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Lumia 900 owner vents Windows Phone 8 frustrations, Stephen Elop responds
If you've been following our Windows Phone 8 coverage today, you know that anybody who buys a Windows Phone today will not be able to upgrade to WP8 when it ships this fall. If you were an early adopter that's not such a bad deal, but if you bought a Lumia 900 oh, say, three weeks ago you might be upset -- and rightly so. And rightfully angry is Luke, who sent us an email he fired off to Nokia's Stephen Elop and AT&T's Ralph de la Vega in which he asks why he shouldn't, right now, turn around and return his phone. I just watched the Windows Phone 8 announcement and learned that the Lumia will not be upgradeable to WP8, it will more or less get a skin with the new live tiles and a few other features... at the end of the day unless one of you responds and convinces me to stay with Microsoft Windows Phone, Nokia Lumia or Att wireless I will just wash my hands of all three companies and move over to Verizon. Surprise surprise, Elop responded very promptly, stating: We have a lot of exciting capabilities coming as part of a pattern of updates for the existing Lumia products. This includes some of the most significant visual elements of WP8 – for example, the new start screen. As we have always been, Nokia is committed to delivering a long term experience to any purchasers of our products. Granted, Nokia is bringing some nice updates to current Lumias, like some Scalado-augmented photo magic, but Elop's mention of "significant visual elements" leaves us wanting. We're waiting to hear what Luke's going to do, but here's your chance to weigh in. What do you think he should do? Full emails are after the break.%Poll-75904%
AT&T, T-Mobile, Verizon line up to offer Windows Phone 8 devices
We know who's making Windows Phone 8 hardware, but we're now seeing US carriers step up to either confirm their support for the new OS or stay on the sidelines. AT&T, T-Mobile and Verizon have all pledged to PCMag that they'll support WP8, with those first two publicly promising to have devices by the end of the year. None of them is a big stretch, even Verizon -- but it's good to know that the HTC Trophy is still on track to get a successor. Other carriers aren't quite so enthusiastic. Sprint prefers to keep things a mystery and will only say that it won't comment on unannounced products, while Cricket and MetroPCS won't budge from their fence-sitting. As such, this year's American release appears to be a repeat of years past, just with a possible dash of Nokia.
Windows 8 in-app advertisements get their own preview
Microsoft's own advertising blog (yes, it exists) has revealed how its going to frame ads inside incoming Metro-themed apps. While announcing partnerships with six different ad design teams, Microsoft threw up an example, above, that ties together a Seattle Sounders FC app with a panel showing off a pair of Adidas' latest Predator cleats. The adis located at the far edge of the apparently scroll-able app and clicking / tapping on the side will launch into a dedicated page, with a back button visibly ready to swing you back. While it looks relatively unobtrusive at the moment, the background of the app will also be up for advertising grabs, able to integrate videos, text and other media. Let's hope it doesn't ruin those delicate Metro lines when Windows 8 finally arrives.
Visualized: Nokia Lumia 900 running Windows Phone 7.8 (update: full eyes-on!)
It may not be the mysterious prototype Joe Belfiore showed off at today's Windows Phone Developer Summit keynote, but it's a nice treat nonetheless: we had the opportunity to sneak a peek at an AT&T-branded Nokia Lumia 900 running Windows Phone 7.8, complete with the brand new Start screen. Because it's at such early stages in the development game, we weren't able to get our own grubby hands on the device and play around with any of the highlighted features, but it was still great to see it working on a real, honest-to-goodness device. What other secrets this software holds will remain that way for now, but we can certainly look forward to an action-packed summer full of interesting revelations. Update: We were able to snap a few extra images of this very same Lumia 900, but we weren't allowed to touch the screen or interact with the software in any way, since the build we saw of Windows Phone 7.8 is just a special version highlighting the Start screen and is nowhere near final production quality. For what it's worth, we had the opportunity to view a demo of the tiles being resized, and we couldn't detect any flaws in its execution. Check out the full gallery of precious pics below! %Gallery-158769% Myriam Joire contributed to this post.
