HTC 8X to reportedly gain access to Windows 10 Preview

Pretty much all of the WP8 Lumia smartphones are compatible with the Preview version of the upcoming Windows 10 OS. Many people have tried the test builds and helped shape the final version of Windows 10, which should kick off later this year.

There are lots of Windows Phone devices outside the Lumia lineup, but until today just one got the Windows 10 Preview treatment - the HTC One M8 for Windows. Today's rumor suggests another phone will be added to the list.

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Testing Windows 10 on Surface 3: Perfect combo or buggy embuggerance?

Microsoft's new Surface 3 tablet should be the perfect hardware for Windows 10, set to be released on 29 July. We put it to the test.

Microsoft's Surface experiment is significant on several levels. When the initial Surface device (running Windows on ARM, also known as Windows RT) was released in October 2012, it was the first time the company competed directly with its hardware partners.

Perhaps this was because it did not trust them to create tablets that worked well with Windows 8 and its curious hybrid personality, part touch-friendly and part wedded to keyboard and mouse. Surface was also an attempt to counter Apple's success with the iPad: tablets with long battery life, low maintenance, easy app deployment, and high resistance to malware.

Surface was also Microsoft's opportunity to show that a device running Windows could match the Mac's out-of-box-experience, where one company controls both hardware and software, and there is no pollution from adware or mis-conceived vendor enhancements.

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Led by the Lumia 535, Windows Phone sales surge ahead of iOS in Pakistan

While Windows Phone sales are growing steadily in major markets such as India and the EU, another country where this is also happening is Pakistan. Patrick Mercanton, head of marketing for Near-East, North Africa, Levant and Emerging Asia for Microsoft Mobile Devices, in an interview to The News has highlighted this drastic growth and stated that "Windows Phone is now officially the second smartphone ecosystem by volumes sales".

Mercanton claimed that the change of branding from "Nokia" to "Microsoft" hadn't faced a negative reaction from the Pakistani audience at all, and the people there have taken to the new branding just like they did with the former. Moreover, the actively growing amount of Nokia-made feature phones used in the country also had a positive impact, as people using these phones were more likely to use a Windows Phone made by Nokia/Microsoft as their next device.

The executive also said that people who already used the Windows desktop OS would be more likely to jump ship to the phone OS once Windows 10 officially launches in the country, with people being enticed by the "seamless experience across screens." Coupled with the competitive pricing of Microsoft Lumia smartphones- such as the Lumia 535 which costs roughly PKR 14000 (~$140) in the country, Windows Phone share is likely to increase over the next few months.

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Microsoft Lumia 940XL leaks - is this the new flagship Windows Phone?

It's been almost a year since the last flagship Windows smartphone - the Nokia Lumia 930 - was launched, so the platform is certainly due a new addition. Say hello to the Microsoft Lumia 940XL.

There have been a few rumours flying around about this handset, but we've now had the most comprehensive spec leak to date thanks to NokiaPowerUser.

While the site notes it's unsure whether the 940 XL name will stick for launch, it seems a little more confident with the specs it has.

The Lumia 940 XL is said to pack a 5.7-inch QHD display, octa-core Snapdragon 810 processor, 3GB of RAM, 32GB of storage, 20MP rear camera, 5MP front snapper, microSD slot and a slim, metallic unibody design.

That would see it comfortably compete with the Samsung Galaxy S6, HTC One M9, LG G4 and Sony Xperia Z3+.

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Microsoft Updates OneDrive on Windows Phone and Android

Not a lot of meat here, but Microsoft has announced updates to the OneDrive app on Windows Phone and Android. And each adds exactly one interesting new feature. On Windows Phone, that’s Cortana integration.

Windows Phone. The Windows Phone version of OneDrive now integrates with Cortana, the personal digital assistant. This means you can start a Cortana search (by saying “Hey, Cortana,” if you enabled that, or by manually starting Cortana by tapping the hardware Search button) of OneDrive by saying “OneDrive search for … “. So you can say something like “OneDrive search for Puerto Rico photos” and it will search your OneDrive storage for results that match. Microsoft says it also works with a specific word or phrase that is in an Office document or PDF.

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Windows Phone Market Share Will Surpass Android And iOS: Analysis

A recent market analysis conducted by International Data Corp. (IDC) predicts that the market share of the Windows Phone operating system (OS) is likely to surpass that of Apple's iOS and Google's Android by 2019. It reveals that in the coming four years, the market share of Windows Phone -- which is expected to be 3.2 percent in 2015 -- is expected to rise to 5.4 percent in 2019. Shipments are expected to grow twofold, from 46.8 million in 2015 to 103.5 million units in 2019.

