Windows Mobile

Microsoft developer evangelist Nuno Silva apparently confused applications with devices when he claimed that users of Windows Phone 7 (aka Mango) would be able to upgrade to Windows Phone 8 (aka Apollo).

Offering a mea culpa on his blog today, Silva said he was trying to echo Microsoft's own statements that existing Windows Phone apps would run under Apollo. But for some reason he gave the impression that current devices themselves would also be able to run the next version of Windows Phone.

"I mistakenly confused app compatibility with phone updateability, which caused the rumors we saw yesterday,&… Read more

Windows Phone 8 device makers could find more opportunities to tweak the OS, at least if you read between the lines from an agenda reportedly for an upcoming Microsoft summit.

A "high level" agenda for an "Apollo" MO Summit in Reading, U.K., uncovered by Netbooknews, lists "Customization and Differentiation opportunities" as one of the topics.

Of course, that doesn't necessarily mean Microsoft is about to open the floodgates for manufacturers to tinker with the interface. But assuming the information is accurate, it could point to a more open environment for Windows Phone … Read more

Will Windows Phone 7 device owners be able to upgrade to Windows Phone 8? Sources are saying no, while Microsoft itself has yet to provide a straight answer.

The controversy erupted yesterday after a Microsoft developer evangelist stated in an interview that all current Windows Phone 7 (aka Mango) devices will receive the Windows Phone 8 (aka Apollo) upgrade, as reported by WMPower User. The interview was conducted in Portuguese, so the English translation may not be exact. But the translated comments seemed to confirm the upgrade path.

However, some folks are saying there will be no Windows Phone 8 … Read more

Most people switching to the Lumia 900 or HTC Titan II Windows Phone handsets are moving from the iPhone and Android, at least according to a poll by WPCentral.

Grabbing responses from more than 3,500 users at this point, WPCentral found almost 30 percent jumping ship from the iPhone and 27 percent from Android.

BlackBerry accounted for 10 percent, Nokia's Symbian almost 12 percent, and HP's WebOS a little more than 6 percent. That left almost 15 percent of Lumia 900 and Titan II adopters upgrading from feature phones.

The results aren't fully comprehensive since WPCentral … Read more

Do you feel you're expressing yourself as an individual because you have the same smartphone as everyone else?

That's the message being promoted in the latest not-so tongue-in-cheek ad created by Nokia and AT&T. Trying to drum up interest in the new Lumia 900 Windows Phone, the two companies are hard at work unleashing a series of ads aimed at deriding the competition.

The latest ad (also seen below) starts off by calling other smartphone users beta testers and proclaiming that all other smartphones look alike. To prove the point, the gentleman portrayed in the ad … Read more

Nokia and Microsoft are jointly jumping onto the NFC bandwagon with the next version of the Lumia 610.

Slated to debut in Europe sometime this summer, the new version of the 610 will be the first Windows Phone handset to let users pay for goods on the go via NFC. The phone has already been certified for use with both MasterCard's PayPass and Visa PayWave, according to Nokia.

European carrier Orange will be the first provider to offer the NFC-enabled 610, which will be able to read NFC tags at the point of sale and pair with other NFC … Read more

Microsoft has in the past acknowledged that it pays mobile developers to help them create apps for its Windows Phone platform.

That practice is now even more alive and well as both Microsoft and Nokia struggle to make a dent in a competitive marketplace with Windows Phone and the new Lumia lineup, according to the New York Times.

Microsoft has eagerly contributed money to developers, anywhere from $60,000 to $600,000, to help build apps. That's the type of cash the developers themselves could never raise on their own.

As just one example noted by The Times, the … Read more

Microsoft's Windows Phone Marketplace now has more than 80,000 mobile apps, with new ones being added at a rate of 340 apps per day, according to a technology blog.

All About Windows Phone said in a post yesterday, that as of April 1, there were 82,234 apps published from some 20,327 different developers.

According to the post, it took just under five months for the number of developers who published Windows Phones apps to double. It added that the 50,000-app mark was reached on Dec. 27 last year, the 60,000 mark on Jan. 22, … Read more

Nokia is bringing its Lumia 800 and 610 smartphones to the booming Chinese market.

The Nokia 800C will be the first Lumia phone and the first CDMA Windows Phone to reach Chinese consumers. Carried by China Telecom, the 800C will make its debut in April at a contract-free price of 3599 RMB ($571). Buyers can pick up the phone at Nokia brand stores, China Telecom's Tianyi FlyYoung distribution chain, and other retail outlets.

"We're excited to introduce our first Lumia smartphone, the Nokia 800C, to this important market with our exclusive launch partner, China Telecom," Nokia … Read more