Windows Phone 8 updates coming over the air, early access to 'registered enthusiasts,' 18 month support program announced
Tired of plugging your Lumia 900 into your PC or Mac in order to apply software updates? Tough luck -- you'll still be doing it while future buyers snack on Windows Phone 8. Harshness aside, Microsoft made clear at today's Windows Phone Summit that all WP8 updates will be delivered over the air, with an available program to give "registered enthusiasts" early access prior to broad consumer pushes. The real kicker, however, is this line: "Devices are supported with updates for at least 18 months." For those keeping count, the Lumia 900 shipped here in the US on April 8th. Two months later, it's already confirmed that the flagship WP7 handset in America won't get Windows Phone 8. We'd also like to take this opportunity to remind you just how poorly an identical promise from Google went over in May of 2011. You may remember Andy Rubin confessing that an 18 month Android update program was being put into place at Google I/O 2011, and here we are -- halfway through 2012 -- and we've still heard zero details on how that's being policed. Pardon our skepticism, but we'll need to see it to believe it. To check out the latest updates from Microsoft's Windows Phone event, visit our liveblog!
Windows Phone 8 to start on HTC, Huawei, Nokia and Samsung devices with support for 180 countries
When Windows Phone 8 arrives in the fall, it will have a relatively narrow slice of hardware makers: HTC, Huawei, Nokia and Samsung will represent the first wave. That's excluding some significant partners that have surfaced even over the past year, including ZTE. When they do ship, though, all of them will be using new Qualcomm processors; we have a hunch that's code for Snapdragon S4 variants. There certainly won't be any shortage of regional support with apps available over 180 countries and 50 languages accounted for -- more than Apple mentioned as attached to iOS 6, Microsoft is keen to add. While the number of hardware launches isn't likely to come that close anytime soon, it does mean that phone designers will have considerable more flexibility as to where they launch. To check out the latest updates from Microsoft's Windows Phone event, visit our liveblog! Update: Not to miss a good opportunity, Huawei has issued a press release to announce that its Ascend Windows Phone 8 handset will launch first in the US, Europe and China, with other countries to follow. You'll find the full spiel after the break.
Nokia to bring range of new and updated apps to existing Lumia lineup
That Nokia would be joining Microsoft on this day of Windows Phone 8 revelations is no surprise -- the companies long ago inked their blood pact on the back of Mango. Now, at today's summit in San Francisco, Espoo's Kevin Shields just announced a slew of new and updated apps to currently available Lumia handsets starting next week. Spreading the love to Mango and above, existing users will be treated to a new DLNA app dubbed PlayTo that allows for video, music and photo sharing wirelessly, Nokia Counter to monitor and manage data usage, My Commute which utilizes Drive to compute travel time and arrange routing and a 3.0 update to Nokia Music. And, given that this is the company behind PureView, current Lumia devices running Windows Phone will receive an imaging facelift of sorts, augmenting the baked-in optics via Camera Extras. This suite of apps will effectively upgrade the core photo-taking experience with the addition of a self-timer, action shots, panorama and a Smart Group Shot setting (likely built upon Scalado software). So, while your eagerness to adopt that cyan Lumia 900 may not pay off with an upgrade to WP 8, at the very least Nokia is adopting a policy of no Lumia user left (that far) behind. To check out the latest updates from Microsoft's Windows Phone event, visit our liveblog!
Microsoft brings true, background multitasking to Windows Phone 8
Well, Microsoft has officially left Apple as the only player in the Mobile field to not support real multitasking. With the next version of Windows Phone, background multitasking will be opened up to all devs, thanks to libraries provided directly by Redmond. During today's presentation two different background tasks were demoed, VoIP and location. The VoIP integration allows users to have calls come in, preferably via Skype if Microsoft has its way, without having the app running in the foreground and have them appear the same as a standard phone call. While watching for incoming calls is nice, a more commonly used feature is location monitoring. Now apps will be able to monitor location in the background while you perform other tasks. One by one, Microsoft is checking off boxes on our list of complaints about Windows Phone.
