At last! BBC iPlayer is coming to Windows Phone

 

While we love Windows Phone, there’s no doubt that even two and a half years after launch, it’s still missing important apps, from Instagram to Google Maps. There’s some good news for Microsofties today though: at long last, BBC iPlayer is coming to the platform. Sort of.

Writing on the BBC’s blog, business development boss Cyrus Saihan has announced that the Beeb is teaming up with Microsoft to bring BBC iPlayer video streaming to Windows Phone 7.5 and Windows Phone 8 at long last. There’s no timeframe for a release just yet, but Saihan says to look out for updates in the “coming months”.

There’s one catch – BBC iPlayer on Windows Phone won’t be a full app. Instead, you’ll be able to download a Live Tile shortcut to your homescreen, which will then let you jump to the mobile website and catch up on Eastenders – which you haven’t been able to do on Windows Phone until now. That’s not a dealbreaker, but it does likely rule out updates and features that you’ll find on the BBC iPlayer iPhone app, like show downloads to watch on the go.

Still, in the battle for third place behind Android and iPhone between BlackBerry and Microsoft right now, every little helps. Will you be tuning into the Beeb on your Nokia Lumia? Sound off in the comments below.

Nokia unleashes the super cheap Lumia 520!

 

Nokia has lifted the lid on the Lumia 520 at this year’s Mobile World Congress – and it’s clear that the Finnish giant has its sights set firmly on the budget smartphone sector. Following on from the reasonably-priced and rather excellent Lumia 620, the Lumia 520 offers even more bang for your buck, with an estimated retail price of around €139 (around £120).

Amazingly the Lumia 520 is rocking Windows Phone 8, the latest and greatest version of Microsoft’s mobile operating system. It also boasts a five-megapixel autofocus camera, 8GB of internal memory, microSD card support and a 4-inch touchscreen which is so sensitive it even works when you’re wearing a pair of gloves – a prime consideration during those relentlessly frosty mornings.

The handset also has access to the Nokia Music service, which allows users to stream the latest tunes to their headphones for free, and all the usual mapping and navigation tools that Nokia is famous for.

The catch? The Lumia 520 isn’t coming to Europe right away, but will be released in the Far East to start with before trickling through to other markets. However, with those kind of specs and that kind of price, we’re pretty confident it will be worth the wait – and it should make the 2013 smartphone war very interesting indeed.

Is this low-cost blower the one that could transform you from a Windows Phone doubter to a card-carrying advocate? Leave a comment below to let us know.

www.easyappsbusiness.com

Super cheap Nokia Windows Phone coming next week!

 

Mobile World Congress kicks off next week, and rumours are flying about what Nokia’s going to unveil at its Barcelona press event on Monday morning. Now a new report says the Finns are prepping a new, even cheaper Windows Phone for next week.

Reuters reports that Nokia is hard at work on cheaper phones to combat Chinese competitors like Huawei and ZTE who are able to undercut their rivals with low prices – and one of the models on show will be a Lumia running full fat Windows Phone 8.

That’s music to our ears. Earlier this month, we tested out the already super affordable Lumia 620, calling it the best Windows Phone ever – with the same software experience at an even lower pricetag (Below £100, perhaps), we reckon Nokia could be on to a winner.

The report doesn’t say anything about the rumoured Nokia Windows Phone with a giant PureView image sensor, so we may not be seeing the Holy Grail of camera phones in Spain next week – tune in on Monday to find out what we will.

Like the sounds of super affordable Windows Phone

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Nokia Drive: Free satnav arrives on HTC and Samsung Windows Phone!

 

If you’re rocking one of HTC or Samsung’s new Windows Phone 8 blowers, Christmas has come extremely early for you this year. Nokia Drive+ has just arrived for non-Nokia smartphones, so you can start using them as a free satnav. So long, Bing Maps!

