features

We've received notifications that an update is available for the highly rated eBay app for Windows Phone - version 1.18. What's new in this latest release? We're not entirely sure, though our Daniel Rubino experienced issues with logging in on version 1.17, but can achieve this task after updating.

Other than the potential login fix (should you be affected), we're not entirely sure what's included. The previous version of the eBay app introduced auction creation support for Windows Phone, so we could well be seeing some bundled fixes and minor optimisation with 1.18. 

You can download the official eBay app from the Marketplace. Notice anything new which we've overlooked? Let us know in the comments.

While users around the world are slowly getting the Windows Phone Tango 8773 update, a few under-the-hood changes are being noticed by users. We forced manually installed the update onto our Focus 2, Titan II and Lumia 900 with the Focus 2 (review) being our main device these days. As a result, we have had some experience running Tango and noticed a few little nuggets which we'll share below.

• New wallpapers – We first noticed this on our Tango-fied Lumia 610 but Microsoft is now including those new “nature” themed wallpapers in the Tango ROM
• Faster numeric PIN response – At least on our 8112 devices (Titan II, Focus 2, Lumia 900), when we would attempt to unlock our PIN on our phone it would sometimes be very slow and not register, requiring you to re-enter the number. While minor, it was annoying. That was fixed by updating all our devices.
• Send ringtone via MMS – We can now attach and send ringtones to others via MMS. You can only send custom ringtones though and nothing that is “in ROM”. This in addition to the new "send voice note" and attach multiple images in an MMS that's found in Tango too.
• Letter indexing – On Windows Phone 7.x after a user installs 45 apps, the app list will automatically index, giving you the “letter picker” to jump to find your favorite app. The problem, albeit minor, was if you went below 45, the “letter picker” would not disappear. It was odd behavior and nothing we ever experienced but Tango evidently fixes this. [Forum]
• More reliable notifications – Many users are reporting better notifications, both Tile and Toast, with the Tango update. To be honest, we feel this has more to do with “flushing the system” than any actual optimizations, though perhaps there are a few.

Users can now share custom ringtones over MMS

Another anecdotal fix may be related to "the Internet Sharing bug" which sometimes causes normal WiFi to stop working, then forces users onto cell data unknowingly. This only occurs if you've enabled internet sharing at some point on the device. We've seen this on our Lumia 900 and so far it seems better to us under Tango, though we're still evaluating. 

Things not available that were thought to be:

• Static IP for WiFi- We haven’t seen this but you can reportedly enable it via a registry hack. Bad news is you need a rooted phone to do that. Some Nokia users supposedly have this though we assume it’s tied to the firmware [Forum]
• Location icon – This actually not a part of Tango (8773) despite previous reports, but is part of 8779+, so don’t look for it or expect it
• Export contacts to SIM – Not available though you can enable it via a registry hack, assuming you have a routed device [Forum]

Did we miss anything—specifically any new features or options? We get a lot of “this is now faster” reports but those are near impossible to verify, so we’re only looking for actual new additions to Tango 8773. If you have some, let us know in comments.

New nature-themed wallpapers are now included in "Tango"

Finally, we have not seen a Tango update for any of our AT&T phones, including the Focus S, despite some isolated and unverified reports. Sorry, folks. Thanks, rockstarzzz, for the forum links

Yesterday's Windows Phone Summit gave us a nice serving of what Windows Phone 8 brings to the table. Joe Belfiore discussed platform changes that will expand the capabilities of our Windows Phones. We also caught a glimpse of Microsoft's Wallet app, a handful of new Nokia apps, and learned of Zynga's new interest in the platform. And then there's the new Start Screen.

Winsupersite posted a nice collection of some of the features we didn't see. Here's a few items that stood out.

• Windows Phones will support varying screen resolutions which in turn will give consumers more choices to find which Windows Phone fits their needs and budget the best. We're already seeing this with the leaked HTC Windows Phone 8 specs.
• Data Smart is a feature that is based on the metered broadband connection capabilities in Windows Phone 8. Data Smart will help users get the most out of their data plans by handing off data loads to Wifi whenever possible and by using a cloud based proxy service that limits the amount of data used by IE10 and other apps. The cloud based proxy service compresses web traffic and is reported to save about 30% in bandwith usage.
• The Games Hub will become the Xbox Live Games app and will be modeled after the same app in Windows 8.
• We'll also see SkyDrive support music and video storage that can be accessed directly from the Xbox Music and Video apps.
• The camera app is in store for some under the hood improvements through a Lens app. The Lens app will let third party apps plug into the camera experience by mapping the camera button to an app other than the native camera app.
• Skype will be more integrated with a Skype option that will be included in your contacts phone numbers and messaging links for those that use Skype. Skype will remain a stand-alone app that can be removed not only by the user but also the carrier or manufacturer. This one sounds like it is still a work deeply in progress.
• Windows Phone 8 will not only appeal to to the general public but also the business market. Windows Phone 8 will provide always on device encryption, secure boot, Office 2013 based Office apps, device manageability capabilities and side loading of line of business apps.

