samsung zone

Samsung continues to support its Windows Phones with OEM app updates. Today we're looking at two apps from the Samsung Zone that have been recently updated. Both Now and RSS Times have been bumped to new versions (3.7.0.2 and 2.0.2) with the former removing top tweets and adding in a currency converter. We're not entirely sure what's new in its RSS reader.

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Samsung has released a number of updates for its collection of Windows Phone apps, found on the Samsung Zone. We can confirm that a number of notifications have been received for multiple apps. It's good to see Samsung continuing to support Windows Phone with updates to its core list of apps exclusively available to customers. So what's been updated?

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Samsung is back at work updating their core apps, which is good news for the handful of you ATIV owners out there. 

Samsung’s Now app is actually not a half bad “all in one” spot for your local weather, news, stocks and even social information. It’s laid out nicely, has a double wide main tile and is surprisingly zippy (even though the load screen doesn’t match the ATIV’s resolution).

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We give some grief to Samsung around these parts often enough, even though we actually dig the ATIV S. The company seems very tepid in their treatment and that’s been felt by you, the audience. Case in point, when Nokia updates their apps, we get flooded with tips. When Samsung does the same (and one can argue it’s more significant due to its rarity), we get one tip. C’est la vie.

Still, that won’t hamper us from celebrating when they do choose to update some of their apps and they’ve done a few this week.

Check out our coverage and video tour of Samsung's apps for Windows Phone 8 after the break...

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Samsung releases Wireless Manager app

Not exactly the most exciting app to hit the Samsung Zone, but if you need call forwarding on the new Focus S or Flash, you'll want to make sure you grab this.

"Wireless Manager allows Samsung Windows Phone users to easily apply settings for call forwarding, call waiting and APN."

Hey, we just said that Mr. app description! The program won't work on the Focus/Cetus. Those users are instructed to use the already exiting Network Profile app.

Grab Wireless Manager here in the Samsung Zone.

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, for

Samsung as an odd habit in their Marketplace aka the 'Samsung Zone': they tend to release things and then pull them, no reason given and then sometimes, they return.

Such was the case with Diodict (see review) awhile back, which was a pretty robust off-line dictionary app for any Samsung Windows Phone. About a month after our review, the app was suddenly yanked from the Marketplace without explanation and it has yet to return. Flash forward to today and at least in the U.K., some other offerings from Diodict appear to be listed, for free, specifically six Collins dictionaries:

  • English
  • Portuguese-English
  • Italian-English
  • French-English
  • Spanish-English
  • German-English

The apps are not yet listed in the Samsung Zone and that usually happens right when it something goes live to the Marketplace (it takes a few days for it to work over to the OEM app stores), so you'll have to search for 'Diodict' on your phone to find 'em. Now, when we tried this on our phone in the U.S., we found the dictionaries but they are all going for $22.99 or higher. However, reader Steve aka 'Tahiti Bob' supplied us with the above photos showing at least in his part of the world, there are two listings for the apps and clearly some are co-listed as Samsung Electronics and are completely free.

So is this a sign of things to come for the rest of us? Maybe. We'll keep an eye out and you let us know if you find anything similar, m'kay? Thanks, Steve, for the info and pics

Update: Looks like we won't be getting this here in the U.S. (nor China, Korea or Japan), as the app as the image below demonstrates. Thanks, VoodooKing, for the screen grab.

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