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We’ve discussed Huawei joining the Windows Phone 8 scene in the past, especially with their run in with the US government recently, but now we have a first look at a prototype part.

The Ascend W1 is rumored to be their first Windows Phone 8 device, destined most likely for China by end of the year or early 2013. Supposed images of the bezel of that device have just come forward to us tonight, after being posted on the social site Sina Weibo. Much like the leaked Nokia display bezel images, these appear to come from a factory working on the digitizer aspect of the forthcoming device.

Not much of course can be discerned from the image, but it is clear to our eyes that we’re looking at something for Windows Phone 8. We’ll keep you posted if more comes forward.

Source: Sina Weibo; Thanks, Talan1314, for the images

One of the new Nokia devices running Windows Phone 8

Earlier we saw some renders of the supposed Lumia 820 and now it looks like we have another contender to deal with as numerous real photos have been passed on.

Showing with OS version 8.0.09735.09, the device being handled looks to be a real enough and bares resemblance to the 'Phi' we've seen previously though sources say this is the '820'. It is currently not known if the devices are one and the same or different.

The prototype device sports the now common button layout in keeping with the Lumia 800 and 900 but with the new Windows Phone 8 logo near the bottom...

Image removed by request from ALPS

The other day we brought you news of a display-digitizer unit coming from ALPS, a sub-contractor for Nokia who handles parts for their phone development. At the time there was one single image that measured at 4.3” across and showed what looked to be a front, plastic bezel for a new Windows Phone 8 device.

Fast forward today and we have a few more images but of a different looking phone, putting to rest any doubt that the previous image may be faked.

We can now clearly see the proto.nokia.com website and “not for sale” emblazoned on the side as is common with Nokia development devices. The bezel also appears to be a slightly different design with a large capacitive button area near the bottom.

Ealry look at WhatsApp for Windows Phone 8

Although we’re still wondering when the popular chat service WhatsApp returns to the Windows Phone Marketplace we can in the meantime gaze at what it will look like on Windows Phone 8 ‘Apollo’.

Evidently the company has left some images of their ‘Apollo’ build aka Windows Phone 8 right on their server for all the public to see. The images themselves aren’t that revealing—we see numerous sized tiles featuring the app, some in-progress chats and image examples. All in in all in looks nice but it’s not a major overhaul nor barely a minor one (not that we’re trying to pick on the team behind the app)...

Images from the Windows Phone 8 SDK show off updated Office, SMS backup

It’s still technically the same day as the leak of the Windows Phone 8 SDK and now some images are showing up online showcasing some new features of the updated OS (we’re visiting Canada and don’t have access to our Win 8 machine to run the SDK ourselves). The images come via WP7.Hu who has thrown no less than 30 images up on their site.

Images are stronger than words so we’ll keep this one brief. These images show of various new or updates features in Windows Phone 8 which consumers will be more than glad to gander. Here’s what is displayed after the break (and above):

• Text message backup to SkyDrive
• Office 2013 for Windows Phone
• Photo options
• New Accent colors
• Lock screen options
• Phone storage (+ SD card support)
• App list + setting backup feature
• Microsoft Account
• Voice Command options
• Xbox Music

Needless to say, it’s a lot so head past the break to see it all in its glory. Make sure to "click to enlarge" to get a better look. Thanks, xajuan, for the tip

Since Windows Phone users can't spend a lot of time customizing their OS (instead we live our lives), there's much focus on the lock-screen. We know we change ours every few days (we use Ffffound for inspiration).

Today, Microsoft has announced a partnership with London based graphic designer Levi Freeman and as a result, they've released eight "officially sanctioned" wallpapers to spiffy up your Windows Phone.

The eight images are nature focused so they may not appeal to everyone (we're more into abstract art here). Still, the designs are nice and they're meant to look perfect on your phone. What's more, the images all have a corresponding QR code for easy download (see, not even Microsoft uses Tag). Plus Microsoft notes that they hope more of these collaborations will happen with Levi, meaning we can probably expect different themes in the future--we like that idea. Levi also plans to release desktop versions too.

There's some interesting tidbits about the inspiration for each image and details about Freeman at his site, so hop on over to grab those images and learn a little bit about their origins.

Source: Windows Phone Blog, Levi Freeman's blog

A few days ago we saw some new images of a Sony Ericsson Windows Phone prototype. At the time, it looked to be a device code-named "Julie", a 4" QWERTY slider that was believed to have been canceled in 2010 after SE pulled out from Windows Phone development.

NokiaWP commented that this newly imaged prototype was running Mango though we could not verify that at the time. If it were Mango or later, it could very well signify a new attempt at Sony to embrace Windows Phone.  Looking at these new images, we are confident in saying that this is the old prototype and it is not Mango. Evidence comes from the Windows Phone boot screen, which is clearly the pre-Mango era logo as well as the old Xbox LIVE and Internet Explore tiles on the Start screen.

In other words, while this would certainly be a killer device to add to our collection, we do not believe that these images reveal any new strategy by Sony to re-enter the Windows Phone market. Perhaps they still do have plans either now or in the future, but this device is clearly a 2010-era relic.

Interesting though for what might have been, eh?

Source: NokiaWP; Thanks, Juddy, for the tip

This is pretty humorous. Should you be on Facebook and wish to shout out at contacts about Windows Phone in chat, you can now have a small image of a Nokia Lumia 800 show up, thanks to Rudy Huyn, with the following code (see the above example):

[[308362632536465]] [[308362662536462]] [[308362682536460]] [[308362712536457]]
[[308362735869788]] [[308362759203119]] [[308362779203117]] [[308362795869782]]
[[308362809203114]] [[308362825869779]] [[308362872536441]] [[308362905869771]]
[[308362942536434]] [[308362972536431]] [[308363009203094]] [[308363022536426]]
[[308363042536424]] [[308363069203088]] [[308363115869750]] [[308363135869748]]
[[308363155869746]] [[308363189203076]] [[308363215869740]] [[308363239203071]]
[[308363282536400]] [[308363309203064]] [[308363342536394]] [[308363375869724]]
[[308363405869721]] [[308363419203053]] [[308363435869718]] [[308363469203048]]

Pretty neat, eh? Some free promotion for the platform.

Source: Rudy Huyn