Showing posts with label Windows Phone 7.5 Mango. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Windows Phone 7.5 Mango. Show all posts
Microsoft Translator for Windows Phone updated to version 2.0
News Microsoft has recently updated the official Bing Translator app for Windows Phone, which reportedly adds functionality enabling users to translate from speech, via the camera or through keyboard input. With the camera, Translator allows users to simply capture a sign, menu, newspaper or any printed text on their Windows Phone for instant translations.
Language and phrase books can be downloaded within the app for offline usage, especially handy for when traveling abroad in supported countries (voice translations still require data connectivity). A variety of languages are available and results are fairly accurate. The in-app translators can be pinned to the home screen for convenient access when requiring fast results.
The interface is straight forward and functions are available straight from the main menu, there's little clutter in the Translator app. We've not touched on the Translator offering from Microsoft since the Windows Mobile days, but overall, it's not too shabby for a free app.
You can download Microsoft's Translator from the Marketplace for free.
Nokia Lumia 900 Introductory Video
Nokia has added an introductory video on the Nokia Lumia 900 over at their YouTube site. The ninety-plus second video touches on all aspects of the new Windows Phone heading to AT&T. From the polycarbonate uni-body to the 4G LTE network, the Lumia 900 is definitely a head turner.
Have a Look on the Video Below:
You can find more on the Nokia Lumia 900 over at Nokia's website and check out all our coverage on the Windows Phone through this link.
Microsoft Almost Ready to Patch Dangerous Windows Phone Flaw
Patch will fix a security hole in the OS's messaging hub that can brick Windows Phones
While no known exploits are currently in the wild, Microsoft Corp.'s (MSFT) smartphone OS du jour, Windows Phone, reportedly has a whopper of a security flaw in its messaging hub application. The flaw allows a malicious attacker to use malformed messages to not only brick the phone, but to semi-permanently kill the messaging hub, even in a salvage scenario.
Microsoft was pretty proactive on this one, it appears. Within days of the story hitting the press, it had contacted the hacker/security-expert who discovered the flaw -- Khaled Salameh -- and set to work determining the extent of the problem and diagnosing it.
Now Mr. Salameh reports via Twitter that Microsoft let him know that they feel they have the problem fully understood and are testing a patch. By the sound of it, that patch could be just days away from going live.
It's nice to see Microsoft taking such a proactive approach, particularly for an exploit that's not even being actively attacked in the wild yet. But that's not exactly surprising -- unlike some companies that try to dupe their customers into a false sense of security, Microsoft has been leading the way in terms of pushing hard to respond quickly to threats and be honest in its threat disclosure policy.
Source: Twitter (Khaled Salameh)
A Single Text Can Destroy Windows Phone’s Messaging App
News & Articles Microsoft’s range of Windows Phone devices suffer from a denial-of-service attack that allows attackers to disable the messaging functionality on a device.
The flaw works simply by sending an SMS to a Windows Phone user. Windows Phone 7.5 devices will reboot and the messaging hub will not open despite repeat attempts. Attack tests have been done on a range of Windows Phone devices, including HTC’s TITAN and Samsung’s Focus Flash. Some devices were running the 7740 version of Windows Phone 7.5, others were on Mango RTM build 7720. The attack is not device specific and appears to be an issue with the way the Windows Phone messaging hub handles messages. The bug is also triggered if a user sends a Facebook chat message or Windows Live Messenger message to a recipient.
The flaw appears to affect other aspects of the Windows Phone operating system too. If a user has pinned a friend as a live tile on their device and the friend posts a particular message on Facebook then the live tile will update and causes the device to lock up. Thankfully there’s a workaround for the live tile issue, at initial boot up you have a small amount of time to get past the lock screen and into the home screen to remove the pinned live tile before it flips over and locks the device.
Both Apple and Google have suffered from SMS bugs with their iOS and Android devices. Security researcher Charlie Miller discovered a flaw in the iOS 3.0 software that allowed attackers complete control over an iPhone at the time. Android-based phones also suffered in the SMS attack, but attackers could only knock a phone offline rather than gain full access. The attack described in this article does not appear to be security related. It appears, from our limited testing, that the bug is related to the way Windows Phone handles messages.
