Articles about Windows Phone

What's the go-to app for testing internet data speeds on mobile devices? Undoubtedly Speedtest.net is one of the most obvious answers coming from Android and iOS users, but not from those rocking Windows Phone 8. For some time, Ookla, the company behind the app, has turned a blind eye to Microsoft's smartphone operating system but, starting Monday, Speedtest.net is finally available for those who prefer tiles to icon grids.

As you may expect, the app carries over much of the existing functionality from its Android and iOS siblings but, unlike them, Speedtest.net for Windows Phone 8 is dressed up in a much nicer looking package. The app displays ping (latency in miliseconds) as well as the internet connection download and upload speeds. Per the usual tradition, it continues to display the speedometer with the live indicator in the foreground.

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Windows Phone 8 is not the cure for Nokia's woes. Today the Finnish phone manufacturer released preliminary financial results for fourth quarter, managing to move just 4.4 million Lumia units.

Nokia, however, remains optimistic when it comes to sales that, at least theoretically judging by timing and product releases, should be much, much higher compared to actual preliminary numbers. The company states that "Devices & Services has exceeded expectations and achieved underlying profitability in the fourth quarter 2012", but fact is the most popular smartphone series comprises of Asha devices with 9.3 million units sold, and not Lumias. Basically the cheaper and more modest smartphones drive the "exceeded expectations" and "underlying profitability" at a first raw glance.

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Little under a month after Nokia introduced part of its new Windows Phone 8 lineup for pre-order on the Chinese market, the Finnish manufacturer has revealed that, starting Friday, the company's current Lumia lineup will be available for purchase in India.

By tapping into the local Indian market, Nokia expands its presence, and therefore the reach of Microsoft's smartphone operating system, into one of the largest Asian markets. The Espoo, Finland-based manufacturer announced that the first two handsets that will be available Friday "in select retail stores across major cities" are the high-end Lumia 920 and mid-range Lumia 820 Windows Phone 8 devices.

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Microsoft may have pulled out from CES 2013, leaving Qualcomm to steal the spotlight with its opening keynote presentation, but the firm's smartphone operating system lives and breathes at the popular trade show. US carriers Sprint and Verizon Wireless unveiled plans to offer new devices running Windows Phone 8, with the big red being the first of the two to release a product to market with the Samsung ATIV Odyssey.

For quite some time the ATIV Odyssey was rumored to surface as a Verizon-branded version of the ATIV S, but that couldn't be further from the truth. The new device comes with a 4-inch Super AMOLED display with a resolution of 800 by 480, a 5MP back-facing camera capable of 1080p video recording and a 1.2MP front-facing camera. The handset is powered by a 1.5GHz dual-core Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 processor and a 2,100mAh battery.

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If there's one word that best describes my personal tech use for 2012, change is definitely it. For the most part of the year I "cheated" one platform with another, with no particular personal favorite to get me through (almost) 365 days. Each piece of software and hardware is used for a particular scenario, something that I find rather soothing for my personal early adopter endeavors as well as my sanity. I just can't stand tinkering with the same bit of tech for longer periods of time, although there still is a dear old friend in my life...

My colleagues Alan Buckingham and Wayne Williams already wrote about their personal tech choices in 2012, and now it's my turn. Without further ado here is what I used most throughout the year, starting with my trusty dear old friend.

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Almost two months ago Verizon Wireless announced the HTC Windows Phone 8X, in Blue, Black and Red, for $199.99. The US carrier slashed the price of the smartphone down to a more competitive $99.99 on new two-year contracts, bringing the handset more in line with the other Windows Phone 8 device available right now at the big red, the Lumia 822.

However, the move to halve the price may add even more confusion for prospective customers looking to purchase a new Windows Phone 8 handset. At the $99.99 price point Verizon now offers two similar handsets, the Lumia 822 and the Windows Phone 8x, neither of which sets itself clearly apart from the other in the software or the hardware department.

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If you can say nothing else about the company, you at least have to admit that Microsoft has certainly come up with some unique marketing ideas recently. Many would call that a departure from the past, when the ads were either boring or just plain weird (remember Bill Gates and Jerry Seinfeld)? The company went from that to self-parody and real humor like the recent Internet Explorer 10-Mayan apocalypse campaign.

Now the mobile side of the business has rolled out a new website to let customers know that Bilbo Baggins, of Hobbit fame, is a Windows Phone 8 customer. The site lets you see Bilbo's home screen so that you can get some insight into what is important to the adventurous hobbit, like his map of "home sweet shire" and the current weather conditions in Middle Earth. You can even view his camera roll which, of course, he stores in his SkyDrive account.

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Nearly a month ago, I told you about Microsoft's latest Windows Phone challenge -- titled "Meet your Match". Today the company released some numbers from its latest campaign. Although much of this is speculative, at least it almost certainly went better than the recent spectacular #DroidRage failure.

Windows Phone evangelist Ben Rudolph, who launched the successful "Smoked by Windows Phone" during Consumer Electronics Show 2012, began "Meet your Match" to coincide with the release of Windows Phone 8. This time around, instead of a simple speed test, Microsoft challenged customers to see which device better fit their needs -- Windows Phone 8 or the device they currently use.