If you’re in the UK, US or Canada, Nokia Drive+ Beta should now be showing in the Windows Store. The update gives Samsung Ativ S, Windows Phone 8X and Windows Phone 8S owners the same free turn-by-turn navigation and offline map downloads as Nokia Lumia smartphones, so you can use them as a GPS all over the world without racking up a charge.

We’ve long said that the superb Nokia Drive is the reason to buy a Lumia over any other Windows Phone, since it’s far superior to Microsoft’s own Bing Maps, but this release tilts the balance. Suddenly, HTC’s slick designs and the Ativ S’ gorgeous display look a lot more attractive

www.easyappsbusiness.com

Nokia wants you to print your own phone cases! by The Gadget Show

 

Once upon a time, Nokia phones used to have cases that you could click off and change to suit your mood, but most phone offerings have been more set menu than buffet recently. That ends today. While the Lumia 820 already comes in a kaleidoscopic range of colours, Nokia has gone one step further and has released 3D printing files for the phone that lets anyone with a 3D printer quickly knock out their own custom case.

Nokia’s 3D printing Development Kit (3DK) gives you the files and templates to make your own cover for the Lumia 820 – Nokia has also packed in some guides for you to follow, so you can be sure your custom case won’t fall apart when you piece it back together.

Of course, 3D printers aren’t exactly commonplace right now, but their price is falling all the time, and it won’t be long until they start popping up in the home – so all the businesses selling you cases and covers should be very scared by Nokia’s power play.

In the meantime, expect sites like Etsy to pop up with custom Lumia 820 cases for sale. Fancy your own? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.

www.easyappsbusiness.com

Nokia 620: Windows Phone 8 slims down!

Say hello to the Nokia Lumia 620, the world’s smallest Windows Phone 8 smartphone. Bringing several shots of even more colour to the Lumia family, the new Nokia Lumia 620 brings Microsoft’s new OS to a more affordable price range at last, and even lets you pick and mix your colour like paint.

Using a new dual-shot colour technique, the Nokia Lumia 620 lets you pair up the base colour with seven additional shells to mix and match. For example, starting with a yellow base and adding a cyan shell, you end up with a lime green shade.

While dubbed as being affordable, the Nokia Lumia 620 is still a capable little machine. Packing a 1GHz dual-core Snapdragon S4, it’s certainly no slug. The phone also boasts a healthy 512MB RAM, 8GB of storage space and micro SD memory card support for up to 64GB, not to mention 7GB of free Microsoft SkyDrive storage – giving you no shortages of trunk space.

The Nokia Lumia 620 also touts a 3.8-inch display, which also features the same sunlight readability enhancements as the 920 and 820, as well as NFC capability which also lets the phone easily pair up with accessories.

When it hits shops, the Nokia Lumia 620 should cost around $249 (around £150) and will roll out in January, starting in Asia with Europe a close second. What do you make of it? Let us know in the comments below

Windows Phone 8 review

 

The basics

Windows Phone 8 is here, and it’s never been more needed. Google and Apple have hoovered up most of the smartphone marketplace, and Windows Phone 7 has made little dent in that in two years. Microsoft is hoping to change that with an all new release (that won’t run on older Windows Phones, you’ll need to buy a new handset to get it) that promises speedier performance, a new look homescreen and support for the latest hardware, including 4G speeds, HD screens and multi-core processors. But is that enough, when its competitors do too? Let’s take a look.

The good

We’ve always enjoyed the design of Windows Phone, and version eight only improves on that. The new homescreen lets you customise it to your heart’c content, with three different tile sizes available. It’s a happy medium between Apple’s static icons and Android sometimes overly confusing widgets, especially since these live tiles update with information (headlines, unread messages and so forth).

Microsoft has made very few changes when it comes to navigation otherwise but that’s no bad thing. You still open apps from the live tile homescreen, and swipe from side to side for more options. The keyboard too remains visually unchanged, but that’s no bad thing: it was already excellent, and its word prediction is now even smarter.

Everything feels fluid and fast, but then, Windows Phone always did. The only difference is that now, it feels fluid and fast on HD screens, with dual-core processors.