We are sure that in the months leading up to the launch of Windows Phone 8 will come to light. As it stands now, the improvements and platform changes the Microsoft has shared with us it's hard to see Windows Phone 8 as anything but impressive.

Source: winsupersite

SkyDrive, the Windows Live file hosting/sharing service, is set to receive a fairly major upgrade today, which will introduce a number of requested features. It's now much easier to manage office documents and other files on an account thanks to the ability to set permissions or share individual files within a folder. Not only that, but the team have now made it possible for files to be shared to social networks and for private links to be generated that can be shared with select personnel.

Multiple selections can be made to move, download or delete more than one folder. Folders can be created (and renamed) inline without having to click in multiple locations. Uploading to SkyDrive has also been improved by taking advantage of the HTML5 File API and now users can simply drag files and photos into the web browser window and onto the file listing. A upload overlay will then be display at the bottom right hand corner of the screen allowing the user to continue using the service.

As well as the above, support has been added for PDF and RAW file types, the photo slide show has been improved, and signing into SkyDrive is now more efficient (up to 50% faster). Check out more information on the SkyDrive blog (link below) with more screenshots. Unfortunately, still no more word on a Windows Phone app or more integration with the OS.

Source: Windows Live Blog

A while ago Alan Mendelevich, Founder of AdDuplex, published an interesting article about apps in the Marketplace. Much like a previous Marketplace analysis by Justin Angel we take a look at a sample of available apps, but instead of looking at a Marketplace specific breakdown, Alan walks us through app capabilities.

In the image above (click the enlarge) you can see we have nine app capabilities illustrated by percentage of the 50 top apps taken in the Marketplace (July '11). To give a quick run-through, we have owner identity, location-based services, media library, web browser, phone identity, data connection, microphone, sensors and push notifications. As is to be expected, data connectivity is the most used capability within apps, but it's interesting to see owner identity and phone identity on 24% and 26% respectively.

Source: AdDuplex

In the aftermath of the "iOS5 has copied features from other platforms while they sue manufacturers for copying them" drama going around since this year's WWDC one has to look at the features in both iOS5 and upcoming Mango. 

For everyone who's in the loop with WP7 and how the OS is very young in comparison to Android and iOS, it seems rather odd that one of the older standing and more established platforms would copy WP7 after it has been continuously struck down for lacking too many features. My personal favorite is copy & paste. According to a select minority, we still don't have copy & paste. It's as if NoDo never came around (unfortunately for some this is still the case).

Windows Phone 7 Center have compiled a table comparing features between the iPhone, iPad and WP7 and it's interesting to note what WP7 has built in. To me this proves how iOS is simply a stand for apps, whereas WP7 is more integrated and offers a more complete solution without the use of apps for basic features. What I do find odd about iOS5 is the Twitter integration, where's Facebook? Surely if you're going to implement social media into your OS you'd also use the largest social networking website?

Check out the table after the break. 

Heading up a presentation in Japan at Microsoft Developer Forum 2011, Steve Ballmer was covering numerous topics including the acquisition of Skype. While discussing this year's Mango update, he set the feature count at 500. We were able to have a good insight as to what a good number of those features will be with MIX, but it's exciting to know that there are a plethora of promised additions to the platform that still need to be covered.

At the VIP Mango event tomorrow, it will be a busy day for the OS with Steve talking about OEMs and carriers as well as further detail surrounding 7.5. Microsoft is also looking to release their Mango developer tools some time soon. You can check out the entire Developer Forum session here, move the video slider to 29 minutes in and you'll witness WP7 goodness.

Via: Nanapho. Thanks tezawaly for the heads up!

Microsoft is continuing their desperately needed PR push by presenting this new 'features' video on YouTube. While nothing really new is demonstrated per se, it is nice to see it in all of its glorious action and real life scenarios--gives you a real feel for how it will all work.

Despite some of those initial 1.0 limitations, you have to give Microsfot credit for that UI--it looks nothing like Android or the iPhone. Not an easy accomplishment if you think about how you would design a mobile OS.

Check out the video after the jump, it's worth the 3 1/2 minutes.