WP 8
Latest
Best Buy offering pre-orders for Nokia Lumia 920 and HTC 8X for $149.99 and $99.99 under contract (Update: Lumia 920 no longer listed)
Nokia and HTC's upcoming Windows Phone 8 flagships are still on the standard release path: announcement, federal approval and now, pre-order. Keeping device availability tucked firmly under its hat, Best Buy is now offering Nokia's Lumia 920 and the HTC 8X for pre-sale, priced at $149.99 and $99.99, respectively. Early buyers have options, too: the Lumia 920 is kitted out in red, blue, yellow, black and white shells. Fashionistas with a flair for purple, however, will need to stick to HTC's hardware. Unfortunately, you don't get that much choice -- Best Buy's pre-orders don't balk at the devices' AT&T exclusivity. The retailer doesn't say when devices are going to ship, but we imagine early adopters won't have to wait too long. Update: The Lumia 920 has disappeared from Best Buy's listings, while the 8X remains. This seems to suggest that pre-order stock for Nokia's new flagship has sold out, but given the short time it was available, let's hope that other issues are to blame and the absence is only temporary.
Huawei's Windows Phone 8 handset outed as Ascend W1, supposed launch window surfaces
HTC, Nokia and Samsung have each showcased their initial volley of Windows Phone 8 handsets, but Huawei has yet to reveal the Ascend hardware it promised would run Microsoft's smartphone OS. The firm's Richard Yu took to the social network Sina Weibo and outed the device as the Ascend W1 earlier this week, but kept other specifics under wraps. Citing sources from within the company, Chinese language outlet Winp is now claiming that the W1 will ship between November and December, carry a price tag of 2,000 RMB ($317) and arrive in black, blue, pink and white hues. Though a September 25th unveiling is also rumored, Yu mentioned that Huawei will make it a habit of launching phones as they're unveiled, so it may be a while before the curtain is fully pulled back if the November / December window is correct. Update: According to ZDNet, a company spokesman confirmed that no event is scheduled for September 25th.
Windows Phone 8X by HTC hands-on: Microsoft's modern mobile OS personified in polycarbonate
One thing's for sure: HTC's not playing it safe with the Windows Phone 8X. The flagship line, officially announced at its event in New York today, arrives emboldened not only by an array of lively hues, but also with the mark of the mighty Microsoft, itself. Yes, you need only glance at the handset's name to know this tapered, polycarbonate affair bears an intrinsic connection to the UI it aims to bolster; a symbiotic bond made all too apparent by the hard-edged, modern hull housing the equally modern, live-tiled WP8 OS. But a focus on fresh, eye-catching industrial design isn't the only tale being told by the OEM. There are specs to talk about -- compelling ones. Departing drastically from the Mango forbears that attempted to blaze a path, the 8X boasts internals that position it competitively with other contemporary smartphones, ushering WP 8 into the tech industry's here and now. In keeping with its high-end ilk, the device sports a 4.3-inch 720p Super LCD 2 display (341ppi) powered by a 1.5GHz dual-core S4 and complemented by 1GB RAM, NFC, 16GB of storage, as well as an integrated 1,800mAh battery. It should be clear from that rundown alone that this is not your Windows Phone device of yore. So, follow along as we wrap our fingers 'round its California Blue body and report back with some first impressions.
Microsoft employees 'sign off' on Windows Phone 8 RTM
Windows Phone 8 may not have a firm release date, but reports are flooding in that it's just been released to manufacturers (RTM) so they can work on their side of the equation: hardware production. According to LiveSino, pictures posted to Chinese social network Sina Weibo show members of the Windows Phone team signing a banner marking the milestone. In particular, Terry Myerson, Corporate Vice President of the Windows Phone Division, was caught penning his name alongside others. ZDNet's own sources corroborate that Ballmer and Co. have deemed the operating system fit to ship. With manufacturers seemingly taken care of, developers will be able to get their mitts on the WP8 software development kit in roughly two weeks.
Nokia reaffirms WP 7.8 support for existing Lumia handsets, announces handful of features
Nokia's legacy Lumia devices won't be graced with Windows Phone 8, but the company has reaffirmed its support for keeping them fresh with version 7.8 of Microsoft's handset OS. In addition to a revamped start screen, the introduction of City Lens and other expected perks, Espoo is tossing in a few extras. Among the new additions are the Cinemagraph GIF creator, a ringtone maker app, updates to Smart Group Shot and Bluetooth support for both file transfers and the firm's Contact Share application. Yearning to load up your smartphone with the raft of new features? Elop and Co. say the upgrades will be be rolled out in phases for the Lumia 610, 710, 800 and 900 models, but promise more details when their ETAs close in.
Video out enabled on Windows Phone 7, just not for you
The video out feature in Windows Phone 7 is reserved for select Microsoft employees, and now one enterprising member of the XDA Developers forum. With certain files ripped from an LG Panther 7003 ROM, the help of someone on the inside and many months of work, forum member marsrogers succeeded in pushing video from his Samsung Focus to a companion PC app. Don't get too excited though -- this particular trick will not be released to the masses so the MS confidant involved is not exposed. However, it's not all bad news, as marsrogers' source reports that Windows Phone 8 will have remote desktop capability straight out of the box. Sadly, for those of you carrying around current-gen WP devices, there's still no hope.
U.S. Cellular pledges to carry Windows Phone 8 devices in the fall
U.S. Cellular has confirmed to PC Mag that it's "excited" by the prospect of carrying Windows Phone 8 handsets when they land later this year. A PR person even went as far as saying that WP8 "will be an important part of our lineup." The move leaves Sprint, Cricket and MetroPCS as the only major-league holdouts for the new platform -- or perhaps their PR departments just aren't as bubbly.
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.
Windows Phone Apollo coming 'middle of next year,' says Nokia VP
A top Nokia exec just confirmed the much-rumored schedule for the next Windows Phone update, codenamed Apollo. Michael Halbherr, Executive VP for Location and Commerce, told us that it'll launch in mid-2012 and be a "very different game" to Mango -- hinting that Apollo actually refers to Windows Phone 8 rather than any mere decimal increment. What do we know about Apollo at this point? Well, not a great deal, but Halbherr also revealed that he's been pushing Microsoft to integrate NFC and a "positioning framework" to make its mobile OS work better with Nokia's Navteq mapping platform and thereby provide new location-based services. Sorry HTC, Samsung, but everything points to a more 'Nokia-fied' OS. Update: We've spoken with some sources close to Microsoft who indicate that the timing given to us by Nokia is inaccurate. Unfortunately, the truth serum we used wore off before we were provided with a surrogate timeframe, but we'll of course keep our ears to the ground.
