Articles about Windows Phone

Cloud is one of today's biggest keywords and Box is one of the top services in the game. Now the company has rolled out a series of updates to its apps for both Windows 8 and Windows Phone 8 and added some rather cool new features for its customers on both platforms. Given that Box claims more than half a million downloads of its Windows 8 app, there is certainly a market for the service.

First off, there is a new Preview mode for documents that works without even opening the document -- a feature that was already included in the company's Android app, where Box's Simon Tan claims the service has an "average [of] more than 100,000 previews per day". The preview mode works with more than 75 file types, including Word, PowerPoint, AutoCAD, Adobe Illustrator and a lot more. This feature is coming to both platforms.

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Switching from Android to Windows Phone 8 seems just about the worst decision that I have ever made in my entire tech life. It's sort of like trading a boring but solid marriage for a great one-night stand that has turned into a bad relationship not much further down the road. Granted, it all boils down to personal preference but right now I'd much rather have a spouse that I can rely on (Android) rather than someone that I can't stand anymore (Windows Phone 8).

Windows Phone 8 is all about trying to silence every voice in my head that says "You miss Android" and replace it with the "I can make it work if I try hard enough" broken record instead. Hope and blind faith is what keeps me going as I place my trust in Microsoft and developers to improve upon the operating system and its ecosystem in an update or app that never seems to come. Sadly, this mindset has failure written all over it. And I've reached the boiling point as every day there has to be something off with the Windows Phone 8 endeavor that makes me think "Why did I buy the HTC Windows Phone 8X in the first place?"

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Windows Phone users have many of the apps they need -- though not always the official ones. However, one noticeable service is lacking -- Instagram has yet to release a client for Microsoft's mobile platform. Given that the software giant spent $240 million to purchase a stake in the social network back in 2007, and that Facebook now owns Instagram, that has to sting a bit. Then again, Microsoft writes the Facebook for Windows Phone app, but let's not chuck salt on wounds by going there.

Nokia, the flagship handset maker for Windows Phone, is apparently so desperate to right this perceived wrong that it wrote an app to fill the gap. "Many of you have asked when Instagram will be coming to Windows Phone, and the #2InstaWithLove app was created as a way for you to have your voice heard. The app allows you to take a photo using the classic polaroid filter and automatically adds the hashtag #2InstaWithLove".

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The BBC’s excellent on-demand and catchup TV service iPlayer is available for both iOS and Android devices, although owners of phones and tablets running Google’s mobile OS remain slightly short-changed when it comes to features compared to their Apple OS counterparts.

Windows Phone users must feel perpetually short-changed at the moment I’m sure, but they too will soon be able to get iPlayer. There’s just one catch. Instead of releasing a dedicated app for Microsoft’s mobile OS, the BBC will be rolling out a shortcut application that will give users with a Windows Phone 7.5 or Windows Phone 8 handset access to the BBC iPlayer website via a live tile. According to Cyrus Saihan, Head of Business Development, BBC Future Media, "This shortcut will wrap the BBC iPlayer mobile website together with our media player.

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Last week at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain, Nokia unveiled an upcoming mobile app that teams the handset maker with snowboard legend Burton. The app comes exclusively to Lumia devices. A brief hands-on was shown off by the folks over at Windows Phone Central, but today Nokia released a full-blown teaser video, complete with some spectacular filming of the extreme winter sport.

While some of the functionality here is similar to what Google Now can do for Android -- weather, information and maps -- the Burton app also contains a video sequencer that allows the user to shoot short bursts of video and then edit and chop them on the fly. It also comes with a feature called "Tune up" that provides playlists that customers can enjoy on the way down the slopes. Finally, users can watch Burton Open Events on their Lumia handsets.

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By now most of you have likely heard of Photosynth, the Microsoft Labs project that made the mainstream, first as a web app and then on mobile. Now the mobile version has finally been ported to Windows Phone 8 devices as version 1.5 lands in the Windows Phone store today.

Photosynth is a panorama app that can take multiple high resolution images and stitch them together into a fantastic picture that users can pan around -- you can see some great examples on the website (it requires Silverlight).

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I’m a huge fan of Zombies, Run! The original immersive app, which basically turns a real-world run into a journey through the zombie apocalypse, and helped me get fit and lose weight when it first came out last year.