According to IDC, at the end of this year, Android will record a market share of 79.4 percent. This year, 1.15 billion Android units are predicted to be shipped and the IDC analysis forecasts that there will be 8.5 percent growth in shipment of Android devices this year.

With 237 million iPhones expected to ship in 2015, the global market share of iOS will reach 16.4 percent. IDC claims that year-over-year growth of iOS will be 23 percent. The report predicts that there will be exponential growth of 34.1 percent for Windows Phone. The Windows Phone OS will be shipped in 46.8 million units this year. This will help Microsoft’s OS to gain a market share of 3.2 percent.

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App makers cool to Microsoft overtures

Bill Rigby

Microsoft's plan to make its new version of Windows a mobile hit by letting it accept tweaked Apple and Android apps has met an obstacle: some of the software developers the company needs to woo just aren't interested.

Windows phones accounted for just 3 percent of global smartphone sales last year, compared with about 81 percent for devices with Google's Android system and 15 percent for Apple and its iOS system, according to research firm IDC. One reason is that Windows doesn't run as many or as attractive apps as its rivals.

To boost sales of its phones and new operating system, Microsoft said last month that it would provide tools to software developers to make it easier to design apps for Windows based on apps that run on Android or Apple. But because so few people use a Windows phone, most developers remain focused on the more popular systems and don't see a need to develop apps for Windows. They also said they doubt how easy the new tools will be to use.

"Windows phone will have to gain a significant share of the market before this becomes something that saves us time and/or money," said Sean Orelli, a director at app development firm Fuzz Productions in New York, which makes apps related to Citibank, the New York Post, and Conde Nast, among others.

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Dropbox for Windows Gets Faster Downloads; Now a Universal App

Dropbox has updated its app for Windows 8.1and Windows Phone 8.1, adding some important features in the process. The big news is that the Dropbox Windows app is now universal, which in this case means that you can download the same app on all Windows devices. Improved download speeds, support for multiple concurrent uploads, and better support for keyboard shortcuts are some of the other improvements in the latest update.

Dropbox for Windows 8.1 users can now create and manage shared folders within the app. The app also has added support for common keyboard shortcuts ctrl+A (select all) and ctrl+F (search). Desktop users of Dropbox should be able to download files faster, as that's another feature added in the latest update.

In comparison, Dropbox for Windows Phone 8.1 has received several more features with the latest update, bringing it closer to the Android and iOS apps. The most important feature is the ability to upload all kinds of files, not just photos. An extension of that feature is the ability to directly download files to your device or its microSD card. You can now select multiple files and upload them concurrently, which is great for those who rely on Dropbox.

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Windows Phone Devs claim Google is trying to strangle platform by cutting advertising

Is Google Inc., trying to strangle the viability of developers creating apps for Microsoft Corp.’s Windows Phone by cutting back their ad returns?

That what at least some Windows Phone developers believe with reports over the weekend that ads returns from Google’s AdMob mobile advertising service plummeted off a cliff following the announcement at Microsoft’s Build 2015 conference that the Redmond, Washington, based tech giant was going to make it easier to port Android apps to Windows Phone.

Complaints first appeared on a Google Groups support forum May 8 from developers claiming to be seeing massive drops in ad serve rates, and, as a result, huge reductions in the amount of money they were earning.

“The fill rate now is kissing the floor… 99% to 7% in one day” one user wrote, with another claiming “now the AdMob is a waste of time and money. No reply from support, really bad ads/fill rate/rpm…AdMob is only profitable on Android, as iAds is profitable on iOS and pubCenter on WP. Or AdMob is dying (I think no) or trying to kill us.”

The complaints continued, with “One week, no response from AdMob support, the fill rate is 8%,” with another adding “Revenue decreased by 80%. Why this has happened?”

After others contributed, the conspiracy theories arched up, with one writing “Sure, the [sic] google is trying to kill the WP platform (and this huge drop was after the Build 2015, coincidence?), that’s obvious.”

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Microsoft Lumia 940 & Lumia 940 XL Windows 10 phones UK release date, price and specification rumours: When are the Lumia 940 & Lumia 940 coming out?

No longer just a desktop OS, Windows 10 will also run on phones and tablets - and the Microsoft Lumia 940 (codenamed Talkman) and 940 XL (codenamed Cityman) will be among the first Windows Phones to run Windows 10. Here we round up the Microsoft Lumia 940 & 940 XL UK release date, price and specs rumours. When are the Lumia 940 & 940 XL coming out? Also see: Best Windows Phones 2015 and Best smartphones 2015.

