live tile

Note+ gets bumped to version 2.7, adds Kid's Corner integration

Apps

By George Ponder, Tuesday, Jun 4, 2013 at 4:54 pm

Note+ is a rather straight forward Windows Phone app to pin note reminders to your Start Screen. The app was recently updated to version 2.7 that brings a few under the hood improvements along with Kid's Corner integration.

So why Kid's Corner integration? Should your kids use your Windows Phone they can leave reminders for school, chores around the house, etc. Then there's situations where you might want to leave them a note to remind them about something. The integration keeps your Note+ notes separate and unseen from those generated in the Kid's Corner.

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Keep up on your power with Battery Level for Windows Phone 8

Apps

By Daniel Rubino, Saturday, Nov 10, 2012 at 6:26 pm

Here's an app that should excite some of you new Windows Phone 8 owners out there: Battery Level for WP8 by Alex Golesh. The first of its kind, as far as we know, the app allows you to constantly keep abreast of your battery life on your WP8 device with a simple Live Tile.

Just pin the app to your Start screen and choose one of three sizes (small, medium and doublewide) to suit your needs. The doublewide will even display the charging state (discharge or charging) in addition to the battery icon and percentage left. Oh and the app can also display a battery icon and percentage on the Lock screen. Yup, just head to Settings and choose it as one of your five options and you'll be good to go.

Verizon sets up Windows Phone promotion using Live Tiles for launch

Windows Phone News

By Rich Edmonds, Thursday, Nov 8, 2012 at 8:51 pm

Verizon is starting pre-orders for the Nokia Lumia 822, the carrier exclusive version of the Lumia 820, and it seems the US network is gearing up for a Windows Phone push in the states. Photos have been published to Twitter of what appears to be a Live Tiles promotion set up for the platform.

Official Twitter Client for Windows Phone 8 updated

Apps

By robert brand, Thursday, Nov 8, 2012 at 11:43 am

Seems like the minor tweaks and adjustments for apps for Windows Phone 8 keep on coming, this time it’s the official Twitter client.

The update is now showing as version 1.3 for Windows Phone 8 while the Windows Phone 7 version is holding steady at 1.2. A quick scan of the changes doesn’t reveal an awful lot of changes so we’re putting this one down to some general tweaking in the absence of any change notes.

Nokia's ESPN app updated, beefs up notifications

Apps

By George Ponder, Monday, Oct 29, 2012 at 5:41 pm

While the big news today was definitely the official launch of Windows Phone 8, Nokia was able to slide in an update to their ESPN app over the weekend. The update mainly deals with increasing how you can be notified on scoring and news updates through the Live tile and toast notifications.

The update adds the ability to save and pin your favorite teams and sports to your Windows Phone Start Screen, customize the Live Tile score updates and you can now receive toast notifications for news and score updates.

Photo sharing service Molome coming to Windows Phone, may have been spotted in earlier video

Windows Phone News

By Daniel Rubino, Sunday, Sep 16, 2012 at 1:38 pm

Last week the Verge ran a story noting that poplar photo-sharing service Instagram was headed to Windows Phone this fall. Later, VentureBeat squashed those rumors saying that ‘no’ in fact Instagram is not being developed for Windows Phone, either 7 or 8.

An eagle-eyed viewer started the controversy seeing what looked like an Instagram-like Live Tile pop up during a Nokia promo video. Later, the Verge backtracked noting that instead it may be Vimeo (who do have an updated, Nokia-focused version on the way).

But a new explanation has come forth: Molome.

Windows Phone App Short Take: Badgework

Apps

By George Ponder, Thursday, Sep 13, 2012 at 8:17 am

If you've got any Boy Scouts in the house, you may want to take a look at Badgework for your Windows Phone. Badgework helps you keep track of all the requirements to achieve rank in the Boy Scouts from Scout to Eagle.

Each rank within the Boy Scouts requires a series of accomplishments or achievements. They range from earning a certain number of merit badges, displaying a certain skills, and participating in community projects.

Official Twitter app for Windows Phone finally gets Notifications in latest update

By Daniel Rubino, Thursday, Jun 28, 2012 at 11:22 pm

The offiical Twitter app's new Toast push-notification in action

If there was one nagging issue with the official Twitter app for Windows Phone, it was the inability to get Toast notifications for new mentions or re-Tweets. Even after receiving a new update just 3 weeks ago, there was still no sign of any of these advanced features.

So we were a tiny bit flabbergasted to actually see a new notification section in the latest update, version 1.2.4555.39631 (or just v1.5 in the Marketplace) which just went live tonight. The updated Notification area has the following options

Mentions - Off, From people you follow, From anyone
Favorited - Off, From people you follow, From anyone
retweets - Off, From people you follow, From anyone
Direct messages
New followers

That's actually a fairly robust selection of possible notifications for Twitter these days and yes, they are the Push type i.e. nearly instant. What's more, while there is seemingly no Live Tile counter, the Tiles does flip to show you new mentions or notifications in addition to the Toast alerts (which work quite fast from our experience).

While there is no counter, the Live Tile flips to show mentions

While it may have taken nearly two years to get this feature on Twitter, we are just going to sit in awe now and enjoy what we have.