See the Video below by a Win Rumors reader:
The vid, narrated by a WinRumors reader who discovered the flaw, shows how one message will force a Mango device to reset, at which point the messaging app will no longer launch. The messaging app, being arguably the greatest and certainly one of the most used features on the phone, is not something you want deactivated. WinRumors says they're working with Microsoft to get the bug reported and patched. Phew.
- A Single Text Can Destroy Windows Phone’s Messaging App || Via Win Rumors
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The Appcelerator Mobile Developer Report revealed.
Summary
Appcelerator and IDC surveyed 2,160 Appcelerator Titanium developers from November 2-3, 2011 on perceptions surrounding mobile OS trends and priorities. Findings reveal that Amazon’s new Kindle Fire edged Samsung Galaxy Tab as the leading Android Tablet in North America, on par with interest for the iPad prior to its launch in April 2010, and second only to the Galaxy Tab globally with developers. Microsoft’s Windows Phone 7 also decisively moved ahead of RIM’s BlackBerry OS to become the clear number three mobile OS behind iOS and Android. Appcelerator and IDC also continued their research into how companies are making the move from the web to mobile. This quarter, the report dives deep into understanding the priorities companies are making with their mobile strategy and how mobile is fundamentally transforming customer relationships.
The Rise of Amazon, Microsoft, and Samsung … and An Improved Outlook for Nokia
As the mobile industry advances, contenders are finding success by securing new footholds and partnerships to compete against Apple’s dominance. Amazon announced the Kindle Fire, a smaller, cheaper Android-based tablet that leverages its large content library while Microsoft’s Window’s Phone 7 is building strong European developer enthusiasm thanks to its Nokia partnership. Developers and businesses gave high marks to these strong moves, which contrast sharply against BlackBerry OS, BlackBerry’s QNX-based PlayBook, and webOS, all of which collapsed in interest with developers this past quarter. Below are the topline findings from this quarter’s report:
- Amazon’s new Kindle Fire ignites developer interest. When surveyed among 15 Android tablets, the lowcost, content-rich eReader was second only to the Samsung Galaxy Tab globally in developer interest. A regional breakdown shows Amazon edging Samsung in North America for the top slot. At 49% very interested in North America, the Kindle Fire is just 4 points less than interest in the iPad (53%) prior to its launch in April 2010.
- Appcelerator and IDC found in January 2011 that among developers price was the single most important factor for Android tablets to compete successfully against the iPad. Fast forward to November 2011 and developers cite price again as the leading reason for interest in the Kindle Fire. Rounding out the top 5 tablets, respondents eye Amazon’s rich content ecosystem, Appstore, target demographic, and eCommerce integration as the key reasons for interest in the new eReader.
- When considering Kindle Fire’s potential drawbacks, fragmentation and lack of features like camera and geo-location were the two top concerns cited by developers. Assuming Amazon sells well this holiday season, Android developers will need to consider yet another set of different capabilities. The difference this time? Google will be less able to exert control over Amazon’s divergent Android path.
- Windows Phone 7 separated from the pack to become the clear number three mobile platform this quarter. The OS climbed 8 points to 38% of respondents saying they are ‘very interested’ in the platform, the highest ever for Microsoft.
- Microsoft is enjoying symbiotic success with Nokia. When asked why developers are more interested in Windows Phone 7 now than a year ago, a plurality (48%) said it was the Microsoft/Nokia partnership. Nokia also received high marks from its new Lumia Windows Phone 7 smartphone announcement last month, with 28% of developers saying they are ‘very interested’ in developing for the device. This is more than double the interest in Nokia’s own Symbian and MeeGo OSes since Appcelerator began reporting mobile platform interest in January 2010.
- This quarter saw a sharp fall-off in developers reporting that they are ‘very interested’ in RIM offerings with BlackBerry OS phones dropping 7 points to 21% and PlayBook QNX-based tablets dropping 6 points to 13%. Put another way, there’s now more interest in Nokia’s new Lumia Windows Phone lineup than RIM’s smartphones.
- HTML5 continues to keep developer interest. Sixty-six percent of developers are very interested in building HTML5 mobile websites, the same as last quarter.
