Articles about Windows 10 Mobile

Microsoft is rumored to be working on two Windows 10 Mobile flagships, that would serve as replacements for the aging, Nokia-made, Lumia 930 and Lumia 1520. On paper, both look great, with specs that match those of high-end Android smartphones. And Windows 10 Mobile is not too shabby either, featuring lots of improvements over its predecessor. As someone who is frequently shopping in this segment, I should consider at least one of them as my next smartphone. However, going down this road again feels like a huge mistake.

After taking everything into account, the cons clearly outweigh the pros. It does not help that I currently use an iPhone 6 Plus, which constantly reminds me why I am not longer rocking a Windows Phone flagship as my daily driver. There is a whole host of reasons why I do not plan to buy a Lumia flagship in the foreseeable future, and here are the most important.

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Has Microsoft given up on Windows Phone? Will there be no new Lumia devices? Microsoft realizes the amount of debate and confusion it wittingly created earlier this month when it announced restructuring of its phone division, in which it showed the door to more than 7,000 employees. At the ongoing WPC event, the company went in-depth to convince people that it is still committed to doing great things with its mobile operating system.

At the event, Microsoft's Chief Operations Officer Kevin Turner made some new announcements. He boldly claimed that Microsoft will continue to make new Lumia smartphones -- and "killer" ones at that. He further noted that the recent restructuring at the company was done to make its phone platform grow profitability and become sustainable.

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Yesterday, Microsoft released a new Windows 10 Insider Preview build for PCs. That version was Build 10166. Today, the software giant releases a new Windows 10 Mobile Insider Preview, with the same build number. Try not to get the two confused.

The new mobile build is rolling out to Windows Insiders on the Fast ring now, and like its PC number-sake, it offers lots of small changes and feature tweaks, although the focus is mostly now on improving stability and squashing bugs. The Mobile release won’t be happening any time soon, but Microsoft is clearly keen to get all of the major issues dealt with quickly.

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Microsoft announced yesterday that it is slashing 7,800 jobs, mostly from the phone-hardware business it picked up from Nokia. As a result, the software giant is writing off $7.6 billion, which is actually more than the $7.2 billion it paid Nokia in the first place. But, more importantly, the move signifies that Windows Phone, its smartphone operating system, is now being put on the slower release cycle.

Microsoft is scaling back. The software giant is losing money instead of making anything big off its phone division. In the five years of its existence, Windows Phone is yet to get past three percent market share. And that’s finally a reality check to its ambitions.

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Windows Phone enthusiasts, you'll be pleased to know that Microsoft has just released a new Windows 10 Mobile Insider Preview Build -- dubbed 10149 -- for all Windows 8.1 and up powered Lumia smartphones. The new build brings improvements to the user interface, renames Project Spartan to Microsoft Edge, while also offering improvements to Cortana, Photos app alongside plenty of bug fixes.

Build 10149 will be seeded to Windows Insiders on the Fast ring today. The company is finally making it possible to jump to the next iteration of the developer preview of its impending mobile operating system without the need of having to flash the phone again. It notes that users will be able to directly snag updates from their existing builds instead of having to flash back to Windows Phone 8.1 first. Following is a list of new features and improvements you get with the new build.

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Even though Windows 10 and Windows 10 Mobile are part of the same "One" product strategy, the two feel like two separate projects at Microsoft. There are many commonalities and a similar core, but while Windows 10 has evolved tremendously since the technical preview build that arrived in January, the development of its mobile counterpart has progressed at a glacial pace. Windows 10 almost looks ready for its July 29 launch, but Windows 10 Mobile is far, far from being ready for prime time.

That is because the teams working on the upcoming operating system have devoted more of their attention to the PC version, leaving Windows 10 Mobile in the background. Microsoft is wise to play the PC card, as that is a market which it singlehandedly dominates, but not treating smartphones equally could be another mistake it is making on the mobile front. This is about to change.

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Once people have made the decision to go with a particular mobile operating system, they tend to stick with it. Moving all of your data from one device to another can be a bit of a pain, and it’s made even harder if you’re also switching operating systems, and have to find and re-buy all of your favorite apps.

If you’re thinking of making the move from Android to Windows Phone -- perhaps in anticipation of Windows 10 Mobile later in the year -- the process doesn’t have to be stressful. Here’s what you need to do.

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Considering the apprehension from smartphone manufacturers on Windows 10 Mobile, Microsoft is planning two smartphones quick out the gate to keep customers and developers interested in the platform.

Codenamed the Talkman and Cityman, the two devices will feature aluminum edges with removable polycarbonate backs. Following the color scheme of past Lumia devices, both will come in various vibrant color options, which can be switched in and out.

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While Windows Phone Store is home to lots of third-party apps, you will not see a Snapchat client in there. And it is not due to a lack of effort. The company simply does not want any such offerings to be available, actively working towards eliminating each and every one.

Rudy Huyn, a well-known Windows Phone developer, has gone as far as asking Snapchat to review the code of his 6snap client to keep the app alive in Store, but the company would not budge. Also, when Snapchat CEO Evan Spegel was told that Windows Phone users want an official app, he simply replied: "didn't think anyone used those". However, Snapchat's could-not-care-less-about-Windows-Phone stance seems to have changed, as it just announced that a Windows Phone app is on the cards.

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