Microsoft partners with Audible to enhance Windows Phone voice recognition, available for WP 7.5 and up
Siri, S Voice -- well, now Microsoft's got its own answer to those rival voice services (sort of) and it's coming in the form of a partnership with Audible on the Windows Phone platform. The company's very own Kevin Gallo took to the stage at today's Summit in San Francisco to demonstrate the enhanced feature running on Windows Phone 8. Though the Redmond-made OS has supported voice commands since the platform's seventh iteration (née Mango) by allowing users to launch applications, it can now also help users search, as well as play audiobook files. In the demo, Gallo was able to skip a chapter ahead, pause and resume listening to his selected Game of Thrones title. And lest the WP faithful feel left behind with the seemingly endless spate of Apollo-only goods, the company's making this application this integration available to handsets running WP 7.5 and up available for WP 7.5 handsets starting later today, though it hasn't specified whether users will be able to take advantage of those voice controls. To check out the latest updates from Microsoft's Windows Phone event, visit our liveblog!
Microsoft details deep Skype integration in Windows 8
Microsoft's been letting loose all of Windows Phone 8's secrets this morning, and the latest tidbit is all about VoIP calling. Turns out, the team in Redmond's really putting that money it spent on Skype to good use by integrating the video chatting/VoIP service deeply in its new mobile OS. From a user perspective, incoming Skype calls are treated like cellular communications, meaning that they appear as regular calls and are integrated with standard phone features -- like call waiting -- to maintain a seamless calling experience. The VoIP apps continue to run in the background, of course, thanks to WP8's new multitasking capabilities, and VoIP integration will be available to all developers. To check out the latest updates from Microsoft's Windows Phone event, visit our liveblog!
Microsoft demos support for NFC-enabled ads, business cards in Windows Phone 8
Microsoft spent plenty of time talking about its NFC-based mobile wallet for Windows Phone 8 today, but it has more than just payments and loyalty cards in mind for the technology. It's also showed off how a Windows Phone 8 device can be used to scan NFC-enabled advertisements or business cards. In the case of ads, Microsoft's Joe Belfiore used a recent issue of Wired to demonstrate how you can simply tap an ad in a magazine and have content pushed straight to your phone -- something that could also be used with posters or other ads out in public. With NFC-enabled business cards, you'd have the ability to automatically import a person's contact information simply by taping their card to your phone which, incidentally, is something that can also be done directly between two Windows Phone 8 devices (a la Android Beam).%Gallery-158726%
Microsoft confirms no upgrade path to Windows Phone 8, unveils 7.8 for legacy devices
The debate can now be laid to rest: devices currently running on Windows Phone 7.5 will not be on the receiving end of the long-awaited Apollo update (aka Windows Phone 8). But that doesn't mean those smartphones are at the end of the line. It's long been speculated that the reason Microsoft would want to restrict WP8 to new phones is primarily due to improvements in hardware support and the change in platform architecture, and this conjecture appears to be right on the money. After all, how can single-core devices with WVGA screens take advantage of multi-core and additional resolution support? That part makes sense, but that leaves the software side. So here's the plan to ensure current Windows Phone users stay happy: a few software benefits will be included in WP8, and a hearty helping of these killer features (such as the new Start screen) will be available to legacy devices in the form of Windows Phone 7.8. There'll be support for three tile sizes, with the smallest being fingertip size (a quarter of the standard square). The update will be delivered directly to users, sidestepping carriers, and can be done over WiFi. Update: While Microsoft was keen to announce that 7.x apps will run on Windows Phone 8, ZDNet has just confirmed, via a statement from Redmond, that apps built for the new platform won't be backwards compatible: "New applications compiled specifically for Windows Phone 8 will not be made available for Windows Phone 7.x devices." To check out the latest updates from Microsoft's Windows Phone event, visit our liveblog!
