Apps
Interested in rugby for both Australia and New Zealand? Enjoy the NRL (National Rugby League)? You're going to want to purchase NRL Season 2012 for Windows Phone for your app arsenal. The developers of the AFL Season 2012 app has continued the their efforts to bring fixtures, ladders, news, results, and more to rugby fans.
Here's an fairly detailed list of available features:
As is the case with the AFL app, NRL Season 2012 will preload images and content to minimise data usage for those on tight restricted contracts. The app will also convert times to match your location.
You can download NRL Season 2012 from the Marketplace for $1.99, with a free trial available.
The official Facebook app has been updated to version 2.4, following reports that events were no longer accessible with the main menu entry being removed in 2.3. To be able read up on upcoming events requires the user to hit the "..." menu and filter out the news feed. Just a heads up for those who miss this feature being easily accessible.
Head on over to the Marketplace to download Facebook.
Thanks to those who sent tips in!
Amazing Weather is one of the best looking weather apps available for your Windows Phone. But it's not just a pretty picture.
Amazing Weather present you with an abundance of weather information from current conditions to weekly forecasts to radar images. Amazing Weather is powered by wunderground.com and if you're looking for a nice looking, informative weather app, it's worth a try.
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If you've been following the saga of Sonic's Jewels 7 (SJ7), you'll remember that the popular Sega Master System and Game Gear emulator was due for a nice sound update. That update actually did hit the Marketplace but only for a few hours before it was pulled due to a copyright claim by Sega.
Our own Rafael Rivera worked with the developer to sort through the claim, which revolved around the use of Sonic the Hedgehog and the dev was quoted as saying it will return. The condition of returning though would be to shed all of Sega's copyrights--images and names--in order for it to presumably pass the Marketplace certification. We spoke of this on the last podcast where the name "Blue Tomato" was tossed out as the new name.
Now we got word that Blue Tomato is in the certification process in the Marketplace and the developer has posted some screenshots, showing off the new artwork. The most pertinent question though many of you have is this: Will I have to re-buy the emulator? The answer appears to be "no" as this will by just another update to the existing Marketplace spot for the app. Certainly that should make some of you relieved.
Moreover, that sound update will be included as well as "better game loop" and Zip support, which should make things a lot easier for users. We'll keep you posted if/when the app passes and is re-available for download again.
Source: Facebook
We're not ready to put on our conspiracy hats just yet, but HTC YouTube app is missing again from the Marketplace.
We should point out that their apps often go "missing" (in quotes) from the HTC app section, only to be found if you can dig up an old link or you hit the "More from HTC" area in the app description. That's not going on here though as when you do hit the link to the Marketplace, you get the old "This application is not available for your device. Press here for more info". [Note: You have to hit that link on your HTC phone for it to ever work--it'll never show up in the web Marketplace or Zune Desktop]
This could be because of several reasons: HTC is updating the app and this one was "pulled" temporarily--odd but yeah, HTC does that sometimes, temporary glitch in the Marketplace, etc. It's probably not because of YouTube demanding HTC pull the app or because whatever reason LazyTube/MetroTube cited for ceasing development. In fact, the "official" YouTube app from Microsoft (love it or hate it) is still available.
Our advice? Wait a few days and check back as we bet a version 2.3 will be in its place or perhaps HTC will fix whatever it is that is causing the issue. If not, when we hang out with them next week in Barcelona, we'll ask 'em directly. Cool? In the meantime, we're sure most of you will note how much better YouTube Pro is anyways, so there's your alternative in the meantime, should you need some YouTube on the go.
Thanks, Jean-Batiste, for the heads up
Looking to track your weight loss? Want a simple solution to use on your Windows Phone? Take a look at the Windows Phone app Weight Tracker.
Weight Tracker is a simple, straight forward app to track your weight loss and chart your progress towards your targeted weight. It's a handy way to track your progress as the Mobile Nations Fitness Month winds down.
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NXP Semiconductors has just released an app in the Marketplace that allows engineers to browse and buy more than 10,000 products parts from NXP‘s High Performance Mixed Signal and Standard Products portfolio. The Dutch manufacturer, who has also created apps for Android and iOS, is the first semiconductor company to make their products available via a Windows Phone application.
