WP7) users who have anxiously been awaiting the update that will allow them to copy text and edit documents will have to wait a little longer, because of hardware compatibility glitches, according to Reuters and several news sources.
The admission was made by Joe Belfiore, head of Microsoft's Windows phone program, at a software developer conference in Las Vegas on Wednesday.
"We felt it would be better to be a little bit patient, make sure that when we get updates out that they would happen reliably, and unfortunately that caused a delay in getting things out," he said.
Right now, cut-and-paste, along with several interesting new WP7 features, are available on only one phone: the HTC Arrive, which debuted on the Sprint network for $200 with a two-year contract after rebates.
Microsoft has not given any firm dates for when the update will be available for other WP7 phones, butSFGate.com posted a vague Microsoft update rollout table that hints the Dell Venue Pro and HTC HD7 are on the launchpad for an update. The other phones, including the HTC Surround, LG Quantum, and Samsung Focus, are stuck in the limbo category of "testing."
Bottom line: WP7 is an attractive and ergonomic OS. But unless Microsoft, which owns only 4 percent of the smart-phone market, gets serious about giving it the essential editing tools now standard on all other platforms, WP7 will never be more than a niche player.

Harbor Master Game Arrives for Windows Phone 7

If you own a Windows Phone 7 device and you enjoy playing Firemint’s hugely popular Flight Control line drawing game, then you might be pleased to know that the color-matching line navigation game Harbor Master has just been made available for the Windows Phone 7 platform.

As Jon Jordan over at pocketgamer.co.uk recently reported, when the Harbor Master game was first released onto the Apple App Store back in July 2009, it was given a Pocket Gamer Bronze award. In fact, the app became the second most popular line drawing navigation game behind Flight Control.

The Windows Phone 7 version of the Harbor Master game – which is developed by Imangi Studios and published by Microsoft Game Studios – comes complete with all seven maps that are featured in the recent updates for both the iPad and iPhone versions of the popular game.

These include the pirate-infested Cannon Beach map, Cyclone Island, Fishing Bay, Monster Cove and Cargo City, which increases the amount of cargo colors players have to handle from 2 to 3. The game also features challenges and leaderboards, which are supported by Xbox Live