movies

Movie app Flixster, which offers access to showtimes, movie trailers and Rotten Tomatoes reviews, has made the leap to Mango in its newest version 1.6. 

The biggest improvement is the ability to create multiple live tiles for favorite movies and theaters.  Movies that get pinned to the start screen flip between the movie poster and the Rotten Tomatoes score, along with a tomato or "splat" icon.  Version 1.6 also includes Bing mobile search integration and fast app switching.

You must have Mango installed on your device for this update.  If you do, you can get Flixster here (opens Zune) at the Marketplace.

Thanks to Travis S. for the tip!

Using the Windows Phone 7 Connector for OS X can prove to be a drag when attempting to transfer a movie from iTunes to your handset. The progress bar gives the false impression that it's stuck and one tends to get frustrated, especially if you're like me and only synchronise your device just before you leave the house.

OS X user Marin got in touch with us to let everyone in on a more efficient way to transfer movies to your WP7 handset and not having to wait 20 or so minutes. Should you have an avi copy of the movie at hand with an mp3 soundtrack, you can use software such as MP4Tools to convert and then import into iTunes. Windows Phone Connect should then pick up the movie and be able to transfer it to your device with much more efficiency.

Unfortunately, Marin noticed a drawback to this method (which I can confirm). The movie wont be playable in iTunes (as well as Xbox 360 consoles) and a stand-alone media player (such as VLC) will have to be used. But this should be no problem if you have a separate m4v copy. Let us know if this guide works for you and how it compares to transferring m4v movies to your device.

Thanks Marin for the tip and guide!

While we have been hearing for sometime now from developers about writing apps for Windows Phone 7, one of the biggies, Fandango has also thrown their hat in the ring in agreement.

In an interview with ComputerWorld, Darren Cross, head of business development at Fandango had this to mentioned that they  "...built a WP7 app from the ground up with two internal developers and outside contractors over a three-month period".

He also noted that it took about the same time to develop the app as it did for Android, but no surprise, Android is proving difficult with all the different devices and UI overlays--something with which WP7 will avoid due to its strict uniform hardware requirements.

Having been using the Android version for awhile now (it just hit 2.0) and also recently having played with the Windows Phone 7 version in NYC (see above picture), I have to say that Fandango has great ideas when it comes to mobile and users should be quite happy with the final app.

In preparation for Windows Phone 7, Microsoft is rolling out a beta-preview update for some Xbox users that features some new things including access to the Zune Marketplace, a re-designed UI and streaming video content (reported here earlier). The full preview contains: "ESPN on Xbox LIVE, Zune music, Netflix search, the new Xbox LIVE dashboard, and new updates to Zune video and Family Settings "

The new UI is very minimalist, having removed the next and previous "rows" from view and instead makes them just text when not highlighted. The effect is much cleaner looking now and truth be told, it's also much faster.

The Zune Marketplace allows you to buy or rent TV/movies in Standard or High Definition for various prices points ~200-300 points to rent ($3-4 roughly); ~800 points to buy (~$10).  Rentals are for 24 hours, whereas buying it allows you to stream or download (and later can sync to our devices with Windows Phone 7). The movie, TV and video selection id decent with content mostly geared to males aged 15-35).

Unfortunately, there doesn't seem to be a way to stream music or podcasts directly from your Zune account and it's not clear if that is something they are planning. But overall the update is looking quite nice and we're pleased..

We'll have more coverage and an HD video up, probably in the AM tomorrow (as soon as our video camera shows up). Ask any questions in comments and we'll try to answer. For now, you can check out some more snapshots of the new UI and Zune Marketplace after the break!

Update: Received some clarification via email "...with Zune Pass, our monthly music subscription service, you stream or download as many songs as you like from the Zune Marketplace and listen to them for as long as you hold your subscription – on your PC, Windows Phone, Xbox, or in any browser via zune.net".  Sweet!

In what amounts to a direct shot across iTunes' bow (or it's a direct imitation of, depending on who you ask), Samsung is now offering movie downloads to customers in the UK and Germany. [via Engadget]

You get the option to buy or rent a DVD-quality flick, plus a mobile copy. For example's sake, The Dark Night's going for £16.99 (about $25 U.S.) to buy; £3.99 ($6 U.S.) to rent. The selection isn't half-bad, but we wouldn't really recommend trying to watch a movie on something smaller than an Omnia. But, hey, they're your eyes.

Check out all the fine details at www.SamsungMovies.com.