Leaked images of Windows 10 for phones show us what to expect

Assuming Microsoft does not stick to its "after the Seahawks win the Superbowl" deadline, some time this month we should be getting a preview release of Windows 10 for phones. We had a brief glimpse at the new version of the company's phone operating system last month, but we haven't seen much of the new system so far.

Dozens of leaked screenshots posted on Chinese site ITHome give us a much clearer look at what's going to be in the preview release when it eventually materializes.

The first big thing is the branding: the operating system calls itself Windows 10 Mobile Technical Preview. We have already seen that Microsoft has resurrected the Mobile label for its smartphone and small tablet version of Windows, but we're not altogether pleased to see it visible to users. If feelings toward the Windows and Windows Phone brands are mixed, those toward the Windows Mobile brand are almost universally negative.

Of course, the problem is that it's a descriptive enough name; this is the Windows version for mobile devices, a category that's broader than just phones. The logic is understandable. But the historic association is quite undesirable.

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Office Lens Adds One More Reason to Buy a Windows Phone

With Microsoft currently hard at work on Windows 10 for phones, Windows Phone 8.1 needs all the apps and services it can get to lure users away from rivals like the iPhone and devices running Google’s Android operating system. That’s where Office Lens comes in, a recent update has finally given it everything it needs to kill off a cumbersome staple of the home office: the scanner.

Microsoft revealed a big update to its Office Lens app for smartphones running its Windows Phone operating system just yesterday in a blog post. One of the new feature additions is the ability to turn pictures of documents directly into a PDF.

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There are about 400, 000 apps in the Windows Phone store, but search remains an issue

Microsoft had begun to combine the app-count of both the Windows and Windows Phone stores a while ago, and when we check the numbers now, we can see that there is an increase. The combined app store now has a total of 585,000 apps, all though I’d say this number has risen by a bit. While there may be a bit of an overlap between the two stores, I’d imagine the app store and Play store suffer from this as well with the further addition of *lite* and *pro* apps to replicate the native trial functionality developers enjoy on Windows.

Breaking out the app count is quite trivial, there is a website that allows you to see how many apps there are in the Windows 8 store here. As of writing this, there were 194k apps. (193k yesterday). Subtracting this number from the combined total gives a number of 391k apps, and that’s assuming the Windows Phone store has stayed static (spoiler alert- it hasn’t)

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Our Favorite Android, iOS, and Windows Phone Apps of the Week

App makers have officially shrugged off the holiday lethargy and are updating apps stores with amazing new additions to make all our lives collectively easier. Or at the very least much prettier.

This week, Microsoft is on a crazed app development bender, building more lock screens for Android, buying one of the best calendar apps out there, and helping make its own Windows Phone platform even better. Let's take a look at what Microsoft and other developers are up to.

Android

Microsoft Garage is an amazingly wonderful program—it's like an app developing machine, creating smartphone software across iOS, Android, and Windows Phone. Its latest creation for Android reimagines the lock screen and incorporates some Microsoft services into what is probably your Google-filled smartphone existence. The lock screen pulls images from Bing, displays missed calls and texts, current weather and news, and of course, a Bing search bar.

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Microsoft Lumia 535 Review: Affordable Windows Phone but also uninspiring

The Microsoft Lumia 535 is a very crucial device for the Redmond giant. You could very well call it Microsoft's poster child. Why, you ask?

If you haven't noticed yet, this is the first Lumia handset that comes sans the Nokia branding. Now for most of us, 'Nokia' is not just some brand. It means so much more: takes you back to the good old days, doesn't it?

Fast forward to April, 2014 when Microsoft took over Nokia's Devices and Services business (including both smart as well as mobile devices) and you knew things wouldn't be the same again. Love it or loath it, the Lumia 535 is the first handset of the Microsoft-Nokia era, and is a first of many to come.

At Rs.8,999, the Microsoft Lumia 535 takes a path no other Lumia handset has dared tread upon with respect to specifications on-board. All this while its design aesthetics will keep you well within familiar territory that Lumia devices have been known for. Sadly, as a product the Lumia 535 has several shortcomings that stop it from challenging other top budget phones in the market. What are these? We explain.

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Qualcomm LiQUID might be Windows 10 QHD Lumia 2520 successor

Microsoft may have practically sealed the fate of Windows RT with the demise of the Surface (not Pro) tablets, but it seems it has something quite interesting in the works. Rumors of a 2K display, Snapdragon 805 device for Windows Phone have been going around but, considering recent announcements and rebranding, that seems to be taking a slightly different turn. Indeed, a GFXBench listing now shows an ARM tablet bearing those features and running a "WINDOWS" operating system, hinting this could very well be the successor to 2013's Lumia 2520.

Back then, the Lumia 2520, still under the Nokia brand, was a rather odd duck. It was, in a way, inevitable as the company's first full-fledged tablet. But instead of Windows Phone, it ran Windows RT, the only non-phone Windows variant for ARM devices. Fast forward to today, Windows RT is dead, but Windows on ARM devices have yet to see a writing on the wall. This Qualcomm LiQUID might very well stay death's hand for a while.

Windows runs on tablets, no doubt about that, but each and every one of those are powered by Intel, or sometimes even AMD, chips. If the speculation does come to pass, this will most likely be the first ARM-powered Windows 10 tablet that the market will see. That is, if rather enterprising Chinese device makers don't beat Microsoft to the punch.

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New Windows Phone device to be launched by Colors Mobile in Nepal

In it's bid to conquer the world with Windows Phone, Microsoft has adopted some unusual, yet creative, ideas by which to win the public over. By far, the most prominent of these has been its efforts to bring more localized OEMs into the fray through the use of reference designs.

With the likes of Blu, Micromax, and Kazam joining the platform in the last year, or at least announcing their intentions to do so, this approach has seen some success. As such, the news that Nepal's own Colors Mobile is to launch a Windows Phone device within the coming year is welcoming news.

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Windows 10 for phones preview release tipped for 4 February

The preview version of Windows 10 for phones will reportedly be released in a couple of days.

Nokiapoweruser had earlier reported, via its sources, that the technical preview for phones will be released within 2-4 weeks from 21 January, which is opposed to Microsoft's given schedule for late February.

A new disclosure from an anonymous tipster, quoted by the site, now asserts that the first preview build of Windows 10 for phones will be out on the 4th of February. Considering this release timing is too early, take this information with a pinch of salt.

There is a good chance that Microsoft might release the preview build soon, as only a few days ago Microsoft had pushed out an update for the 'Phone Insider' app that will allow registered Insiders to receive pre-release OS updates on their phones.

The name of the app is now 'Windows Insider' which hints that Microsoft is planning to have the Windows name across all platforms of Windows 10.

The update for Windows Insider now offers users the option of logging in with their Microsoft account, after registering as a Windows Insider. If you have already registered for your Windows 10 desktop, you are ready to go.

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