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SurfCube browser wins Microsoft Innovation Award, latest version packs YouTube punch (video)
If you're feeling too boxed in with Internet Explorer on your Windows Phone, consider checking out SurfCube, which brings your browsing experience outside the box -- literally. Since we last visited the app, an ad-supported version was introduced alongside the $1.99 paid version, allowing users to spin the browser without any commitment. This useful (and entertaining) functionality was enough to help the developer score a Microsoft Innovation Award for smartphone applications -- a feat it has accomplished twice before. Fresh off its win, SurfCube 3.0 debuted with numerous bug fixes, performance improvements, and -- perhaps most importantly -- YouTube support. It also claims to have the best tab support of any WP7 browser, a point you can judge for yourself in the video just past the break.
Microsoft to launch web-based Windows Phone Marketplace alongside 'Mango'
We're not quite sure why Microsoft didn't make mention of it during its big event yesterday, but the company has now confirmed that its forthcoming "Mango" update will also bring with it another significant addition to the Windows Phone scene: a web-based Marketplace. That will of course let you browse and buy apps right from your favorite web browser, and then have them installed on your phone over-the-air ("via SMS or email," apparently). You'll also be able to take advantage of various social networking tie-ins to share apps with your friends, and the Marketplace will hang onto your download history so you can easily reinstall all of your apps if you switch phones -- and, yes, you can count on plenty of Bing integration as well. Update: Microsoft got in touch with us to clear up some of the confusion about how apps are actually delivered to the phone. It says it expects the vast majority of customers to install apps OTA in a single step using its regular notification system. SMS would only be used in instances where that service is not already turned on, and in that case there would still be "no links or added engagement on the phone." Customers can also choose to send themselves an email with a link to the app but, again, it expects most folks to simply let apps install in the background.
Microsoft ending WinMo 6.x app submissions to focus on newfound love of tropical fruit
While Microsoft has been singing the praises of the latest version of Windows Phone, it's also been making quiet funeral arrangements for the operating system's predecessor, letting developers know via e-mail last week that it will be be shuttering Windows Mobile 6.x app submissions this summer. As of July 15th, the company will no longer accept new apps or updates to older ones, including pricing and metadata -- not a shocking turn of events, given the software giant's current love affair with WP7. Despite the deadline, however, users will still be able to download the soon to be neglected apps, stats will still be tallied, and developers will still get paid for their work. And don't feel too bad for Windows Mobile -- we're sure its old pals Zune and Clippy have been holding a spot for it on the other side of the pearly gates.
Microsoft removes Imagewind from Marketplace, WP7 gets first bitter taste of rejection
Oh, sure, it was easy to pick on Apple for all those frustrating App Store rejections over the years, but Google's had its own run-ins with apps being pulled under unfortunate circumstances, and now it's time for WP7 users to get a taste. Microsoft has pulled is thinking about pulling Imagewind from the Windows Phone Marketplace, an app that basically pulls random images en masse from the Twitter-stream, splaying them all over your touchscreen. MS indicated that, without some sort of filter to weed out seedy images, the app has to go. Somewhat curiously it's actually been chilling in the Marketplace since March 3rd, and it was only upon reviewing a recent update that someone in Redmond said "Hey, waitaminute!" Imagewind is now gone and honestly we can't say that its rejection is completely arbitrary -- displaying all images the all the time is not necessarily a good thing for sensitive eyes -- but it still stings, doesn't it? Update: We got a note from Roger at Smarty Pants Coding to let us know that he's received a "grace period" for the app. It's still available for download, but it could be a limited time thing... Update 2: Another note from Roger. The stay of execution has been... unstayed. The app is no more. Break out the trumpets.
Amazon app released for the newest Windows Phone 7 models
It's an important day for Windows Phone 7 users. No, not because the free Amazon app was just launched in the Windows Phone Marketplace. It's because we get to test drive this Photoshop image in preparation for Friday. You feelin' it? [Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
SurfCube gives Windows Phone 7 the 3D browser it needed so desperately
If there's one thing the 90s taught us, it's that these silly 2D interfaces are only a passing fancy, and soon everything will be VRML-based mirror worlds of our physical space. SurfCube is a small, tentative step in that direction, turning the browser into a fake 3D experience of sorts, with favorites on "top," and history and settings on the "sides," while the front face of the cube is, naturally, the browser part. You can get around with swipes and flashy tilt gestures, and for $1.99 on the Windows Phone 7 Marketplace it's hard to go wrong. Just remember our VRML warning, and start investing in MicroVideoGoggles Inc. stock with your carphone once you get home from the record store.
