store

In reaction to Windows 8 going official today and Surface RT tablets coming tomorrow, Microsoft has also made some changes to what Bing shows for results.

The adjustment people will notice on their new Windows 8 devices is that searches for general terms like “travel” will now show Windows 8 Store results too with a convenient download button to the Store. Of course those of you with Windows Phones should already know this behavior when you do searches on your phone. Just another neat example of how Microsoft can leverage Bing for a better Windows experience.

Speaking of Windows Phone, some of those earlier announced changes to the Store for searching are also slowly taking effect of which you can read about here. Thanks, Dustin P., for the tip!

Just like our London busses, you wait around for ages and then they all come at once. It seems that someone has flicked a switch somewhere and released a few updates today for Windows Phone.

Of particular note, Amazon Mobile on its way up to version 1.9.1 and picks up support for the oh-so close Windows Phone 8. It’s good to see some developers with early access readying their apps for the shiny new operating system which is only days away.

Gamertags—they can be fun but also quite ridiculous. Same with people’s first names but probably less so, which may be the reason why the Windows Phone Store has started to use them.

A few readers told us of the changes and sure enough, when you now look at reviews for apps you’re more likely to see “Pat”, “Sarah” and “Kyle” than “Moonstomper82”.  What’s more, you will no longer see those generic usernames that are left when someone doesn’t have a Gamertag yet, instead you just see “User”.

In our opinion it does make the Store look much more clean and is easier to read, it also doesn’t look quite as juvenile as before (don’t worry, we’re sure your username is the coolest).

What do you folks think? Thumbs up or down and what negatives are there, if any? Thanks, Garret C. and others for the tip

Users are being told to 'update' only to go back to Adobe's ugly past

We’ve reported on some issues with the Windows Phone Store lately, including oddities with updates. And just a few days ago Microsoft said they had started to roll out some fixes to improve things. We’re not sure if that has anything to do with Adobe’s “issue” here but it is coincidental.

Now, users are being prompted for an update to the app—we had ours this morning. The problem is if you scroll down through the notes, you’ll see the version is listed as 9.0. That’s a downgrade from the “new” 10.1 that was rolled out three weeks ago. In fact, a recent update (v10.1.1) was pushed to users though we have no idea what the changelog was for, but presumably it may have been the start of this recent update error.

Just a quick reminder for those of you lucky enough to live in certain areas, Microsoft will be cutting the ribbon on no less than four new retail Stores this weekend in the US. Those citeis are

• Huntington Station, NY (9/28)
• White Plains, NY (9/28)
• Salem, NH (9/29)
• Newark, DE (9/29)

That’s sure to keep the folks at Microsoft busy and since we conveniently live near Huntington Station, we’ll be there to cover the opening event starting at 10:30am (ribbon cutting around 10:45, we hear). From there, you can collect your wristbands for the free concert later in the day, which features John Legend and Taio Cruz. Also on Saturday, football star Curtis Martin will there too...

The Windows Phone Central Store has been updated to feature accessories and products for the recently announced Windows Phone 8 hardware. The Nokia Lumia 920, 820, as well as the Samsung ATIV S and HTC 8X, 8S are all now supported by our popular store, which has shipped more than 2 million orders.

We previously looked at the Windows Phone Central Store (as well as other stores within the Mobile Nations network) taking advantage of cheaper shipping to provide a first class service to a larger audience. With international shipping a breeze our readers can get the most out of their Windows Phone(s) with a full range of accessories for all handsets on the platform.

Microsoft has revealed the entire list of pop-up stores (or holiday stores) it plans to open throughout North America this coming holiday season. It's a positive sign to see Microsoft build a larger retail presence to combat its main competitor - Apple. 32 stores will open up shop in 20 US states, as well as shops in British Columbia, Toronto, and Alberta, Canada. 

With the imminent release of Windows 8, coupled with new Office, Surface tablets and Windows Phone hardware, there's plenty of opportunity for Microsoft to build on its branding revamp to a more simplistic and modern feel. It's a common thought that Microsoft has almost become a new company to what consumers have grown accustomed to.

You'll soon be purchasing apps from the Store

In the recent announcement of Microsoft launching the new Developer Center for the Windows Phone community, the company has also revealed a potential rebranding of the Windows Phone Marketplace. This is an expected move, which we'll rate as a strong possibility. The Windows 8 Store is present in the next version of Microsoft's desktop operating system, so to remain consistent it makes sense to bring in a new name.

Microsoft is set to unveil a number of holiday retail stores including Manhattan in New York City, according to a handful of published job listings. We previously looked at a number of potential locations for Microsoft stores in an unofficial list, but it's good to see evidence of actual positions at future stores open up.