Microsoft has improved notifications with Windows Phone 8 though, letting you assign one app to show extra detail on the lock screen (The calendar, for instance), and five to show alerts from. This combined with the ability to now receive Skype calls (a glaring omission in Windows Phone, considering Microsoft owns Skype) makes keeping an eye on all your updates in your most important apps much easier.

The problem of few apps for Windows Phone remains, but the important change is one under the hood you’ll probably never see: Windows Phone 8 is now based on the same core as Windows proper, which should mean developers should have to do very little work porting their Windows desktop apps over to mobile.

Only time will tell if this happens in practice, but given Windows 8 on PCs is off to a strong start, with four million upgrades already, there’s every chance it’ll solve the app famine on Windows Phone at last.

The bad

We like most of the new features on Windows Phone 8 (Except Rooms, the new private group chat and communication features, which is basically useless unless you and all your friends have a Windows Phone 8 device).

What we don’t like, however, is what Microsoft hasn’t fixed from Windows Phone 7 and 7.5. The People hub is a lovely idea, supposedly pulling in all the data from social networks about your friends. But it still doesn’t update in the background, so every time you open a friend’s profile, you’ll have to watch it load, load, load. It’s a bizarre move, and one that wouldn’t even be acceptable in a third party app on Android or iPhone, never mind a built in service.

Internet Explorer 10 is fast, but due to the core engine it uses has a nasty habit of showing you nasty old text-based versions of sites by default. It also only lets you have six tabs open at a time, and it’s two taps to get to them each time you want to switch, which is a lot less seamless than Chrome on Android’s swiping gesture support.

Microsoft has also not fixed its daft multi-tasking issue: you can open an app in the state you left it again, but only through the multitasking screen accessed by holding down the back button. if you open the app again from your homescreen, it just restarts and you have to wait while it loads again. It’s infuriating, especially if you find yourself using just a few core apps day to day.

And while We love Xbox SmartGlass, the app that lets you control your Xbox 360 from anywhere, and even view second screen content while palying a game or watching a film - and it comes built into Windows Phone 8. But it also highlighted for us a serious problem with how accounts work on the platform.

We have an Xbox Live account tied to a Gmail address, and not the Hotmail address we use to test Windows Phone - which effectivly meant SmartGlass wouldn’t connect to our Xbox. Microsoft’s guide for reviewers’ advice on this front was simply to make sure all your accounts are tied together before you set up your phone. Not very helpful after the fact.

It didn’t have to be this way either: you can just sign into different Xbox Live accounts on Xbox SmartGlass for Android. As such, SmartGlass is actually better on Android (and presumably will be on iOS) than it is on Windows, which is not something Microsoft would want.

You also have to wonder if the new technical support on Windows Phone 8 is enough: yes, it can now run on 720p HD screens, like the latest Android super phones. But we’ve already seen one full 1080p HD phone announced by HTC in recent weeks, and we doubt the likes of Samsung will be far behind. Could Microsoft be setting itself up for a fall down the line once more?

The bottom line

Windows Phone 8 is a solid effort that remains beautiful and effortlessly easy to use. It adds in a few extra features to keep it competitive, as well as support for the current cutting edge in hardware, but unfortunately, it still doesn’t solve the problems that have plagued Windows Phone ever since its 2010 reboot.

There’s still no sign of a flowering app eco-system, and Microsoft has still not yet fixed some ofthe issues that have been bugging us for years. We can’t say Windows Phone 8 is a reason to ditch your iPhone or Android phone, but as a new experience for a first time smartphone user who wants simplicity, not every option under the sun, it’s a serious option at last.

www.easyappbusiness.com

Samsung Ativ S: Windows Phone 8’s debut phone gets delayed

 

Remember the Samsung Ativ S? It was the first ever Windows Phone 8 device to be revealed to the world, and with its mighty Samsung Galaxy S3-esque specs, it looked very tempting indeed. But if you were holding out for one, we’ve got bad news: it’s now been delayed.