Pick up the official Twitter app (v1.5) for Windows Phone now in the Marketplace. Thanks, Osvaldo C., for the tip

Windows Phone App Review: SuperTimer

Apps

By George Ponder, Tuesday, May 1, 2012 at 5:20 pm

Here's a nice timer app for your Windows Phone, Supertimer. Supertimer is a combination timer and stopwatch that takes advantage of the Windows Phone panoramic layout and metro style with up to four live tiles. Supertimer has potential but there are still some hurdles to overcome with stability and the live tiles, while a nice touch, may not be living up to their potential.

Windows Phone App Review: Clearer

Apps

By George Ponder, Thursday, Apr 5, 2012 at 7:23 am

The other day we took a look at the Windows Phone app Zero, a gesture based To-do list manager. We then received several tips suggesting another gesture based To-do list manager for your Windows Phone, Clearer.

In many ways Clearer is just like Zero but with a bit more features. Which is better? Both Windows Phone apps do what they do really well. I'll try to break the differences down in a bit but for now, if you like gesture based apps Clearer is well worth a try.

Windows Phone App Review: WeatherPro

Apps

By George Ponder, Thursday, Mar 29, 2012 at 8:49 am

There's little argument that there is no great shortage of Weather apps for your Windows Phone these days. WeatherPro is one such Windows Phone app that was recently updated and after receiving several requests, we took a peek at it. With regards to features, WeatherPro is a notch above your basic weather app by providing both forecast information and animated weather radars.

Weatherpro is a nice app but its weakness rests within its navigation. While you can find what you're looking for fairly easy, there's a little inconsistency in how certain screens react. It's nothing detrimental but rather something that I couldn't help but feel could be better. The update (version 2.0) brings live tiles into the mix and mangofies the app, all of which helps WeatherPro's overall impression.

WeatherPro isn't a bad weather app, I just expected more for the $2.99 price tag.

Windows Phone App Review: Newsy

Apps

By George Ponder, Wednesday, Mar 28, 2012 at 8:27 am

Here's an interesting news reader for your Windows Phone. Newsy is a news app that presents two minute videos on daily news stories that are compiled from various sources. A summary video of sorts that puts all you need to know on a current event/news item in a nice, two minute package. As the Newsy tag line reads, "multiple sources, the real story".

WeatherBug goes Mango with latest update, includes many new features

Apps

By Daniel Rubino, Monday, Mar 12, 2012 at 3:14 pm

It's been awhile since we've seen WeatherBug get an update, let alone a significant one. So it's nice to see version 2.0 finally (finally!) land in the Marketplace with some advanced Live Tile and Mango support. The full change log is as follows:

Live Tiles - New standard live tile and Live Cam views. We've also added detailed one-day forecast and two-day summary forecast secondary tile options.
Visual Forecasts - Easy-to-read, at-a-glance displays of essential weather information you need quickly and easily.
Bad Weather Warnings & Alerts - Receive dangerous weather alerts faster from both the National Weather Service and our exclusive WeatherBug Network
Live Cams - Scroll through and view live shots from HD cameras in the WeatherBug Network

Of course the new stability (and hopefully reliable background updates) should be the real story here, but those new Live Tile options are quite nice as well. This app falls nicely after the Microsoft Weather app in that it offers many more functions but has ads for support. The app seems zippy enough and we really like the layout (though we'd gladly pay $0.99 to remove those garish ads).

Overall, a nice update. Note: WeatherBug is now re-listed under a second entry in the Marketplace, so a standard update won't work here. You must fresh install the new version, which can be found here in the Marketplace. Thanks, Jaison S., for the heads up

MS Weather v2 with Mango and Live Tile support now available for Windows Phone

By Daniel Rubino, Saturday, Mar 10, 2012 at 6:23 pm

Microsoft has updated their free Weather app for Windows Phone, finally bringing Mango support in version 2.0. We first reported on this looming refresh a few weeks ago and now the app upgrade is available in the Marketplace.

New in version 2.0 is the ability for fast app switching, multiple city support and the ability to pin each city to your Start screen with (get this) Live Tiles. Yes, now each city will display the current temperature and icon for current weather conditions right on your Start screen. While it lacks anything more advanced e.g. written forecast, radar maps, cams, etc. for many such a simple, minimalist weather program is all they want and need. In that regard, this app is pretty great for its "too the point" brevity.

So if you want simple, free and no ads, this is your app. Pick up Microsoft's Weather right here in the Marketplace. Thanks, Joseph K., for the tip!

Official IMDb app for Windows Phone gets update with Live Tile, bug fixes

Apps

By Daniel Rubino, Saturday, Jan 21, 2012 at 6:23 pm

Updates for the official IMDb app are few and far between, heck we're just hitting v1.3 now, but at least it's a significant improvement. The popular movie and film database has been out since day one on Windows Phone, but it's missed a lot of the cool new Mango things, including a Live Tile. Version 1.3, which just went up today, fixes this along with other reported issues:

Bug Fixes
Search integration via App Connect
Social sharing of Movies and People
Live Tile support

Not too shabby and it feels a bit zippier too. We still find ourselves swiping when we should be tapping and vice versa on occasion, but the ability to share on social networks, the Bing 'App Connect' feature and Live Tile go a long way. Speaking of, we're still waiting for our Live Tile to update so we're not entirely too sure what it does nor looks like, but we're sure to see in the next hour or so.

