windows phone 8.1 | Fone Arena

Micromax joins the Windows Phone party, devices coming soon

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”

Windows Phone 8.1 is official, brings Cortana and a ton of new features

Microsoft has finally revealed Windows Phone 8.1, the long awaited update to its mobile platform. Packing lots and lots of new features, the operating system finally gets up to speed in several departments. Starting from the action center, the parallax wallpapers to Cortana, the intelligent digital assistant, it would be safe to say that the OS has finally come of age. It may be a little late, but it is definitely not a little minor update, as it brings with it the potential to change the ecosystem of devices it runs on. The update, announced today, will be available for all Windows Phone 8 devices in the coming months, while enthusiasts can get a hold of this update in the first half of April. Besides that, the OS will come pre-installed on all the new Windows Phone devices, including the just announced Nokia Lumia 930 and the Lumia 635 and the Lumia 630 Dual SIM phone.

Continue reading “Windows Phone 8.1 is official, brings Cortana and a ton of new features”

Windows Phone 8.1 parallax wallpaper leaked in new video

WP 8.1 background leak

Windows Phone 8.1 would be unveiled at the Build conference in San Francisco, California next week. We had already seen Cortana and Action Center in earlier leaks, today a video from Chinese website Coolxap.com has revealed new start screen backgrounds and parallax wallpaper effects in Windows Phone 8.1 when you scroll through the Start Screen. WP 8.1 will have separate settings to customize the Start screen and also options to select backgrounds. Images of Windows Phone 8.1 start screen background leaked earlier this month. Continue reading “Windows Phone 8.1 parallax wallpaper leaked in new video”

Windows Phone 8.1 leak confirms SD card installation support, VPN and universal apps

Windows Phone 8.1 might be unveiled to the public only in April at the Build developer event, but some enterprising developers have already been able to get a preview of the SDK, as reported earlier by TheVerge. We had expected more information to pop up once it became available, and thanks to a redditor, who claims to be a high-profile WP app developer(there is proof), some details of the next big update to Microsoft’s mobile platform have leaked. While most of the details are developer-oriented, some of the long standing consumer complaints seem to have been resolved, like the support for installation of apps on the SD card, VPN support and the start of universal apps for Windows Store and Windows Phone Store.

Continue reading “Windows Phone 8.1 leak confirms SD card installation support, VPN and universal apps”

Samsung Huron Windows Phone 8.1 specifications leaked?

Samsung will still be making Windows Phones, if the previously leaked press image of its first Windows Phone 8.1 device is to be believed. Codenamed “Huron”, the Samsung made Windows Phone will be a sequel to the ATIV S that coincided with the launch of WP8, the big reboot to Microsoft’s fast growing platform. But Samsung hasn’t announced any device since, so at this moment, this leak comes more as a surprise than the usual expected ones. Curiously though, the render, leaked by evleaks, shows off a device that looks exactly like the ATIV or a Galaxy, but misses the camera button on the side, which used to be mandatory for Windows Phone. And of course, the screen is “off” so we are not able to get a glimpse of Windows Phone 8.1 either, which evleaks claims the phone is running on. But there are more details.

Continue reading “Samsung Huron Windows Phone 8.1 specifications leaked?”

Windows Phone 8.1 rumoured to arrive in April

Windows Phone 8.1 codenamed “Blue” has been rumoured for a long time now, ever since Microsoft confirmed the existence of Windows 8.1(also codenamed “Blue”). While Windows 8.1 has seen its release right on time, with a developer preview in June last year and commercial release by October, we are yet to see even a glimpse of Windows Phone 8.1, which we were hoping to be delivered as fast as the first Windows 8 update. Now, fresh rumours from reliable Mary Jo Foley, ZDNet, reveal that Windows Phone is all set for a April reveal, with developers getting the preview first and general availability later. This comes after rumours of a Cortana reveal, which is a virtual assistant and very much a part of Windows Phone that coincides with Microsoft’s developer event at the same time – Build 2014.

Continue reading “Windows Phone 8.1 rumoured to arrive in April”

Windows Phone 8.1 update with notification center, additional features spotted

Jeremiah Wong, a Reddit user, has posted a series of screenshots that are said to be from a Lumia 920 running on pre release software. The handset that was purchased via eBay is running on a software version that identifies itself as 12084.WPMAIN(wpbldlab).20130509-1407. This particular build was compiled on 5th May and has a number of additions that Windows Phone users have been clamoring for.

Continue reading “Windows Phone 8.1 update with notification center, additional features spotted”