- Connected TV app development interest continues to slide. A year ago, 44% of developers were very interested in developing for Google TV. Even with a second version announced last month, only 20% expressed the same enthusiasm for Google TV this round. However Apple TV saw a smaller decline from 40% a year ago to 27% today.
- iOS continues to reign at number one in developer interest levels with 91% of respondents saying they are ‘very interested’ in developing for the iPhone, followed by the iPad at 88%. Apple continued to hold onto its number one position in part due to iOS 5, which was cited as the most significant announcement this past quarter.
- Android phones fell nearly 4 points to 83% while tablets fell nearly 6 points to 68%. While the drop was likely due in part to interest in iOS 5, developers nevertheless saw Samsung’s rise to the number one smartphone manufacturer as the second most significant development of the past quarter after iOS 5.
A Deeper Look at Mobile Priorities Across the Mobile Relationship Lifecycle
Over the past couple quarters, Appcelerator and IDC have been analyzing how businesses are making the move from the web to mobile. Earlier this year, we discussed how companies were maturing through several phases of adoption. This quarter, we asked developers and businesses to rank 23 mobile objectives for their most recent application. We then clustered this analysis into what we call the ‘mobile relationship lifecycle’ to define objectives in 4 areas: reach, engagement, loyalty, and monetization.
Reach: Businesses view deploying to multiple devices with native applications and mobile websites as the number one priority. Making the transition more efficient by leveraging a company’s resources also ranked high.Engagement: Building applications that are easy-to-use with a native user interface was the next most important objective, followed by application performance. Both are seen as key to driving engagement with users and echo the general sentiment that application utility is critical. These core concerns trumped even media, location and social features in priority.
Loyalty: Application notifications and using analytics to measure application feature usage ranked in the middle of the pack for most respondents.
Monetization: Advertising still trumps in-application purchasing as a preferred monetization model. When it comes to mobile commerce, the top priority is making payments easy.
The Appcelerator Mobile Developer Report revealed.|| via Appcelerator
Nokia exec: Windows 8 tablet due in June
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| Windows 8 based Tablets at BUILD conference |
Nokia will add a Windows 8 tablet to its product line in June 2012, a French newspaper reported in an interview with the head of Nokia in France."In June 2012, we will have a tablet running Windows 8," Paul Amsellem told Les Echos in a story published yesterday.
Such a move would make some sense. Where Android and iOS span phones and tablets, Microsoft's Windows Phone operating system doesn't. But ignoring the tablet market would shut Nokia out of a major growth industry, and Microsoft is the obvious partner, even if it means Nokia must wrestle with the complexities of having two major operating systems.
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| The Nokia Lumia 800 Windows Phone-powered device will be joined by a Windows 8-powered tablet next year, a Nokia executive has said. |
Last month, Nokia Chief Executive Stephen Elop wouldn't comment on Windows 8 tablet plans, but he left the door wide open when discussing earnings results with analysts.
"From an ecosystem perspective, there are beneftis and synergies that exist between Windows and Windows Phone," Elop said. "We see that opportunity. We'll certainly consider those opportunities going forward."
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| Nokia CEO Stephen Elop speaking at Nokia World in London. |
Nokia has services it could bring to a Windows tablet, of course. But the synergies aren't always easy: Programs written for one operating system don't run on the other, so spanning the two devices means a lot of work for app developers.
Amsellem likened the new Nokia Lumia 800 Windows Phone to a BMW, saying that higher-end and lower-end models will arrive soon. Nokia already showed off the lower-end Lumia 710, and at Nokia World said higher-end models would arrive as well, but it's not shared details so far.
Windows Phone 7.5 to include SmartDJ and camera shutter sound toggle
Windows Phone 7.5 to include SmartDJ and camera shutter sound toggle
Microsoft’s Windows Phone 7.5 “Mango” update will also feature Smart DJ mixes and a camera shutter sound toggle.
The two features were revealed on Monday by the Windows Phone Dev Podcast. The features are currently present in developer emulator builds of “Mango”. Microsoft is preparing to include Zune Smart DJ mix support. The feature allows users to discover new music and works alongside Zunepass to stream music to devices. Windows Phone owners will also be able to edit and save playlists on their devices. Microsoft is also adding in an option to disable the camera shutter sound in Windows Phone.