British retailer Clove.co.uk has changed the timings on its website to reflect a new shipping date of 10 December. By contrast, the Windows Phone 8X by HTC is now on sale, while the Nokia Lumia 920 and 820 are starting to trickle on to shop shelves too.

If you can stick it out, the Samsung Ativ S promises a huge 4.8-inch Super AMOLED screen like the hit Galaxy S3’s, a massive 2,300mAh battery for all day use and full HD video recording, as well as Microsoft’s all new software.

Windows Phone fan? Would you stick it out for Samsung or defect to Nokia or HTC? Let’s hear your thoughts in the comments below!

www.tell-me-first.com

Windows Phone 8 operating system launched by Microsoft

 

The handset interface is similar to that of the recently launched Windows 8 system for PCs

Microsoft has formally launched the Windows Phone 8 operating system in a bid to reclaim smartphone market share.

It boasted that the system's internet browser, Internet Explorer 10, was the fastest on any mobile, and also suggested it offered the closest integration with video chat app Skype.

Microsoft had a 3.1% share of the handset system market in the April-to-June quarter, according to IDC.

The low figure has discouraged some developers from building apps for it.

HTC, Nokia and Samsung have all unveiled flagship WP8 devices over recent months, but had been unable to release them while they waited for Microsoft to sign off its software.

The handsets will now go on sale in Europe at the weekend and rollout worldwide during November.

"It can't be underestimated how important it is to Microsoft to get a successful handheld platform," Ben Wood, director of research at CCS Insight, .

"It's the fastest growing and most prolific sector - 800 million smartphones will be sold this year, within three years that number will be up to one billion annually. Nokia has also bet the ranch on this at a time when the market is dominated by Apple and Google's systems - and Microsoft is seen as being late to the party."

Kid's Corner

WP8 resembles the Windows 8 PC operating system released last week. Users navigate the interface by swiping through tiles which also display information pulled from the internet - for example weather conditions, Facebook status updates or recently received emails.

While its predecessor WP7.5 was based on the firm's ageing Windows Mobile platform, WP8 shares its kernel - or software core - with its PC equivalent, which should help make it easier to port programs between the two environments.

Much of the details of WP8 were announced at a previous event in June. But Microsoft had held a few features back until the San Francisco launch.

Kid's Corner is designed to make it safer to lend their handsets to their children

These included the speed of Internet Explorer 10 which it said was up to seven times faster than the version on WP7.5 at handling webpages based on the commonly used Javascript language. In addition it has been designed to make use of devices' graphics processing units (GPUs) to render videos or animations written in the HTML5 computer language.

The firm also showed off Kid's Corner - a function designed for parents who give their handsets to their children to play with. It allows them to restrict access to a limited number of apps without giving access to email, phone call or text message functions.

Microsoft said a survey had suggested about two-thirds of smartphone-owning parents in the US had used the handsets to occupy their children while out shopping, visiting friends or some other activity.

Another new feature is Rooms which allows users to create an invitation-only environment in which members share their calendars, notes, photos and other material. The firm suggested it might be used to help families, sports teams and other community groups stay "in sync".

Microsoft also made much of an "always-on" Skype experience.

This addresses one of the major flaws with its previous mobile system which had not allowed the video chat program to run in the background. That had meant that users of iOS and Android phones had been able to receive calls while using other apps, but WP7.5 devices had not - a notable omission bearing in mind Microsoft paid $8.5bn (£13.7bn) to buy Skype in 2011.

On WP8 Skype runs in the background even if the app is closed and the phone locked. It uses a similar method introduced in the full Windows 8 system to reduce its battery use by effectively being "asleep" until an incoming notification of a call wakes up the program.

Microsoft stressed the facility would also be available to other video chap apps including Tango and Qik so that its own program would not be given an unfair advantage.

iPhone 5: Five ways the Nokia Lumia 920 beats Apple's best

 

iPhone 5: Five ways the Nokia Lumia 920 beats Apple's best

 

The iPhone 5 is coming: last night Apple whipped the covers off its newly designed smartphone, slapped a release date on it and send iFans into a frenzy. But is it the bee’s knees of blowers? Maybe not: here are five ways its upcoming rival, the Windows Phone powered Nokia Lumia 920, has it beat.