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A week after Nokia announced the Lumia 920T, the first TD-SCDMA variant of the Lumia 920 for China Mobile, the Finnish manufacturer has introduced its entire Windows Phone 8 line-up to the Chinese market.

Nokia's Windows Phone 8 flagship, the Lumia 920, is available for pre-order in China for ¥4,599 (roughly $735). The handset sells for the same price as the Lumia 920T, but is designed to operate on other networks. The company's mid-range Windows Phone 8 device, the Lumia 820, can be pre-ordered with a less intimidating price-tag. The smartphone is available for ¥3,499 (roughly $560).

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While many of you wring your hands over the whole iPhone versus Android thing, Microsoft is quietly building a mobile platform that has also caused some hand-wringing -- late release, no upgrade path for previous users... not a great start. There has been a lot written about Windows Phone 8 since it was released. With some people saying it's good and others that it's a failure. The truth is, in my opinion, it's just really too early to tell. However, one thing is certain, the Windows Phone Store is growing quickly, with new apps being added all the time.

Today, two prominent new apps appeared in the Store that many of you may want to add to your new handset -- Vimeo and Insider.

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What was Microsoft thinking? The software giant initiated a campaign on Twitter, dubbed #DroidRage, inviting Android users to share their "malware horror stories", only to have it backfire spectacularly shortly afterwards. A huge number of anti-Microsoft posts with the #WindowsRage hashtag appeared on Twitter and Google+, almost immediately.

The problem with the campaign, apart from the less-than-brilliant concept, is the timing. Criticism of Microsoft’s more recent products, such as Windows 8, Surface and Windows Phone 8, should have caused the company to lay low for a while. Instead, the firm unwittingly gave frustrated users of its new products a unified hashtag to rally behind.

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Wednesday, Finnish smartphone maker Nokia introduced the Lumia 920T, the first TD-SCDMA variant of the Lumia 920 that will be available later this year on the world's largest carrier, China Mobile. Off-contract, the Windows Phone 8 handset runs for roughly $720 and ships in the typical black, red, yellow or white trim.

Nokia has given little away regarding the device's hardware specifications. That is likely due to the fact that the two Lumia 920 device types share most of the same underpinnings, except support for the TD-SCDMA wireless standard used in China. As a result, buyers can expect a 4.5-inch PureMotion HD+ display with a resolution of 1280 by 768, a 1.5GHz dual-core Snapdragon S4 processor, 32GB of internal storage, an 8.7 MP rear-facing camera with LED flash, 1080p video recording and PureView technology, and a 1.3 MP chat camera.

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Surely Microsoft is not overcome by joy after IDC placed Windows Phone as the third largest player in the 2016 smartphone market, lingering behind the biggest competitor -- Android. Taking vengeance upon the green droid, the Redmond, Wash.-based software corporation initiated the #DroidRage campaign on Twitter, inviting users to share their Android "malware horror story".

As an Android user myself, I can't help but feel overly amused by Microsoft's idea. The #DroidRage campaign exudes desperation, considering Windows Phone's lowly popularity and embodies anything but a professional attitude, which is expected from one of the largest software companies in the business. Furthermore, Twitter users responding to the save-the-world-from-Android-malware campaign are not necessarily on Microsoft's side.

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Nokia's Windows Phone 8 line-up currently targets the high-end and mid-range smartphone market with the Lumia 920 and Lumia 820, respectively. However, starting from Q1 2013 the Finnish manufacturer will also offer a more affordable device powered by Microsoft's latest mobile operating system.

The Lumia 620 will come with a modest $249 price-tag, without operator subsidies or local taxes, and feature a 3.8-inch ClearBlack LCD display with a resolution of 800 x 480. Power comes from a 1.0GHz dual-core Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 processor aided by just 512MB of RAM. On the back there is a 5.0MP camera capable of 720p recording at 30FPS and an LED flash to brighten up indoor shots. On the front the Lumia 620 sports a 0.3MP camera capable of shooting pictures and videos at 640 x 480.

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In March 2011, IDC made the most ridiculous prediction -- that Windows Phone would be second to Android in smartphone market share by 2015. I laughed off the forecast, but promised: "Should IDC's prediction prove to be right, I'll make atonement. If Windows Phone is No. 2 smartphone OS by 2015, I'll kiss Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer's feet. He can take off his socks and shoes, too". Today IDC revised the numbers. Microsoft's OS share still looks too high but also places third. Lucky me.

The new numbers are dramatically different and support my longstanding contention that the smartphone market is, or was, too volatile to forecast. Android clearly wins the share battle, even by IDC's conservative estimates. The analyst firm had put Android share at 45.4 percent in 2015, followed by Windows Phone and iOS, with 20.9 percent and 15.3 percent, respectively. Now in 2016, Android projection is 63.8 percent share, followed by iOS (19.1 percent) and Windows Phone (11.4 percent). I wouldn't rule out a BlackBerry comeback.

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