"We're very pleased to welcome Windows Phone users to our mobile app community. The feedback to our mobile apps for iPhone and Android has been tremendous, and we are delighted to take the lead once again in introducing our complete product catalog on a leading mobile OS, Windows Phone -- enabling customers to make selections and purchases anytime, anywhere. However you prefer to review technical information -- whether it's via mobile apps, datasheets, white papers, design guides, online forums, newsletters, social media networks, webinars or videos -- NXP is committed to helping you quickly find exactly what you need," said Sander Arts, vice president of marketing and communications, NXP Semiconductors.
Features of the NXP Windows Application:
You can download it here for free.
Source: MSNBC; Thanks for the tip, Rodney!
We've mentioned Bazaar before--it's the first serious attempt at a homebrew Marketplace for Windows Phone, a place where developers can centralize and easily distribute their work for end users, allowing people to keep up on updates and learn about new apps. That's important as browsing our forums, XDA or just watching our front page, while helpful, can cause you to miss things.
Previously though, Bazaar was restricted to custom ROMs as an addon app for Windows Phone. While extremely useful and impressive, this limited its influence. Today though that all changes with the release of the Bazaar Desktop client.
If you have a developer or Chevron unlocked phone, you'll definitely want this. The app is quite impressive allowing you to browse, as far as we can tell, all the homebrew apps that are out there. You have concise app descriptions including if it will work on your device (lots are restricted to Gen 1 devices, for instance) and screenshots to see what the app looks like.
Perhaps more importantly though is the ability to download and install directly to your phone, making the whole process extremely easy. The app simply piggybacks off of Zune Desktop and if you have your device paired with that app, it will "see" this one. That latter part is very useful as it even shows you already installed homebrew/sideloaded apps, making management a breeze (most of us are still limited to just 10 homebrew/sideloaded apps).
Other worthy mentions include Featured, Browse, and Favorites making it a snap to find an app (although even we admit that the homebrew scene is a bit anemic).
Bazaar for Windows Desktop is free, well designed and just works. For that we're giving it a big recommendation and a thumbs up to the hard work of the dev team who are certainly worthy of a donation. Get more information and screenshots at their distribution page: http://118.139.161.234/bazaar/BazaarForPC.aspx
Source: Bazaar for PC; via Plaffo
HealthVault is an online service from Microsoft to track, record and store health/medical related information. The Windows Phone app, HealthVault, is a mobile client for this service to let you have access to all your health and fitness information while on the go.
The HealthVault service lets you document your medical information, list emergency contacts, track chronic conditions, and upload medical documents (via the online portal). Online access will also recommend health and fitness apps for your Windows Phone.
HealthVault, the Windows Phone app, lets you access all your HealthVault information as well as add information or edit existing data. The main pages of HealthVault will display your information with access to your health information, measurements, and profile. There is also a Family Page that will display your family members accounts.
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The health information link will take you to a listing where you can view, edit or add information on allergies, medical conditions, contacts, family history, immunizations, insurance, medications, and medical procedures. From the measurements link you can track your weight, height, blood glucose, and blood pressure.
HealthVault is a handy application to keep your medical and health information handy. For example if you've had adverse reactions to a certain medication, you can document things on HealthVault and when your at the Pharmacist that information is at your finger tips. Or, if you can't remember you child's medication allergies, HealthVault can help you there as well.
HealthVault is a free Windows Phone app that you can find here at the Windows Phone Marketplace. HealthVault.com is where you'll need to go to set up your free HealthVault account.
WizTiles (see our review) enables any Windows Phone owner to customise their home screen live tiles with different colours and themes, which can then be shared with the community (as well as downloading themes created by other users).
The developers of the app have just released an interesting Silverlight web app that allows one to conveniently create custom themes (using your own photos) that can be subsequently deployed on a Windows Phone. The app supports front and back tiles too, and themes created will be automatically packaged and hosted.
We've been informed that the Windows Phone apps will be sporting this feature in the near future. Be sure to head on over to the WizTiles website (tool linked below) to try out version 1.0 of the new web app, and join in the discussion over on our forum. As for the Windows Phone apps themselves, you can grab Wiztiles Pro here on the Marketplace. Wiztiles (free) is available here.
Source: WizTiles Designer
