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A few weeks ago I wrote an editorial piece on how 2013 was finally turning into the year of Windows Phone (after numerous false starts).

There turns out to be another facet though that I missed in my analysis, which I'd like to address here. Besides increased advertising, impressive hardware, a maturing ecosystem and a reinvigorated Nokia who has hit their stride, Microsoft is using another tactic: direct action.

It’s a fascinating change in strategy from previous years where Microsoft took on a more “hands off” approach, often leaving marketing up to their OEM and carrier partners. Now, in 2013, Microsoft is asserting themselves a lot more directly (and it’s not isolated to just Windows Phone as the recent Surface rumor suggests).

Microsoft has a goal for its well-received line of Windows 8 tablets, according to Paul Thurrott. Sources have revealed the company plans to take up and maintain 50 percent of all Windows tablet sales in the coming year with their Surface lineup. Microsoft already achieved this figure in Q1 2013 when Surface hardware took 50 percent of the Windows tablet pie, but there's more to the story.

Like shoes, Twitter clients are a personal preference where one size doesn’t fit all. We all have our favorites and Tweet It! happens to be one of mine. It’s fast, smooth, packed with features and just has a lot of personality.

Version 5.6.5.0 just landed in the Store and it brings some significant and important changes to charming Twitter client, including continued support for Windows Phone 7.x and 8 users.

We've covered the Unification service fairly extensively here at Windows Phone Central and have continued to support Liquid Daffodil with attempts to drum up interest from developers to implement support for Unification in their apps. We've got some numbers to share with you all today with how the Unification service is shaping up and how the community is getting involved.

tl;dr if you haven't yet connected your app with Unification, you may wish to do so.

Update: SOLD OUT! You guys nabbed them all. 

There’s something magical about plopping your phone down and letting it charge wirelessly. The Lumia 920 and Verizon 8X led the way for wireless charging on Windows Phone last fall. And if you haven’t picked up a wireless charging with your compatible phone you’re missing out. So, why not grab the Nokia DT-900 wireless charging pad for a whopping 75% off? Details after the break.

The popular Instagram client Instagraph was updated just a short while ago to version 2.0 and as promised, Metrogram is now part of the mix.  The two apps really didn't become one but rather integrated where you can access Metrogram's features from within Instagraph and visa versa.

The Metrogram integration is only for the Windows Phone 8 version of Instagraph. Windows Phone 7.x users shouldn't feel left out in the cold though.

At Tuesday’s reveal of the Xbox One, Microsoft showed off their next generation Kinect sensor. Our friends up in Redmond don’t want you to forget that the new Kinect unit will also be heading to Windows.

Microsoft released the original software development kit (SDK) in the spring of 2011 for Windows 7. The goal of the program was to expand Kinect’s usage scenario through 3^rd party and indie developers. That being said, we have seen some amazing uses of Kinect in the fields of consumer shopping and medicine.

Today Huawei, in partnership with Microsoft and cellular provider Airtel, announced the launch of Hauwei's W1 smartphone in Nigeria. The event took place at Airtel's headquarters in the city of Lagos. The joint event saw Huawei, who has decided to take a run at the Windows Phone market, come together with Nigeria's largest 3.75G carrier. Despite the excitement, no availability or pricing information were made available.

If you've made the switch from AT&T to T-Mobile with your Windows Phone and are having trouble access T-Mobile's LTE Network take a look at your APN settings.

Windows Phone Central member MikeSo made the switch with his Nokia Lumia 900 and had trouble accessing the LTE network. He could see the network, just not connect to it.

Liquid Daffodil, the developer behind many popular apps available across the Windows ecosystem, has announced that all apps now support the Klingon text effect. Bing originally unveiled that the service will be 'translating' Klingon. For those of you who aren't too sure what Klingon is, it's a fictional warrior race in the Star Trek universe.

Holy cow, we're back! Yes folks, after some weeks of even more weary travel and scheduling conflicts, Jay Bennett and myself return for another 90 minute podcast on all things Windows Phone. Tune in for our thoughts on the latest apps, games, and what Nokia has been up to. Plus we take your questions!

Stream the audio above or the HD video after the break or use our app, your pick.

Nokia has taken an opportunity to go into some detail about the Lumia 925 and its antenna improvements, utilising the aluminium to wrap around the sides of the Windows Phone. The "ring" of metal acts as part of the phone's radio system, with stripes that separate the antennas (main antenna at the bottom with two more towards the top of the device) from the other sections of metal.