Windows Phone 8 introduces new Start screen
Yes, Windows Phone 8 is coming later this year, and it introduces some important changes to the user interface. The most noticeable is probably the new Start screen, which offers more customization and makes more efficient use of its real estate. As a user, you'll be able to choose any tile and tweak its appearance to suit your sensibilities. Sizing can be configured with a resize arrow while in customization mode and offers the option of small, medium or double-wide tiles that span the entire width of the display. All current applications will be automatically designed for small and medium versions by default and devs will be able to dive in to add support for the larger options should they feel the need to do so -- something that until today was reserved for Microsoft and its partners / carriers. What's that? You want more colors? Yeah, you'll get those too. %Gallery-158719% To check out the latest updates from Microsoft's Windows Phone event, visit our liveblog!
Windows Phone 8 to use Nokia map data with built-in turn-by-turn navigation (update: deals too)
You won't have to use a Lumia phone any longer to get Nokia's mapping expertise: Microsoft just announced that Nokia's map technology is being built into Windows Phone 8. Along with the requisite NAVTEQ map information, it'll carry many of the things that Nokia Drive users love so well, including offline map support, developer control over maps, and (you guessed it) turn-by-turn directions. That makes three major mobile platforms that have or will have driving directions baked in from the start -- it's now becoming par for the course rather than an advantage to lord over others. Update: Along with core navigation, there will also be support for Microsoft's new deals feature as part of the mapping update, so you'll know when the coffee house around the corner is discounting cappuccinos. To check out the latest updates from Microsoft's Windows Phone event, visit our liveblog!
MS teases Windows Phone 8 enterprise features: Company Hub, encryption, secure boot, IT management
At today's Windows Phone Summit, Microsoft alluded to some of the next-gen OS' enterprise features, including a trusted shared Windows core, encryption, secure boot and IT device management. Company VP Joe Belfiore recognized that some business users haven't been satisfied with the operating system's previous suite of enterprise features, and that definitely appears to be one focus of Windows Phone 8. BitLocker Drive Encryption will provide support for device security, while IT administrators will have have the ability to push apps to handsets while sidestepping the Marketplace. Office will also have a greater presence in Windows Phone 8, though we don't know exactly how that will play out just yet. Enterprise clearly hasn't been a primary target of Microsoft's mobile OS to date, but that could very well change beginning this fall. There's also a new Company Hub feature, which will allow companies their own app distribution pipe, as well as giving IT administrators the ability to highlight specific things depending on what's important to their organization. With so many Windows machines in the workplace, it's pretty smart for Microsoft to take a serious dive into this stuff, and it's honestly really slick. There's also a Microsoft IT app, which the company claims will be provided in template form so that outfits can tweak it to fit specific needs. To check out the latest updates from Microsoft's Windows Phone event, visit our liveblog!
Microsoft unveils Internet Explorer 10 for Windows Phone, very similar to the desktop
How do you perfectly complement a brand new mobile operating system? Why with a brand new browser designed to handle the modern web. Microsoft just took the wraps off Internet Explorer 10 for Windows Phone, and it looks to be a significant upgrade over the version that came bundled with Mango. In fact, it borrows quite heavily from its desktop sibling. The SmartScreen anti-phishing filter has finally been ported to the mobile space and performance is through the roof. Javascript performance has improved four-fold compared to Mango and HTML5 performance has doubled since Windows Phone 7.5. Microsoft was even willing to put the browser through its SunSpider paces on stage, hitting a blindingly fast 1,200ms. By comparison, the Galaxy S III only managed 1,460ms in our review. Perhaps most importantly for a primarily touch-driven device, though, IE 10 now includes touch support for HTML5 apps. We'd say that Microsoft has more than closed the mobile browser gap.