Windows Phone 7 Marketplace hits 3,000 apps and games, attracts 15,000 developers
It's staggering to think how much things have changed in the cellphone industry over the last few years. Where vendors once measured success largely in terms of units shifted, future success is now measured by the number of apps, games, and devs attracted to each opposing platform in a burgeoning smartphone marketplace. Just last week, Nokia announced that it had lured in some 400,000 new developers over the last year. Now Microsoft is touting a rather meager (by comparison) 15,000 Windows Phone developers "signaling their intent to bring exciting content to Windows Phone." Enough implied manpower to push well beyond the 3,000 apps and games expected to be populating the Windows Marketplace by the end of this week. Of course, objectively measuring a developers intent to develop on a platform is difficult. And really, platform potential is not the primary thing driving the purchasing decision of most consumers -- not with so many viable handsets available today. Still, it's good to see such optimism coupled with the fact that the vast majority of people around the world -- gasp! -- don't use smartphones. [Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
PSA: Windows Phone 7's third-party apps easy to decompile, native code hooks exposed
We suspect most developers have gathered this since MIX earlier this year -- many of them have been dealing with variations of the problem since the genesis of Microsoft's .NET Framework -- but we thought we'd throw out a note that word's getting around on how easy it is to tear apart applications downloaded from the Windows Phone 7 Marketplace, gain access to their resources, and get a look at their inner workings. Microsoft has been encouraging developers on the desktop to make this tough by using code obfuscation tools -- Dotfuscator, specifically -- for many years, but Dotfuscator's developer has only just released a free version (through March 31 of next year) for WP7, so it's made things tough to secure. In other words: business as usual, and "business as usual" isn't as airtight as your average white-hat dev would like. On a happier note, an enterprising coder by the name of Chris Walsh has fleshed out some hooks into unmanaged (read: native) Windows Phone 7 services. It's not what we'd call a "jailbreak" -- you're not altering the security settings of the device in any way -- you're just taking advantage of undocumented services Microsoft has in place, though it's still very cool. Walsh promises some tutorials on hooking into cool stuff like file system and registry access soon, but he notes that apps using these hooks are still running as managed tasks, meaning they can be slapped around by the kernel (killed, suspended, and so on) just as any other WP7 app can -- and we also doubt you'd be able to get Marketplace approval using this stuff.
Windows Phone 7 launch day app roundup
With thousands of developers churning out thousands of apps, we've no doubt exploring the Marketplace is going to be a full-time job for at least a day or two after you nab your Windows Phone 7 device this fall -- but with all the hullabaloo today, we thought this would be a good opportunity to highlight a few that Microsoft and its partners have been talking about recently. Dig in!
Windows Phone 7 dev tools go gold September 16, Marketplace taking submissions in October
Microsoft's held the line since its February announce that Windows Phone 7 is going to be ready in time for the holidays this year -- and from what we've seen recently, we believe it -- so today they're announcing another small step in the process by finalizing the dev tools that first bowed at MIX in March. Specifically, the gold build will be hitting streets on September 16, just a little under a month from today, while the Marketplace will start accepting apps sometime in early October. Now, if you want to throw a little conjecture at this and make a few assumptions along the way, you could reasonably argue that Microsoft wants a healthy catalog of apps available for purchase on launch day one and that it'll probably take them at least a week or two to approve those first titles -- which means that if everything goes perfectly, we could theoretically see retail hardware on shelves by the end of October. Again, that's purely conjecture on our part, but it's pretty juicy to think that we could be playing with a Cetus in around two months' time, isn't it?
