Windows Phone News

E3 time is upon us once again, loyal readers. The Electronic Entertainment Expo is the single largest gaming event of the year. E3 2013 takes place from June 11-13 (plus press conferences on Monday the 10^th) at the Los Angeles Convention Center and is open only to members of the gaming industry.

During E3, all of the major console gaming developers and publishers crowd into the Convention Center and exhibit a selection of their latest and upcoming games for attendees to watch and play. Many new games will be announced, while others that we already know about will be revealed in action for the first time. Check out last year’s E3 2012 stories to get an idea of what goes down.

The very largest publishers and platform holders also hold press conferences on Monday, just before the show opens. Microsoft’s annual Media Briefing runs from 9:30-11am PDT. This is when the big MS will reveal the scope of its gaming plans for the Xbox One, including an assortment of previously unannounced launch titles for the new console. Windows Phone Central will be there and live blogging from the briefing, so make sure you check back with us Monday morning!

What should you expect in the way of Windows Phone, Windows 8, and Xbox news from E3 2013? Read on for our predictions!

For being a weekend it’s been somewhat busy. Yesterday we had leaked screenshots showing off a developer build of Windows Phone 8.x – notification center in tow.

The notification center was obviously the biggest piece of info from those screenshots, but there was plenty more info to be gleamed from the phone. Quick recap after the break and a story of what happened to the phone bought off of eBay that contained this build of the Windows Phone. And don’t forget, our sources say those screenshots are an “early” build of the next-version OS.

On the heels of an official Windows Phone release of the popular traffic service Waze, a report from the well-established Israeli paper the Globe states that Google will pick up the company for $1.3 billion USD.

Google, Facebook and even Apple were all rumored to be interested in buying the Israeli-based company, with Apple gaining the most from the purchase as they could continue to distance themselves from Google and their Maps. Evidently, due to the high price though, Apple never submitted an official offer.

Outsider is a Windows Phone community app from Liquid Daffodil, who also brings us the Twitter client glƏƏk! and the lockscreen utility Locksider. We've been notified by the developer that a glitch in the Windows Phone Store is requiring those who have already purchased Outsider to re-purchase the app.

Microsoft has been alerted of the issue but in the meantime, Liquid Daffodil has made Outsider free to avoid users from having to re-pay for the app. The change is already live and should be reflected in all regions in a short bit. The free offer is only for the next 48 hours though.

Some good news on a Friday for the 5 of you Sprint customers still rocking a Windows Phone 7.x device. We’ve known for sure since early January that you’d be getting some Windows Phone 8 handsets around summer time. One from Samsung and the other from HTC – the Tiara and Ativ S. One of those devices looks like it’s spent some time with our friends at the FCC. Is Sprint about to get some Windows Phone 8 love?

Nokia has unveiled that pre-orders for the new Lumia 925 will kick off in China on June 17th, according to the official product page. Consumers will be able to pre-order the Windows Phone on JD.com. As previous rumours suggested, those who get in there first will also receive the limited edition Superman branded wireless charging pack, which includes the Superman Fatboy wireless charging pillow and the Man of Steel cover.

Advertising network AdDuplex has raised $500,000 in capital to help Windows Phone developers succeed. Supporting both Windows and Windows Phone Store apps, it's an important tool that's utilised by numerous developers. With more than 3,000 apps using the network, there's definitely scope for the company to expand and help out more developers.

While we now have Instagram and Snapchat clients for Windows Phone, albeit unofficial ones, Vine (www.vine.co) seems like the next big app to conquer. The other day we showed you how Rudy Huyn had a working alpha called ‘6secs’ that was progressing along and now developer Philippe Maes has one called Viner.

Viner is a fast and fluid app that gives you the ability to register, view your personal timeline, search for and follow your friends, like or comment on their posts, view their Vines and likes, change your settings or view your own likes, find the coolest vines with the Editor's Picks and Popular Now, and more.