Windows Phone 8 to support multi-core CPUs, HD resolutions, SD cards and NFC
Microsoft is on stage at the Windows Phone Developer Summit offering us a bite of what's to come in Windows Phone 8, and one of the tastiest morsels may just be the noticeably more diverse hardware it will support. The new platform won't just support dual-core processors -- it will support as many as 64 cores, should such massively parallel chips come to exist in the platform's lifetime. Also gone is that long-criticized 800 x 480 display resolution ceiling: if phone builders like, they can either opt for the increasingly common 1280 x 720 or a rarer 1280 x 768. A few subtler feature parities are coming with the upgrade, such as NFC for tags and payments as well as a long, long requested support for SD cards beyond the crude initial expansion. All told, Microsoft just brought Windows Phone right up to hardware parity with its biggest rivals, and possibly a bit beyond. To check out the latest updates from Microsoft's Windows Phone event, visit our liveblog! %Gallery-158713%
Windows Phone 8 and Windows 8 share lots of code, NT kernel
It's not a complete surprise, but it's still a little bit shocking that it's actually happening -- Windows Phone 8 will be borrowing much of its code base, including the kernel, from Windows 8. At the heart of the latest mobile OS from Microsoft is the full-fledged NT kernel. It's not just a kernel though, the so-called "Shared Windows Core" extends to the file system, security infrastructure, etc... The obvious benefit here is to streamline the creation of a coherent ecosystem. Developers will be able to easily create apps and drivers that can jump from the phone, to the tablet and to the desktop. Only having to write a driver once should also simplify the process of building hardware, meaning manufacturers won't have to tailor GPU code to a phone and start again on the desktop. They OSes even share a substantial chunk of browser code, finally bringing Windows Phone up to parity with its desktop IE progenitors. For enterprise users and IT departments, Microsoft has brought over Secure Boot, BitLocker and some serious encryption. We'd say it's about time that Redmond finally brought all its Windows power to the mobile space. Thanks to the sharing of C and C++ libraries, Direct X components and SQLite support, developers can actually write an app once and move it from one platform to another with only a few code tweaks. In fact, thanks to the Shared Windows Core, pretty much the only major difference for coders is screen resolution and size. Obviously, a 4-inch 720p display isn't the same as a 1080p 10-inch tablet, but the Direct X graphics engine is -- and that, friends, can make all the difference.
Microsoft introduces Windows Phone 8 for fall release, incompatible with current devices
Microsoft has finally and officially removed the wraps from the OS formerly known as Apollo. It's now just Windows Phone 8 and, at their "sneak peek" event we're learning a good bit about that OS, and some of the great new hardware support that it offers. But, there's one thing we want to make clear right away: if you're currently holding a Windows Phone device you won't be getting a taste of this action. Well, not unless you buy a new phone, that is. That back and forth about upgrade paths has been proven to be incorrect, as the hardware requirements for WP8 preclude its running on any current WP device -- even that hot blue Lumia 900 you got for a steal.%Gallery-158719% And what are those hardware requirements? As detailed here, multi-core processors (up to 64) are now allowable, displays up to WXGA (1280 x 768) and external storage on SD. This better, faster hardware will enable new, faster games and other demanding apps which, for the first time, can be written in native code. (Well, it's C/C++, which at least lets developers get out of CLR land.) All this will run on a kernel shared with Windows 8 and Windows RT. In other words: yes, Microsoft has managed to get one platform running on desktops, laptops, tablets and phones, the idea being that apps can be more easily ported from one to the next, promising "games we've never seen before" running on your phones.%Gallery-158726% There's also a new wallet functionality thanks to the NFC support, as detailed here, but reliant on an augmented SIM, not hardware on the phone itself. This means carriers won't have to remove apps (as we've seen with Google Wallet in the past) but they can block support altogether. Nokia maps is now built into the OS, including offline map support. This is a big step forward on many levels, but Microsoft is naturally sticking to its roots, promising enterprise-ready security and support, enabling admins to deploy and restrict apps on corporate-provided phones and manage them remotely. There's also encryption and secure booting integrated. It's all set to arrive this fall, which just so happens to be when Windows 8 (and those fancy new Surface tablets) will start shipping, too. Follow the liveblog of the event here! %Gallery-158711%
Live from Microsoft's 'sneak peek' at Windows Phone!
Can the days of Apollo's reign finally be upon us? Microsoft's Joe Belfiore -- along with a select entourage of other speakers -- will soon take the stage to show us a sneak peek at Windows Phone, and we're hoping it's everything dreams are made of and more. Join us as we bring the news straight to you as it happens! June 20, 2012 12:00 PM EDT
