SMS

A lot of hay has been made over Windows Phone "Tango" aka CR3/build 8773 of Microsoft's mobile OS. The update contains a lot of minor things and is mostly focused on compatibility with 256MB devices for emerging markets and low-cost Windows Phones.

Nokia is hard at work with updating their ROMs for all Lumia phones and in fact if you use Navifirm to check, the Lumia 710 and 800 are getting heavily populated with new Tango updates, presumably being readied for roll-out in June.

We grabbed one of those ROM, OS 8773 with firmware 12120 from Mexican carrier Telcel to see what it has on board. Presumably, these changes you see in the above video will also be on the Lumia 800 and 900 ROMs as well, so consider this a sneak peek. Here is what's new:

• Call forwarding - forward your calls to a designated number for (1) all calls (2) when I don't answer (3) when I am busy (4) when my phone is turned off
• Call waiting - enable/disable
• SMS delivery confirmation* - on/off
• MMS delivery confirmation* - on/off
• SMS Character set - Reduced (no accents, standard SMS) or Full
• Send MMS acknowledgement* - on/off
• Internet Sharing (aka WiFi tethering)
• Enhanced MMS - Send voice notes, multiple images, video
• Nokia branded Marketplace icon

As you can see, some of those features are pretty great (especially Internet Sharing) but they're also not necessarily "must have" items either, making Tango a minor update, something we've been emphasizing for some time now. Still, Nokia has done a nice job here and we expect T-Mobile to roll this out sometime in June officially (just a guess).

Some of you may wonder if the OS feels any different (faster, smoother, etc.) and to our eyes, no, it feels exactly the same. Perhaps there are some optimizations here and there but we really didn't notice it. We should also note the MMS issues we had in the video are probably due to this not being a T-Mobile ROM and more over, Nokia pulled their Network app to be fixed  (it'll be back soon) so we can't configure our MMS gateway for T-Mobile.

If you have any questions, ask away in comments. And yes, we'll see about whipping up a tutorial on how loaded Tango on our T-Mobile phone for you 'leet hackrz out there.

* Items with asterisk were not covered in video

Here's an interesting little gem: On February 1st, AT&T pushed out a new app to the Marketplace called "AT&T Secure Messaging". Part of their new service, the app looks to be an excellent addition for Windows Phone users on the all-powerful network. From the app's description:

"AT&T Secure Messaging enables the exchange of encrypted messages between businesses, enterprises and government agencies who are using AT&T's Global Smart Messaging Suite powered by Soprano. AT&T Secure Messaging ensures your sensitive personal data is protected -  for example, a one-time password from your bank/online payment broker or a healthcare appointment reminder. Your secure messages are encrypted, then sent to the AT&T Secure Messaging mobile application and decoded, ready for you to read."

Fascinating stuff, especially for Windows Phone users in those key industries. For perhaps obvious reasons, we have no experience with AT&T's Global Smart Messaging Suite, but a quick trip to their site gives a plethora of details on the service which even regular consumer can opt-into (for a hefty price):

"The AT&T Global Smart Messaging Suite is a powerful web-based application designed for large enterprise messaging and communication. The AT&T Global SMS service enables 2-way communication (via SMS or e-mail), and can reach employees and opted in consumer subscribers at most wireless carriers globally. AT&T can help organizations get started using domestic short codes for cross-carrier SMS messaging, and the AT&T platform can also be extended on a global scale for messaging to employees and consumers worldwide."

Think of it as an in-house messaging service akin to Exchange. This push by AT&T into secure message delivery seems to be relatively new. A quick glance on YouTube shows a recently uploaded video detailing how this service can benefit the healthcare industry like hospitals in protecting vital doctor-patient data. Of course in the demonstration Android and RIM are shown using the service but it's now clear that AT&T also intend for Windows Phone to be there too as the app and service are both ready to use. That's good news as this could be a big area for AT&T to be entering especially as institutions look to support the many different devices of their end users.

If you're on AT&T you can find the app here in the Marketplace. QR code and video demonstration of the service can be found after the break. Thanks, Ben H., for the find!

Queue "Eye Of The Tiger," as it looks like group-texting app GroupMe is looking to make a comeback to Windows Phone.  The developers have put out a call across the Twittersphere for Windows Phone users in New York to do some testing on the evening of February 16.  GroupMe first cropped up in the Marketplace in July, and a month later, it was announced that it had been bought out by Skype (pronounced: Microsoft).  There was very little action post-announcement, until a major update was announced in December.  However, since then, GroupMe has been MIA from the Marketplace. 