Microsoft Lumia 940 & 940 XL UK release date: When are the Lumia 940 & 940 XL coming out?

The fact that the Microsoft Lumia 940 and 940 XL run Windows 10 means we'll be waiting a little while yet for them to arrive. The Lumia 930 went on sale in the UK on 17 July 2014, so it'll be later this summer before the 940 and 940 XL make an appearance.

It's probable that the Lumia 940 and 940 XL will arrive with Windows 10. On 21 January Microsoft held a Windows 10 event, during which it unveiled a Consumer Preview of the OS. Read more about the Windows 10 UK release date, price and new features here.

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LG Lancet With Verizon Branding Spotted; Full Specs Of Windows Phone Device Revealed

Since 2011, South Korean tech company LG has not launched a smartphone running Microsoft's Windows Phone OS as it has been concentrating on rolling out devices for Google's Android. Then LG said last year that it would go back to Windows Phone platform, but even after the announcement it did not reveal any Windows Phone handset.

However, in the last month, LG released an image showing a new Windows Phone with Verizon branding. Windows Central has received an official e-brochure of the LG Lancet. The images show the handset with the Verizon logo. The model number of the device is VW820. Going by the specs of the device, it can be understood that the LG Lancet is not a high-end flagship device but a midrange device with modest specs.

LG Lancet Specifications

The LG Lancet comes with a 4.5-inch display that supports FWVGA resolution of 854 x 480 pixels. The device will be powered by the Snapdragon 410 chipset that features a quad-core processor that clocks at 1.2 GHz. The e-brochure does not contain any details on the amount of RAM for the device. However, Windows Central is of the view that it will come with 1 GB of RAM.

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Windows 10 release date for desktop and laptops coming first, followed by smartphones and tablets

Microsoft is gearing up to release its 'unified interface' Windows 10 platform during the month of May, but according to Joe Belfiore, Windows phones and tablets will not be receiving the update in that particular month. According to The Verge, the executive states:

"Our phone builds have not been as far along as our PC builds. We're adapting the phone experiences later than we're adding the PC experiences. There are devices and features that will come not on launch date, but following it. From the device view, our main focus is to kick off the Windows 10 launch wave with a great launch on the PC. You should expect that the other devices — phone, HoloLens, Xbox, Surface Hub — will be staggered, probably not on the same date as the PC."

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Microsoft launches Office 2016 consumer preview, pushing universal apps to Windows phones 'soon'

The next generation of Office is coming, and you can see it now: Microsoft opened up Office 2016, to public preview on Monday morning. The company also said that its current generation of Office universal apps will go live on Windows phones soon.

Microsoft is still on track to ship the new version of Office 2016 by this fall, company executives said at its Ignite conference in Chicago, as they try to convince an audience of IT professionals to adopt the Microsoft vision.

The Office 2016 preview track will be much like the Windows 10 Insider program. Users can download the new Office 2016 software and will receive new preview updates as Microsoft rolls them out. Microsoft previously launched a developer preview of Office 2016 for IT departments, but this is a more full-featured release. You don't need an existing Office 365 subscription or have Office already installed on your PC, either.

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15 Lumia 930 & Windows Phone 8.1 Tips

Microsoft’s Windows Phone 8.1 operating system didn’t exactly help smartphones made by other companies topple Apple’s iPhone dynasty. That being said, phones running the operating system are finally competitive with the iPhone in terms of features and extras – something that wasn’t easily said about it before the Windows Phone 8.1 update.

Windows Phone 8.1 added Cortana, the personal assistant that’s now on its way to notebooks, desktops, tablets and 2-in-1s with the upcoming Windows 10 update. Microsoft also added a File Explorer and common sense syncing that makes owning a Windows Phone instead of an iPhone a must for any Windows user.

Here are 15 tips for Windows Phone 8.1 and Windows phones of every cost and color, including the Nokia Lumia 930.

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The Best iPhone Alternatives Running Windows Phone – April

Windows Phone, the software that Microsoft users to power its own iPhone alternatives and the iPhone alternatives of others, is in the middle of a transition. At some point later this year Microsoft has plans to finally reveal a new flagship that many hope will give high-end Android phones and the iPhone 6 the competition they need. Until then, Windows Phones hardware makers are playing it low-key, releasing low cost iPhone alternatives where it makes sense and leaving the rest of their mobile ecosystem in stasis.

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Microsoft releases Windows 10 for phones preview build 10052 with major fixes

Microsoft has released a new build 10052 of Windows 10 Technical Preview for phones.