Microsoft wants employees to code Windows Phone 7 apps 'in their spare time'
You had to know those freebie WP7 devices for Microsoft employees would come with a few strings attached. We imagined the Redmond brain trust was aiming for some word-of-mouth popularization along with a boost in team morale and proactivity, but as it turns out, things are a little more codified than that. TechFlash has what it claims to be the internal memo announcing the free Windows Phone 7 handsets -- from mobile chief Andy Lees, who hasn't been having the best of times lately -- which sets out Redmond's expectation that employees should "evangelize" the product at every opportunity, while also setting aside some spare time before launch to develop apps (but, you know, only if they really want to). The idea, clearly, is to harness Microsoft's massive talent pool to try and get a headstart on populating the Marketplace with compelling content; we're just not too sure the "spare time" bit is going to go over quite as well as the "free smartphone" part. Either way, you'll find the full email from Andy at the source. [Thanks, Mint]
Microsoft tweaks Windows Phone Marketplace policies for the better
Previously, the $99 that Windows Phone devs paid annually to get access to the Marketplace covered up to five app submissions -- but Microsoft looks like it's willing to play ball in an effort to drum up more interest in third-party development ahead of Windows Phone 7's release by chucking the five-app cap. Well, sort of -- paid apps will have unlimited submissions, but free apps will still be limited to five per yearly cycle, with additional submissions running $19.99 each. Additionally, Microsoft is taking the wraps off its Trial API for helping developers enforce trial functionality prior to purchase, details on its push notification service, and a new option that lets publishes push their apps globally -- to every localized store in the Marketplace's reach -- in one fell swoop. The company says that it has "listened to developers and responded to changing customer behavior to make Marketplace an even better experience for all," and it certainly seems like a step in the right direction -- but we'll admit, we'd still love to see free app submissions go unlimited (what can we say, we've got a soft spot for freebies).
Windows Phone Marketplace can remotely revoke app licenses
Speaking at a MIX10 session about Windows Phone 7 Series architecture this morning, Microsoft's Istvan Cseri mentioned that the Windows Phone Marketplace -- the one and only clearinghouse for apps in WP7S -- will be able to remotely revoke licenses. Since devices will only run properly-licensed apps, this effectively means the company will be able to shut down apps remotely -- a capability they'd probably invoke if a Marketplace app were to badly misbehave en masse, for example. To put it bluntly, Cseri says that apps simply aren't in control of their own life cycle; the user controls installation and removal while the Marketplace ensures that the license is valid. On a related note, we know that Microsoft has a series of not-yet-finalized "business, technical, and content" guidelines for accepting and rejecting apps submitted to the Marketplace, and we've got a particularly interesting case: apps are being "discouraged" from using the phone's Back button. They're being so strongly discouraged, in fact, that Todd Brix -- senior director of mobile platform services product management at the company -- told us that apps can and will be straight-up rejected for using Back for anything but dismissing dialog boxes. We won't know the full rulebook until Microsoft releases it in May -- but in the meantime, don't bother making anything too controversial with those free tools, eh?
Engadget Mobile Podcast 039: MIX Edition - 03.16.2010
You've read the news - it's Windows Phone 7 Time, for real real. Chris and Nilay go after the innards of the new news in a variety of dimensions. It's all in the MIX, y'all. Hosts: Chris Ziegler, Nilay PatelProducer: Trent WolbeMusic: Daestro - Light Powered (Ghostly International)Hear the podcastSubscribe to the podcast[iTunes] Subscribe to the Podcast directly in iTunes[RSS MP3] Add the Engadget Mobile Podcast feed (in MP3) to your RSS aggregator and have the show delivered automatically[RSS AAC] Add the Engadget Mobile Podcast feed (in enhanced AAC) to your RSS aggregator[Zune] Subscribe to the Podcast directly in the Zune MarketplaceDownload the podcastLISTEN (MP3)LISTEN (AAC)Contact the podcastpodcast (at) engadgetmobile (dot) com.
Olé, Contoso: Windows Phone Marketplace will integrate carrier-branded stores
So we noticed this odd "Contoso" label on Microsoft's Windows Phone Marketplace press image earlier today, and we finally got to the bottom of it: Microsoft's Todd Biggs says it's a placeholder entry for a carrier-branded section of the store -- instead of having a separate portal and / or store, Verizon or AT&T or whoever can simply sell their content to customers directly through Marketplace. So why Contoso? Todd says it's a random trademark owned by Microsoft used in place of carrier names that doesn't actually mean anything, although we think it suggests adventure, white roadsters, and finely-groomed mustachios. And now you know.
