Nokia released Lumia 630 and Lumia 630 dual sim in India earlier this month. These devices are the first one to be shipped with latest Windows 8.1. The company has launched a special edition of the Lumia 630 smartphone in Brazil with an additional feature of built-in television receiver.
Continue reading “Nokia Lumia 630 with TV tuner launched in Brazil”
Microsoft had some strategic announcements during the Mobile World Congress, in which they announced the addition of new OEM partners that had signed up for making Windows Phone devices. Some of the new additions were Indian manufacturers like Lava, Xolo, Karbonn and later Micromax. In that lineup, we have two more OEMs added to the lineup today, and they are BLU and K-Touch. BLU is possibly the Micromax of the US while K-Touch is known for being an OEM as well as a ODM, which does contract manufacturing for other companies. The addition of these two new OEMs means a wider range of Windows Phone 8.1 devices that are all set to be released in the coming months. Will the third ecosystem finally pick up some steam?
If today’s leak is to be believed, LG might be getting ready to re-enter the Windows Phone device market with it’s new device dubbed the LG Uni8. The first smartphone from LG running Microsoft’s mobile operating system since their effort on WP7, the LG Uni8 seems to be using capacitive buttons. This lines up with the theory that certain hardware requirements were lifted from the chassis spec to allow OEMs to easily port Windows Phone 8.1 to existing hardware. Continue reading “LG Uni8 Running Windows Phone 8.1 Leaked”
Microsoft is the latest company that is entering the wearable market which is flooded with devices from companies like Samsung, Pebble, and others. The software and tech giant has patented a smartwatch which highlights fitness tracing.
Continue reading “Microsoft planning to launch fitness focused smartwatch?”
Microsoft is all set to unveil the Surface mini, a 8 inch Windows tablet at an event in New York City on the 20th of May. It is just 13 more days until the announcement, and we don’t even know how it looks, but are finally starting to see some bits and pieces of information floating around the internet. Bloomberg’s Dina Bass reports that the Surface Mini will come with a Qualcomm processor, unlike its bigger brothers Surface RT and Surface 2, which run on rival Nvidia’s chips. Nokia was the only other OEM to come out with a ARM based Windows tablet in 2013, which coincidentally ran on the Qualcomm Snapdragon processor.
Continue reading “Microsoft’s Surface mini reportedly uses a Qualcomm processor”
Announced first on 3rd September 2013, the sale of Nokia’s Devices & Services business to Microsoft is now complete. With the completion of the deal, Nokia will cease to manufacture smartphones and will also transfer the Asha and Lumia brand name to Microsoft. The Finnish company will retain the name Nokia and will be allowed to use it on feature phones. Continue reading “Nokia completes sale of Device & Services business to Microsoft”
The long drawn affair of Nokia’s sale to Microsoft will finally come to a close on 25th April. Having received the go ahead from all regulatory bodies, the company today announced that the transaction will finally be completed on 25th April when Nokia Oy will be rebranded as Microsoft Mobile Oyj. The acquisition is meant to help Microsoft have a stronger foothold in the mobile space and to help push adoption of Windows Phone running devices. As is evident, it is also a push towards using Microsoft services which was also seen on the Android based Nokia X. Continue reading “Nokia to complete it’s sale to Microsoft on 25th April”
Following the completion of Microsoft’s acquisition of Nokia, the Finnish company will be renamed as Microsoft Mobile Oy. Multiple sources have confirmed that the name change may be in effect as soon as end of April if the transaction completes within the estimated time frame. Continue reading “Nokia Oyj to be rebranded as Microsoft Mobile Oy”
Just after rolling out the Windows Phone 8.1 Developer Preview, universal Windows apps, the key factor Microsoft aims to attract developers with, are already starting to show up on the store. Microsoft announced this new addition, along with several other enhancements to the developer side of things on Windows Phone, in a blog post today. Developers can now link their Windows Phone apps and Windows apps, as Microsoft has unified the Store front on both the platforms, with the same pricing and even streamlined in-app purchases. Apple has been allowing universal apps between the two form factors iOS is based on, but Microsoft is taking it to another level with support for all of its consumer platforms that occupy a wide range of form factors, from phones to tablets to desktops and even its Xbox gaming console on a TV.
Continue reading “Universal Windows apps start showing up on the Windows Phone 8.1 Store”
Age of Empires, the classic strategy game that put you in command of your favorite characters from history, is going mobile, with a game titled “Age of Empires: World Domination” for iOS, Android and Windows Phone. This Microsoft title, that has been the rage among RTS online multiplayer geeks for a long time, has gone through many iterations, with the company recently announcing that it will be licensing its franchise for the mobile platforms. As reported earlier, this mobile version takes its form thanks to KLab Global, a game development company that will be doing this port. The game is slated to be available for all the major mobile platforms including iOS, Android and Windows Phone and will ship this summer. Here’s the game trailer –
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j2PEXEO2ga0
The acquisition of Nokia’s Device and Services division by Microsoft which was announced on 3rd September 2013 has been long due to the long winded regulatory approval process in major markets. Today, the company has announced that it has received said approval from the Ministry of Commerce of the People’s Republic of China. Continue reading “Nokia receives regulatory approval in China for transfer of Device & Services division to Microsoft”
Itching to get your hands on the latest build of Windows Phone 8.1 and really don’t want to wait till your carrier pushes out the update? Microsoft has made it easy for you. Starting April 14th, you’ll be able to download the update as a preview release. Continue reading “Windows Phone 8.1 update to be available as developer preview starting April 14th”
Among the myriad of announcements Microsoft made at its Build 2014 keynote is one small but highly important detail. With the Windows Phone 8.1 operating system moving to a WinRT layer, all the Microsoft platforms now run on the same runtime, which includes all the devices like a PC, a tablet, a phone, and yes, even the Xbox One. Powered by a common runtime, developers will be able to target all these devices with a shared set of code that will work across all the platforms, like for example notifications, in-app security and so forth. This also means that users can buy an app from one store and use it on another, although the interface will change according to the form factor.
Continue reading “Universal apps are coming to Windows on Phones, PCs, Tablets and Xbox”
One of the more interesting announcements out of the BUILD conference today was Microsoft’s announcement to make Windows free for a whole host of devices. Traditionally OEMs have paid up to $15 per handset sold as licensing fee for Windows Phone 8. This has proven to be a hindrance in the growth of the operating system especially in the lower segment. With cost sensitive players like Micromax getting on board the Windows Phone bandwagon, this move makes all the more sense. Continue reading “Microsoft to make Windows free for devices with screens under 9 inches”
Micromax, one of the top smartphone players in the Indian market, was rumoured to get into the Windows Phone game for a long time. We had expected the name to pop up when Microsoft announced new partners in India like Xolo, Lava and Karbonn, but it didn’t until now, when Microsoft revealed additional two partners, Micromax and Prestigio, at their Build 2014 keynote. Micromax now joins a big list of partners who are committed to bring Windows Phone 8.1 devices into the market. Bringing a seismic change of sorts to the ecosystem, the Windows Phone 8.1 update enables better hardware compatibility, with which a reference device from Qualcomm was developed. Adding on-screen button support and increased chipset compatibility has enabled players like Micromax to join the Windows Phone ecosystem.
Continue reading “Micromax joins the Windows Phone party, devices coming soon”