There are no details on what is on the horizon for February 16, but if you want to be a guinea pig for GroupMe, you can sign up directly here, or via the source link.

Source: GroupMe (via Twitter); Thanks for the tip, Travis!

Need to spice up your text messages? Want to drive your friends crazy with upside down text messages? Want to do the same with Facebook, Twitter and Windows Live posts?

If you do, check out MyTextTwister over at the Windows Phone Marketplace. MyTextTwister adds a creative touch to your messages and posts with text effects such as inverted, rounded, leet speak, and lots of ASCII art effects.  A recent update to the app added a holiday theme to the available art effects.

MyTextTwister's interface is simple. You have one field to enter your text in a normal fashion and a preview field to show the effected text. Just below these two field is where you choose your Twisting Logic. Down below are buttons to add ASCII decorations, send the text to your SMS client, email the text or send it to a Facebook, Twitter or Windows Live.

It is noted in MyTextTwister's Marketplace description that sending ASCII arts and text effects relies on your service provider's support for sending 16-bit unicode text SMS and the receiving phone's support to receive such messages.

MyTextTwister is an interesting Windows Phone app to give your text messages and social media posts a unique flare. MyTextTwister is a free, ad-supported mango app that you can grab here at the Windows Phone Marketplace.

Note this as a strange, but useful app. See Through Messaging for Windows Phone allows the user to create SMS messages and emails on an overlay on top of a real time view of what's behind your handset via the camera. Basically, you can type while looking through your phone.

We've seen this before with TransparentTXT, which runs for $2.49, but See Through Messaging goes for the low, low price of free. (And of course LG users have had 'Look N Type' for free for ages through their app store).

Should you find yourself on the move while contacting other people, See Through Message could save you some embarrassment when not paying attention to what's in front of you. Only downside we noticed was there's not auto-correct nor word suggestions, which means your texting perambulations will be filled with errors, unless you're careful.

Download See Through Messaging from the Marketplace for nothing at all.

The first of the big announcements for the user end is Mango will be bringing messenger to Windows Phone 7, which will support groups and threaded chat. SMS conversations will also receive this threaded feature as well as the ability to group texts. Allows integrated communication to friends without running applications for specific tasks. Windows Live will see a more prominent presence.

Also on the groups note, Live Tiles for individual contacts will notify the user upon changes with alerts for new emails etc. from that specific contact.

As yet another sign that Microsoft is hardly giving up on WM6.x devices, they have just announced the ability to update Mobile Outlook on WM6.1 devices.

Such an update is key for the hundreds of thousands of Windows phone users who are still using "legacy" devices such as the Treo line (750, 800w, Treo Pro; HTC Diamond, Mogul, etc.). While these devices are considered old by today's standards, no doubt many in enterprise still rely on them for daily use.

The update is mostly to make said devices compatible with Microsoft Exchange Server 2010, which is a major update to the popular infrastructure solution.

Threaded email with Exchange is supported (but not the cool, universal type found in some WM6.5.3 builds) Other enhancements include the ability to sync SMS messages, calendar lookup and enhanced voicemail (via Exchange).

Unfortunately, it is not obvious how regular customers can just upgrade via a .cab file, though we'll keep a lookout and keep you posted.

Update: In comments, Kareljack gives us this link for the .cab file update. But it is also noted that these new features only work with an Exchange 2010 account (either at your work or hosted).

[via ZDNet]

Y'all remember that 2016-SMS timestamp bug we discussed a few weeks ago? The one that caused all incoming text messages to be dated from the year 2016?

Well, good news as HTC has released patches for Telus, US Cellular and Alltel users (Sprint got theirs last week; not a peep though from Verizon yet).

Telus

• Diamond
• Touch Pro
• Touch Pro 2

Alltel

• Touch Pro
• Diamond (n/a)

US Cellular

• Touch Pro 2
• Touch Pro (n/a)

Remember, these don't play too well with custom ROMs, so best to stick with the 'Ziggy' patch.  

Sure, this was an unfortunate bug, but three to four weeks isn't too bad for an official patch, we suppose...we mean in comparison to where we were a few years ago (Anyone remember the Sprint 700wx SMS debacle? That was like a 6 month wait!)

[Thanks to Gregory P for the Telus tip!]