Microsoft has revealed several business related features of Windows Phone 7.5 recently and a number of consumer features have leaked too. Here’s what’s planned for Windows Phone 7.5 “Mango”:
Microsoft’s Windows Phone 7.5 “Mango” update will also feature Smart DJ mixes and a camera shutter sound toggle.
The two features were revealed on Monday by the Windows Phone Dev Podcast. The features are currently present in developer emulator builds of “Mango”. Microsoft is preparing to include Zune Smart DJ mix support. The feature allows users to discover new music and works alongside Zunepass to stream music to devices. Windows Phone owners will also be able to edit and save playlists on their devices. Microsoft is also adding in an option to disable the camera shutter sound in Windows Phone.
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| Windows Phone 7.5 camera and Smart DJ settings |
- Outlook Conversation View – Emails combined together in threads
- Lync Messaging Client – Enterprise messaging client
- Twitter integration – Tweets integration into people hub
- Office 365 integration – Office 365 features built-in
- Bing Vision – Scan QR, Microsoft Tags, books, CDs and DVDs
- Bing Audio – Similar to Shazam, will identify songs
- Windows Live Messenger integration – Integrated into the people hub and messaging hub
- Facebook Chat integration – Integrated into the people hub and messaging hub
- AOL Messenger integration – Integrated into the people hub and messaging hub
- Contacts grouping – Create groups of contacts to send messages to
- Xbox LIVE sync function – Sync function to likely sync settings/games across devices
- Now playing artist information on lock screen – album art on the lock screen
- Visual Voicemail support - Visual voicemail using same method as iOS/Android
- Network awareness NCSI support – improvements for switching between networks/optimization
- Internet Explorer 9 mobile – HTML5 support and hardware acceleration
- Multitasking support – switch quickly between apps
- Fast application resume – quickly resume recently used apps
- Podcast support – download podcasts via the Marketplace
- Turn-by-turn navigation in Bing Maps - voice guided directions and turn-by-turn
- SMS dictation – Microsoft tellme dictates messages
- East Asian Language keyboard support – additional language support
- Handwriting and dictionary support – support for writing Chinese characters
- Pin Outlook Folders – Pin folders as favorites inside Outlook
- SkyDrive integration – Access SkyDrive documents from Office Hub
- Kinect support for games - interact with Kinect and Xbox games from Windows Phone
- Outlook email server search – search Exchange servers from Outlook client
- Complex (alpha-numeric) password support – strong number and character password support
- Information Rights Management – support for protecting e-mails and Office documents
- Ringtone support – third party ringtone support
- App list – automatically detect list, implemented jump list and search for apps
- Marketplace search improvements – apps, podcasts, music separated for easy search
- App install improvements – progress bar install UI
- Search extras – User search actions can be connected to third-party apps
- Motion Sensor – apps to use new gyroscope hardware
- Background audio – apps can run audio in the background
- File download service – third-party apps can download files from the web
- Alarms – alarm notifications for third-party apps
- Pin app features – Users can pin live tiles of deep app features in third-party apps
Microsoft plans to make its Windows Phone camera the best you’ll ever own
Microsoft is aiming to improve its Windows Phone camera support to make devices the best cameras consumers will ever own.