The latest build is a more minor update than build 10051, which was made available just a few days ago, and includes major fixes for the issues affecting Windows Insiders. There are no new features, but with the fixes added in, it is expected to make the build smoother.

Fixes in build 100052

Flight mode can now be enabled.
Users can now disable data connections.
The bug that caused phone's MMS settings to be lost after upgrading from build 9941.
The issue in which users couldn't download keyboards for additional languages.
The issue where the viewfinder in the camera app composed incorrectly on devices including the Lumia 1020.

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Microsoft issues new bug-fix-focused Windows 10 Mobile test build

Microsoft has rolled out yet another new test build of its Windows 10 Mobile release -- one that is focused almost entirely on quashing bugs.

The new Windows 10 Mobile build, 10052, is a follow-up to the last Windows 10 Mobile release (build 10051) which Microsoft made available on April 10.
The build released today, April 21, to Windows Insiders works only on select Lumia Windows Phone devices, as has been the case with the previous two builds.

The April 21 build does work on Lumia 520 devices. Microsoft temporarily had pulled build availability of the Windows 10 Mobile preview for Lumia 520, 525 and 526 devices following user reports of problems, including, in some cases, bricked phones, when attempting to roll back to Windows Phone 8.1 using the Windows Phone Recovery Tool.

The April 21 build seemingly still does not work on flagship Lumia Icon (929) or Lumia 930 devices, due to screen size/scaling issues. It also still doesn't yet support Windows Phones from any of Microsoft's phone OEMs.

Today's build includes fixes to a number of Windows 10 Mobile issues, including various data connection, MMS settings, and Camera Viewfinder issues.

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​Microsoft issues fix for Lumia phones bricked by Windows 10 Fast lane

Microsoft has released a possible fix for low-end Lumia smartphones that have been bricked after installing an early Windows 10 preview build.

It seems a shortage of memory in the Lumia 520 and Lumia 525 is behind the bricking of some of the units, after owners installed a Windows 10 Technical preview build, named 10051, released through Microsoft's tester Fast lane.

In an update on its Windows Insider Program site on Friday, Microsoft said only a "small portion" of Lumia 520 and 521 devices were affected.

Microsoft last week pulled down the test build for the Lumia 520, 525, and 526, following reports that some of the handsets were becoming unusable, typically after using Microsoft's Windows Phone Recovery Tool (WPRT) to roll back to Windows Phone 8.1. Affected devices were left with "no direct way for an end-user to check their device", Microsoft said.

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Microsoft Windows 10 Technical Preview update withheld: Users report bricking while downgrading to Windows Phone 8.1

The much anticipated Windows 10 Technical Preview software update is now rolling out across the globe.

However, things do not seem to be rosy for a section of users, as their devices got bricked after they tried to down grade to Windows Phone 8.1 from 10, using the Windows Phone Recovery tool.

According to a GSMArena report, and a posting on the official Microsoft Community blog, users of Lumia 520, Lumia 525 and Lumia 526 have reported problems. The phone is bricked while downgrading to the older Windows Phone 8.1 post installation of the latest Windows 10 for Phones Preview that is available via the Windows Insider Application.

These users have reported that their handsets were bricked while they rolled-back to Windows Phone 8.1 (after installing Windows 10 Preview) via the Windows Phone Recovery tool.

This has led to Microsoft temporarily stalling the roll-out of Windows 10 Technical Preview to Lumia 520, Lumia 525 and Lumia 526 users.

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Windows Phone 10 latest: Less stuff that does more - plus IE-killer Project Spartan

Hands On Last week Microsoft released Windows 10 Technical Preview for phones, build 10051, as part of its Windows Insider preview series.

This is by no means a stable build, especially on a low-end phone like our Lumia 635. The built-in apps crash from time to time and sometimes the entire OS freezes. Another common problem is chopped-off text.

That said, it does provide a look at Microsoft’s progress in implementing universal apps, which run both on desktop Windows 10 and on phones and tablets, as well as an update on how Windows 10 for phones is coming together.

There is plenty new in this release. It now runs on most Lumia 8.1 devices, as opposed to the short list previously supported, and includes Project Spartan, Microsoft’s new web browser. Other new apps include Phone, Messaging, People, Maps, Mail and Calendar.

One thing you will not find is the Office hub, which provided viewing and editing for Word, Excel and PowerPoint documents. This is because a more capable universal version of these apps is on the way. A preview of Universal Office is already available for Windows 10 on PCs, but Microsoft has more work to do in scaling it for the phone.

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