Pick up the official IMDb app here in the Marketplace for free. Thanks, Nicholas M., for the tip!

BoxShot updated, bringing 'pinnable' folder functionality to your Windows Phone

Apps

By Rich Edmonds, Friday, Jan 20, 2012 at 9:20 am

BoxShot, a light Dropbox app for Windows Phone, has been updated to 2.2. In this update we now have pinnable folder functionality, allowing users to pin individual folders from their Dropbox account to the home screen for more convenient access. The app will also now be displayed in the Pictures Hub under the "Applications" pivot, and a few fixes were thrown into the mix.

You can download Boxshot from the Marketplace for just $.99 (79p), with a free (ad-supported) version available. Be sure to check out our full review of the app too.

MSN Weather going Mango and getting a Live Tile

By Daniel Rubino, Monday, Jan 16, 2012 at 1:35 pm

MSN Weather, like all of those MSN app, are actually pretty cool little offerings--they're Metro, minimalist and do what they're suppose to do. In 2010, MSN Weather was for many their first weather app. Not much has happened though in terms of updates, which is a shame since Mango offers a lot e.g. Live Tiles.

That's why we became a little excited to see an image of an updated version that is coming down the road. In the above screenshot from Microsoft's Jeff Wilcox (of 4th & Mayor fame), we see that it finally now has that Live Tile with the current temperature, making this app very useful for many and a good free alternative. No other details are known currently but the app is being beta tested meaning release in probably only a few weeks away.

It's great to see Microsoft finally updating some of these apps though we think it would have looked better 4 months ago.

Update: Regarding Jeff's grey theme, there's no shenanigans there. That is simply one of the theme's on his unlocked Lumia 800 purchased through Expansys. While that's a great theme, he did lose out by not having the "Nokia Blue" accent color.

Source: Image, Twitter; Thanks, Jan T., for the tip!

4th & Mayor gets Live Tile & push notifications in version 3.1

Apps

By Daniel Rubino, Friday, Jan 13, 2012 at 2:58 pm

We love ourselves some 4th & Mayor, the wildly popular Foursquare app for Windows Phone which has outpaced the official app. We're now happy to announce that version 3.1 is live in the Marketplace. What are the biggest changes? Only the ones you have been asking for the most:

The back of the app tile is now a Live Tile leaderboard
Toast notifications when friends check-in near to you

That right there are some cool features for such a great app. We're busy taking it through its paces right now, so we'll let you go download it here in the Marketplace for free. Oh and since it is free, if you ever feel like buying the developer, Jeff Wilcox, a beer for his efforts, you can do that very easily by clicking this link.

There's much more too though with version 3.1 with the full changelog after the break...

Reddit app Baconit now available internationally

Apps

By Daniel Rubino, Sunday, Jan 1, 2012 at 2:43 pm

The other week we mentioned the new app Baconit from Quinn Damerell as being one of the first Mango-enabled Reddit.com apps for Windows Phone. Not only that, it's quite slick with a Metro UI and a ton of options for an initial-release.

One snafu at the time though was the app was only available in the US. This however wasn't intentional on the dev's part but was instead a hiccup in the Marketplace which has now been rectified. So if you were looking to try it out, you'll want to head back to the Marketplace to give it another go. Did we mention the app was completely free with no-ads and a Live Tile? Pretty great stuff if you're a Redditor like ourselves.

Version 1.4 should be entering beta real soon as well. That version will fix a couple of issues in v1.3 as well as bring new features. Grab the current release here in the Marketplace or click-n-zoom the QR code below to get your Reddit-on.

Want really good graphics? Check out ARMED!

By George Ponder, Saturday, Dec 24, 2011 at 11:26 pm

Just caught wind of a new Windows Phone game that simply looks fantastic. ARMED! is a sci-fi turn-based, multiplayer strategy game. You are in command of a fleet of sci-fi tanks, turrets and robots with one goal in mind...crush your enemy.

Key features includes:

Five maps with unique artwork and tactical terrain features
Twelve offensive and defensive units to command into battle
Over fifty unit upgrades and special attacks to help turn the tide
Simultaneous turn online multiplayer with ratings and matchmaking
Live Tile updates with turn notifications
Track your rankings on the real time leaderboards
Scoreloop integration with photo profiles

While the main attraction of ARMED! is the mult-player mode, you also have a single player option to do battle with the CPU. The game is fantastically animated with the ability to zoom out and have a two-dimensional view or zoom in for the 3D table top view.

There's a lot to ARMED! and luckily there is a really good tutorial to walk you through the mechanics of the game. In just tinkering with ARMED! for a few minutes, the graphics are impressive and the game play not too shabby either.

There is a trial version available for ARMED! and the full version is running $3.99. It is a mango app for your Windows Phone and you can grab ARMED! here at the Marketplace.

via: wp7connect thanks Danny p for the tip!