The software giant made its bold claims in a job posting recently. The company is looking for a Windows Phone engineer that will help Microsoft push its camera support forwards. Microsoft reveals that it is “investing heavily” in the overall camera experience in Windows Phone and intends to make Windows Phone the best camera “you will ever own.” WMPoweruser spotted the job posting that includes the following description:
“One of the areas that we are investing heavily is the camera experience where we intend to make the“Window Phone the best camera you will ever own”. The Windows Phone division is creating a phone experience that is personal, relevant, connected and FUN! Do you care about the quality of the memories that you are capturing with your phone? We are looking for a VERY strong SDET to join our team and help bring our big vision to life. The focus area of this team is our full end-to-end photo and camera experience from the hardware through software level. Your job is to ensure that experience is reliable, compelling both for customers and developers, performs well, and is super high-quality. In this position you will play a critical role in helping us take our current test arsenal and architect a solution that will let us run that arsenal across test environments, across locales, across identities, and across service boundaries.ลก We intend to dominate that market with the best capture and sharing experiences that delight the casual user to the digital enthusiast.”Microsoft’s Windows Phone 7.5 camera support is greatly improved. The company supports forward facing cameras on devices, allowing Windows Phone 7.5 users to video conference using third-party software. Microsoft’s phone manufacturers can also include improved sensors and higher megapixel cameras in their Windows Phone 7.5 handsets. The recently released HTC TITAN includes an 8MP camera with face tracking technology (see photo above). The technology allows Windows Phone to detect whether you’re taking a portrait or a group shot. The camera focuses on the most prominent face in the frame and balances exposure on other faces in the shot.
Microsoft’s main device partner, Nokia, is well known for its use of Carl Zeiss lenses across its devices. Nokia is expected to deliver devices with powerful cameras inside at their Nokia World launch later this month.
Windows Phone 7.5 devices launched in India
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| New Windows Phone 7.5 devices in India |
The software giant held a special launch event at the Taj Mahal Hotel in New Delhi on Wednesday. Bhaskar Pramanik, Microsoft India chairman, revealed that the HTC Radar will be available next week in India with the Samsung Omnia W and Acer Allegro following in November. I Love Windows Phone India reports that the Radar will include access to localized applications specific to the Indian market.
The HTC Radar features a 3.8-inch WVGA SLCD screen, a 1GHz processor and 512MB of RAM. HTC has included a 5MP rear camera and VGA front facing camera. Windows Phone 7.5 now includes support for front facing cameras, allowing third-party app developers to provide video conferencing applications.
The HTC Radar will go on sale for Rs.23,990 ($489) and the Samsung Omnia W will follow in November priced at Rs.19,900 ($406).
Microsoft removes references to Zune HD “by mistake”
Microsoft updated its Zune pages on Monday to remove references to its Zune HD device.
The software giant removed all traces of the Zune HD device on its Zune Music Pass pages on Monday. Microsoft urges consumers to use the following devices for Zune Music Pass:
On your PCHowever, Microsoft Zune team member Michael Yaeger revealed that the Zune HD device removals were a mistake. “Zune HD product page is still on Zune.net – publishing mishap when we pushed out the CA work,” wrote Yaeger in a Twitter message on Monday.
With a Zune Music Pass, you’ll be amazed as you discover, stream, and download more and more music on your PC.
On your Windows Phone
A Zune Music Pass is the ultimate access to entertainment. Get unlimited music and take it with you on your Windows Phone.
On your Xbox 360
A Zune Music Pass makes the entertainment experience extraordinary on your Xbox 360 with unlimited music streaming.
The move follows the death of Microsoft’s Zune originals devices earlier this year. The company urged consumers to purchase a Windows Phone 7 device for the Zune experience. “See how Windows Phone isn’t just a phone,it’s also a great Zune music and video player!”, said the final part of Microsoft’s message confirming the axe. A learn more button at the bottom of the page pushed users to Microsoft’s Windows Phone 7 site.
Microsoft recently confirmed that it is working to port Zune HD applications to Windows Phone. Former Zune senior business development manager Dave McLauchlan revealed the company’s plans in a recent Zune Insider podcast. Zune has been in the news lately for all the wrong reasons. Microsoft was forced to confirm it is not “killing” any Zune services after it was revealed that the company plans to rebrand Zune into Windows Live shortly.
Last.fm for Windows Phone finally goes to Mango
Good new everyone! Last.fm, everyone's favorite radio scrobble service has finally gone to Mango with version 3.x. You can now minimize this bad boy in the background and enjoy your radio with multitasking Mango goodness. In addition, you can pin your favorite radio stations to the Start screen for easy and quick access.
We've only played with it for a little bit but darn it all, it's a nice app--fast, smooth and great work on the integrating "Sharing" option. And considering this service is built into the Xbox 360 (for Gold Members), this a great extension to your phone. Grab the free app here in the Marketplace.
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