Confirmed: Marketplace will be the only way to get apps on Windows Phone 7 Series
We just got out of a meeting with Microsoft's Todd Biggs, who dropped a little bombshell on us: the only official way to get apps on a Windows Phone 7 Series device will be to download them from the just-detailed Windows Phone Marketplace. That means developers will have to abide by Microsoft's technical and content guidelines in order to make it in, with the very real possibility of rejection -- sound familiar? Todd told us Microsoft plans to avoid Apple-style submission headaches by making the process transparent and predictable, with a group of Microsoft execs regularly meeting to examine edge cases and refine the guidelines as needed, but even the best intentions can be led astray by a sexy app or two. We also got some additional details on Marketplace and how it's going to work, catch the highlights after the break. Update: Microsoft wanted us to clarify that enterprise customers will be able to deploy apps to employees outside the consumer-facing Marketplace -- details on that will be released in the future.
Windows Phone Marketplace for Windows Phone 7 Series unveiled
The biggest chunk of eye candy we've seen out of Microsoft's MIX10 event so far today has been the unveiling of the significantly-retooled Windows Phone Marketplace that'll debut in Windows Phone 7 Series -- and needless to say, it's a looker. It's got support for credit card purchases, operator billing, and ad-supported content -- a hot topic right now with Google's and Apple's mobile advertising acquisitions -- and a try-before-you-buy scheme not unlike Android Market's policy (though WP7S devs can choose what kind of trial period they want to offer; Android devs have no such option). We've been offered some video of the new Marketplace in action, and it looks super polished and well-integrated with the typical WP7S way of getting around -- you're given a "panoramic view" where you can browse categories and titles, see featured items, and get details with ratings, reviews, screen shots, and pricing information. Purchased apps can be pinned to your Quick Launch screen, saving you a couple taps for your favorite and most frequently-used items. Watch the full video after the break -- and keep an eye out for the trick "tilting" of menu items based on finger location toward the end of the clip, something we haven't seen before. %Gallery-88251%
Microsoft tells its Windows Phone 7 Series developer story, tools available today
At its dev-focused MIX10 event kicking off today, Microsoft's closing the loop on some of the Windows Phone 7 Series third-party development details it started sharing in the days leading up to GDC last week -- and as you might expect, Silverlight and XNA are the stars of the show. XNA will naturally be the core, critical element of Redmond's gaming story while Silverlight is serving as a catch-all for the "rich internet applications" that make up much of your other mobile activities for those rare moments when you're not... you know, blowing up aliens or navigating a race course littered with your opponents' destroyed vehicles. To that end, Microsoft is kicking things off on the right foot by offering a free package of developer tools to would-be WP7S coders that includes both Visual Studio 2010 Express for Windows Phone and the Silverlight-focused Expression Blend for Windows Phone, pretty much everything you need to start building apps in preparation for the platform's anticipated launch toward the latter part of the year. The beta dev tools are available today. Developers are going to be treated to a host of must-have services out of the gate, including accelerometer support, location-based APIs using Microsoft's own Location Service, a newly-announced Microsoft Notification Service for pushing notifications regardless of whether an app is running (sound familiar?), hardware-accelerated video with integrated DRM and support for Microsoft's Smooth Streaming tech, multitouch, and camera / microphone access. On a related note, Microsoft has shared some important details on the revised Windows Phone Marketplace (notice the subtle name change) for WP7S-based devices today. The revenue split remains unchanged -- 70 percent goes to the publisher, 30 percent to Microsoft -- but the developer portal for managing submissions has been "streamlined" and some of the incremental costs associated with it have been killed off; what's more, students enrolled in the DreamSpark submission will have their registration fees waived altogether. The Marketplace has evolved from an app store to a content "destination," housing apps, casual and premium Xbox Live games, music, and customized carrier stuff in one spot. We'll be wandering MIX10 throughout the day, so stay tuned as we get more of the story.
