preview

Last night we cruelly teased about a potential way for Windows Phone 8 users to post to Instagram right from their devices. To be honest, we did that because it was just too late (too dark) to shoot video and yes, it was a good warm-up.

The good news is no, it is most definitely not a (late) April’s Fools’ joke. It’s 100% legitimate and yes, it will be submitted to the Windows Phone Store very soon.

Read past the break for our video walkthrough and images to serve as a teaser...

It’s no secret that we’re fans of mapping applications and with Windows Phone 7 we had a very capable built in mapping app created by Microsoft themselves that used the Bing mapping at the backend. Since then Microsoft have switched Bing to use Nokia's mapping platform on the web and now with the latest version of Windows Phone.

With Windows Phone 8 we see a marked upgrade to the baked-in capabilities of maps, as Nokia have embedded their “where” platform right into the heart of the OS. Nokia have just updated their Nokia Maps app to 3.0 and with it we start to see some of the big improvements that these underlying changes to the OS will bring. We think you're going to like it.

Whilst at the Windows Phone Dev Day in Bournemouth we got a chance to meet Ross Gouldthorpe, who has been developing for Windows Phone for two years. Ross was kind enough to give us a walkthrough of his upcoming Windows phone game, Atoms.

The game is also currently in development for the Xbox 360 and has a Nintendo DS homebrew counterpart. The game Atoms has roots as an old Amiga game of the same name. It started life as freebie on the cover of a magazine, which is where Ross first discovered it.  Ross tells me he still has his Amiga machines but these days they are locked up in storage, he does still have the Amiga CD32 connected to his TV though.

We’ve hinted at this before and the leak of the Windows Phone 8 SDK is validating our claim that “Apollo” will allow richer notification support for 3^rd party developers.

Developers will now be able to have their app send notifications to the Lock Screen with the content reflecting the app’s Live Tile:

“In Windows Phone, the lock screen contained a handful of notifications such as the number of new Outlook emails and text messages. In Windows Phone 8 Developer Preview, end users can choose to customize this area with any third party apps they choose. As a developer, you can enable your app to be used in this feature. “

An app can provide content for the following four items on the lock screen:

• The background image. This image is unrelated to lock screen notifications, and is documented at Lock screen background for Windows Phone.
• An app icon
• An app count
• App text

Igneous Software, not content with making their excellent BBC Podcast Lounge are surely striving for greatness with their upcoming launch of the BBC Radio Player. We had previously reported on their plans but were finally able to get hands on demo of it at last night’s Windows Phone User Group (WPUG).

The new player will improve on the previous version in a number of ways. The UI has been updated to closely follow that of the official apps on other platforms. Igneous have taken great care to replicate the colours and visual cues from the iPlayer whilst taking advantage of Metro’s inherent slick delivery of typography and graphics.

Back in October, we were happy to present to you an exclusive look at Shoot1UP from Mommy's Best Games but since then we haven't heard much on the title. The shoot 'em-up/bullet hell game brings some unique controls and exciting arcade gameplay to our trusty phones. Plus it comes with three free ringtones. Holla.

The game is here at E3, which is a bit of a pleasant surprise. What does that tell us? That this game is finally getting ready for its debut and we're stoked. The game should not be as hard as DoDonPachi which should be relief for many of you but it will still be challenging.

Shoot1Up features dense, detailed graphics with smooth gameplay. There's a lot going on here both in terms of moves, skills and goals so it should keep many of us busy. Read our detailed write up about the style and features of this game for more info.

Hey, look at that. We actually noticed it this morning but it didn't register in our sleepy heads, but Bing's Social Search "Preview" is now available for those luckily enough to reside in the US. No, we're not sure why it's only US but perhaps it's more of a rollout thing to work out the bugs and quirks.

Anyway, if you head on over to bing.com you can hit the "Preview" button and you'll see the new login near the upper right of the screen. You now have the option to login with your Live ID credentials (we lost all of our Bing reward points when we created a new ID) and you can also login with Facebook. No Twitter or G+ just yet which is a bit of a shame, well at least for the former.

We haven't see the new pane layout just yet but perhaps it's just us (we're not big Facebook users) Our new layout is now live including the social bar to the right. You can see more on Bing's Social Search features here on their new sub-site: http://social.discoverbing.com/.

Thanks, ArtSooby, for the tip

We've had the chance to look at an upcoming app from Igneous Software, who are responsible for the BBC Radio apps available on the Marketplace. Their latest project, BBC Podcast Lounge, does exactly what it says on the tin. The UI and design of the app is superb and follows on nicely from their previous radio apps, but it's the functionality and end-polish that shines in BBC Podcast Lounge.

On app launch you're greeted by the featured screen with tiles of top recommended podcasts. From here you can pan across and view all the genres (the BBC reportedly contains over 300 unique programmes) available, from Jazz and Rock all the way to Science and Soap, there's something for every taste. If you'd rather select shows by stations and / or region, a full list is present to break down the catalogue.

As well as the selection lists, programmes can be added to the favourites for more convenient access, but unfortunately they (or the radio stations) can't be pinned to the home screen. Search is also available, which will enable the user to filter through the programmes available in real-time. As well as the breakdown categories, featured, and favourites the main app screen also sports miscellaneous links for rating the app, etc. and providing feedback to the developers.

Playback is just what you'd expect from a generic media / music player, and with the included background playback functionality one can continue to battle zombies or help defeat Dr. Robotnik while listening to a gardening talk show. BBC Podcast Lounge also integrates itself into the list of applications in the Music and Video hub. Check out our quick walkthrough of the app below.

We expect BBC Radio Podcast to be hitting the Marketplace soon (we'll announce exactly when it's available). Note that features present in the video and covered by this preview article are subject to change. Igneous Software have stated they have plans to introduce a download manager and functionality for offline playback in the next version. Positive times ahead!