Giant HD screen

Yes, the iPhone 5 marks the first time Apple has ever upped the screen size on its smartphone. And the move to a super sharp display that measures four inches diagonally rather than 3.5 will be a welcome one for many, not least because you can now fit more apps on screen at once. But the Nokia Lumia 920’s huge 4.5-inch display is one of the best we’ve ever clapped eyes on – and with a 1280×720 resolution, it’s HD too. Those with big hands struggling to hit tiny links in Safari on iOS will be delighted.

Epic camera skills

The PureView camera on the Nokia Lumia 920 has been mired in controversy over faked advertisements, but that doesn’t change the fact that all the sample images we’ve seen so far have been absolutely stunning.

The eight megapixel sensor appears to vastly out perform every rival smartphone in low light conditions, and we’re not expecting the new eight megapixel in the iPhone 5 to match it. Optical image stabilisation, achieved with a clever floating lens, also promises to deliver untouchable, unshaky video, even if you’ve been on the caffeine all day.

Bring your own storage

The Nokia Lumia 920 comes with 32GB of storage built in. But if you want to add more, that’s easy: it packs in a micro SD card slot so you can triple that space on the cheap (32GB memory cards are surprisingly cheap online now). Want an iPhone 5 with the most storage? You’ll have to pay more for it built-in. A lot more. While Apple has yet to release pricing for this model, previous iPhone models have seen big price hikes for 32GB and 64GB of space.

Location location location

Nokia’s always been a leader in GPS and location software, and Nokia Maps is now built right into Windows Phone 8. It’s fast, clear and feature packed- you can download maps in advance for countries all over the world, saving you from huge data charges when abroad. And another smart new feature lets you lift your phone up to switch to augmented reality view, so the Nokia Lumia 920 can lead you right to the door of wherever you’re headed.

Apple’s new mapping software on iOS 6 however remains to be seen. Yes, it packs in voice guidance and turn by turn navigation for effective free satnav. But based on the beta releases of iOS 6, it’s still missing a lot of the details you take for granted in Google Maps (which currently powers iPhone Maps). Fingers crossed Apple can fill in the gaps, and pronto. You can’t leave tube and train stations off the map, guys.

NFC now

Near field communication (NFC) technology is the next big thing in mobile, letting you tap to pay in stores, or even pair your phone with a Bluetooth stereo. It’s included as standard in the Nokia Lumia 920: as more services go live you’ll be able to make more and more use of it. But guess what doesn’t have NFC? That’s right: the iPhone 5. It’s widely believed that Apple is holding off until it can roll out its own payment system to get a cut of every transaction, but it looks like that will have to wait next year at least.

and one way it doesn’t….

Release date

There’s a huge question mark hanging over the Nokia Lumia 920 though: we still don’t know when it’s going on sale. Reports peg it for a November release, but that gives Apple’s iPhone 5, which goes on sale on 20 September, a huge head start.

Where do you stand? iPhone 5 or Windows Phone 8? Let’s hear your thoughts in the comments!

Windows Phone 8, LEGO Batman 2, Acer Iconia A510 Olympic Tab out now, a scary way to keep fit & more

 

It’s time for our weekly gadget digest – join us as we round up a handful of stories that managed to slip under the gadget radar this week. Today we’ve got news on new tablets, games, apps and more on Nokia’s 41-megapixel cameraphone.

We begin with this week’s gaming suggestion, a little tablet love, and a word of warning on release dates. Here’s what you may have missed this week:

Out today: LEGO Batman 2: DC Super Heroes

The critically-acclaimed LEGO games are always good for a bit of fun. The sequel to LEGO Batman: The Videogame puts players at the heart of a LEGO Gotham City as the Caped Crusader, up against Batman baddies Joker, Poison Ivy, