Windows Phone-Powered ZTE Tania Rolls Out in China

 
Smartphone makers have been racing in the Chinese market with its mobile handsets that run on Windows Phone. After HTC and Nokia introduced their wares, ZTE unveils the Tania.

The ZTE Tania is similar to other Windows Phone handsets hardware-wise, such as the 800 x 480 display and 512MB RAM, but it steps up the competition with its 1.4GHz processor, 4.3-inch screen, a 5-megapixel rear camera, 4GB of internal storage, and even black and white color options.

The Tania will be distributed exclusively by China Unicom.

Microsoft to launch Windows Phone 8 on June 20? [Rumor]

 

DigiTimes is reporting that Microsoft is planning  release Windows Phone 8, allegedly codnamed Apollo, this coming June 20. The Taiwanese publication is basing its report on reliable sources from the industry who also reportedly mentioned that most branded smartphone vendors, with the exception of Nokia, will be adopting a wait-and-see attitude toward the launching of the new OS. Why? DigiTimes explains that because the market share enjoyed by Windows Phone 7.5-based smartphones hasn't reached the desired expectations, it will be impractical to expect the launching of Windows Phone 8 to bring a turnaround for Windows phones immediately.

Sources are also saying that Microsoft is focusing more on the promotion of Windows 8, at least for now. That's because a successful launching of Windows 8-based tablet PCs will presumably encourage more smartphone vendors to jump into the Windows Phone 8 segment. “Nokia and branded vendors including Samsung Electronics, Hewlett-Packard, Dell, Acer, Asus, and Lenovo which are capable of rolling out cross-platform mobile devices, are likely to the first batch of vendors to launch Windows Phone 8 smartphones,” DigiTimes said. Of course, it's important to take these matters with a grain of salt in hand. Unless we can verify the authenticity of the report, let's keep our fingers crossed.

Skype for Windows Phone beta arriving soon?

Even though Microsoft acquired Skype quite awhile ago, the Skype app still has yet to make an appearance on Windows Phone. But if reports online turn out to be true, the wait could be almost over. Apparently Microsoft employees have been recently notified that a beta version of Skype for Windows Phone will be released shortly, and invitations will be sent out in the coming weeks. Assuming the rumors are true, it looks like Microsoft employees will be testing the app to weed out bugs before it is released to the public - so you can expect some images of Skype for Windows Phone to surface in the near future. Still no ETA for the arrival of Windows Phone Skype, but let's hope it will be sometime this quarter. Who's looking forward to Skype on Windows Phone?

Windows Phone 8107 update rolling out

Remember the keyboard issue that arrived with the Mango update to Windows Phone sometime last year? It's been awhile but it looks like Microsoft has finally rolled out a fix for it. There have been reports of people with unlocked Windows Phone devices receiving a new update today. The update brings the phone up to version 7.10.8107.79 and includes a whole bunch of fixes. Firstly the update fixes the on-screen keyboard disappearing during typing, Gmail syncing issues, location access issues, an encryption issue, an email issue related to Microsoft Exchange Server 2003, and a voicemail notification issue. Keep an eye out for the update notification to hit your phone, and as usual - be sure to backup all your data just in case something goes wrong.

HTC HD8 Windows Phone handset sneaks up in app stats

The Windows Phone platform is not exactly the primary mobile operating system of choice for many people, hence having it languish behind iOS and Android at the moment despite receiving very favorable views from those who have already given it a go, especially in the latest Mango iteration. Well, it seems that there is a HTC HD8 in the works that has recently been spotted running Windows Phone 7 Build 7740 – supposedly taking over where the HTC HD7 left off, continuing the legacy of the Windows Phone 6.5-powered HTC HD2. This might also eventually end up as a Windows 8 device, also known as an Apollo handset. Since it was caught in application stats running Build 7740 of Windows Phone 7 means there is a physical unit somewhere out there in Romania, over the Vodafone network, but that is about as far as we can get before the trail runs cold. Do you think HTC will spring a surprise on the masses at CES next week, or at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona next month?

A Windows Phone running LG Fantasy leaks out

LG has been quiet on the Windows Phone front this year. The only entry we've seen from the Korean giant was the LG Jil Sander Mobile. The latter is hardly a new product as it is entirely based on the Optimus 7 from a year ago.

It appears however, that the company has a brand new device in the works. A member of XDA Developers has obtained a pre-production unit of a yet to be announced, Windows Phone 7.5 Mango sporting, LG smartphone, dubbed (at least for the time being) Fantasy. Check it out in the photos below.

We know practically nothing about the specs of the smartphone, save for the fact that its sports a 4" IPS screen, and Microsoft's latest mobile OS on board.

The LG Fantasy will reportedly be unveiled sometimes during Q1 of 2012. We guess that a CES or MWC announcement is likely. We will cover both live, so expect an update as soon as we get the full scoop on the device.

Source | Via

Windows Phone surprise next week

Microsoft has announced on the official Windows Phone blog that it has something special in store for us next Monday. The only hint that was given in the blog post is that it's going to be something fun, and they're going to bring Windows Phone to life in a “big, big, way.” For some reason the idea of a giant Windows Phone bouncing castle just springs to mind but hey, what do I know? Anyway, if you happen to be in New York City, check out Herald Square on Monday (November 7th) at noon to see what the fuss is all about. Be sure to let us know if we haven't reported about it already by then.

Any guesses to what this “big, big” surprise could be?

Windows Phone Apollo launching mid 2012 according to Nokia's VP

With Microsoft's Windows Phone 7.5 (or Mango) update still in the process of being completely rolled out, there are talks about its successor, Apollo. Not much is known about the Apollo update yet, but if we were to take Nokia's Executive VP for Location and Commerce, Michael Halbherr's word for it, we could be seeing the Apollo update launch in the middle of 2012. He has claimed that the update will be a "very different game" to Mango, reconfirming that the Apollo update could very well be Windows Phone 8.

The features are not known at this point in time, but it looks like Halbherr is pushing Microsoft to integrate NFC into the operating system, as well as making the Windows Phone platform more friendly with Nokia's Navteq mapping platform. We're not sure if Nokia will be receiving any special treatment from Microsoft with regards to Windows Phone, but given that Nokia has pretty much put all of their eggs into the proverbial basket, we're not surprised to see Nokia so excited and gunning for Windows Phone.

Microsoft: Windows Phone Mango now being delivered to '100 percent' of compatible devices

We just heard last week that the Windows Phone Mango update was available on nearly every compatible device, and Microsoft has now made things completely official. In a post on the Windows Phone blog today, Microsoft confirmed that it's "now delivering Mango to 100 percent of eligible phones around the world, regardless of carrier." That feat was reached less than a month after Microsoft announced that that Mango was available on half of Windows Phones, which certainly an improvement on the pace of the earlier NoDo update. Included in this last batch is the LG Optimus 7 on Telefonica is Spain and the Samsung Omnia 7 on Deutsche Telekom. Now, about that Apollo update...

Windows Phone Mango heads for virtually all devices

It seems that the Windows Phone 7.5 Mango update is now on its way to all compatible devices – now does that mean some devices will not receive it? Yes, in the most basic of terms, those that are not compatible, meaning older models, will most probably miss out on the Mango boat. We do know that Microsoft has already started delivering Windows Phone 7.5 to the LG Optimus 7 phones on Telefonica in Spain, and the team is also on schedule to greet owners of the Samsung Omnia 7 handset over at Deutsche Telekom with a similar bounty.

Not only that, Microsoft did announce that they are “delivering Mango to 100 percent of eligible phones around the world, regardless of carrier.” To put it in a nutshell, that means everything else which is not listed as "scheduling" or "testing" on the Where's My Phone Update?.

If you are rocking to a Windows Phone smartphone, do not be surprised if you start to receive an update notification on your handset in due time. For those who have already made the firmware upgrade, how do you find the new flavor – does it suit you?