I’ve been really looking forward to Zombies, Run! 2 since it was announced, and the great news is it’s nearly here. The updated version, which comes as a free upgrade for current players of the game, will arrive on both iOS and Android on 16 April.

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No matter what you think about it, Microsoft sure knows how to make a splash with "Meet Your Match". Just as the campaign was slowly fading away in our memories, Windows Phone evangelist Ben Rudolph brings it back to public attention by pitting the Nokia Lumia 920 against Android heavyweight Samsung Galaxy S III. Talk about being bold.

Unlike the previous challenges where Windows Phone 8 won against some older devices, this time around a handset running Microsoft's latest smartphone operating system -- the Lumia 920 -- finds itself in a pickle with the Galaxy S III. Trying to sway "real people" and "not actors" from their beloved green droids, Ben Rudolph proposes a challenge of finding "a good Mexican place". If he loses, he gives the folks $100.

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Finnish phone manufacturer Nokia has launched a new app called NFC Writer, for Lumia devices running Microsoft's new mobile operating system. The app is designed to take advantage of the built-in NFC (Near Field Communication) chip by automating various tasks through the use of tags.

Nokia yet again leaves other Windows Phone 8 devices -- such as my HTC Windows Phone 8X -- outside of the playing field as the Nokia NFC Writer comes as part of its exclusive Nokia Collection suite. The app is available for the Lumia 620, Lumia 720, Lumia 820 and Lumia 920 and nothing else. Which is a shame because there are some pretty nifty little features.

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Just yesterday Twitter announced a planned app for the Firefox OS phones when they begin shipping, but the company is bringing that same functionality to Windows Phone, so do not feel left out. Today Microsoft's Michael Stroh did the honors of making the announcement.

The update is not much different than what has been promised for the Mozilla mobile OS. Customers will receive four new navigation tabs -- Home, Connect, Discover and Me.

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I'm not loving this year's big phone trade show. The news coming out of Barcelona is about as doldrums as the Spanish economy. Generally, the big stuff drops Day 0 and Day 1 at Mobile World Congress. They're done, and so far the product announcements are generally less than last year. The phone launch seemingly everyone waits for, Samsung Galaxy IV, comes in March. That's big commentary on what's missing from MWC 2013.

So far, I would call most new gear as the race to the bottom -- same concepts as the last couple of years, only offering less, selling for less and marketed to less-developed smartphone or tablet markets.

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Nokia's augmented reality, map and navigation apps for Windows Phone just went through a name change, and now bear the HERE branding. As interesting as that may sound (which it doesn't, really) there is an even bigger announcement. HERE Drive Beta, HERE Maps and HERE Transit, which were formerly exclusive to Nokia devices, are now available for "any Windows Phone 8 smartphone".

Well, not for any Windows Phone 8 smartphone -- the three apps are only available for users in Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Mexico, Spain, UK and US. That said, I have installed HERE Maps outside of a supported location and it works fine, without any apparent limitation. HERE Drive Beta and HERE Transit report an unsupported location and as a result neither works for me.

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Nokia has just confirmed two new Lumia smartphones at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. The entry-level Nokia Lumia 520 will be priced at $185 (before taxes) off contract, while the mid-range Lumia 720 will cost $338 (also before taxes).

Nokia now has five Windows Phone 8 devices, covering all price points and making it easier for would-be customers to find a model that suits their requirements and budget.

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I don’t know about you but as a lover of technology and the world around it, I find these times to be quite compelling. Apple, Google, Amazon and Microsoft (the big four) are setting the stage for an epic battle for tech dominance. The many articles and blog posts calling Microsoft dead in the water are way too premature. We are way too early in this new world of mobile computing to call Microsoft out of this game.

However, I will say this: If any of the four previously mentioned companies are in the most danger of failing at the consumer market, it’s Microsoft. The company better figure out how to get things together and quickly as time is not on the leadership's side and their competition is hitting on all cylinders.

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When Windows 8 launched on October 26 2012, the Windows Store had an estimated 9,000 apps available to purchase or download. Today, according to the excellent MetroStore Scanner, that figure has risen to 43,083 worldwide, of which 28,904 are available in the US store, and 26,385 in the UK one.

The biggest problem with the Windows Store is not the overall number of apps -- in four months it’s seen reasonable growth although the number of new weekly additions has slowed -- the issue is more with quality. While there’s no shortage of third-party apps, many of which are very good, you can’t help but notice how many big names are absent.

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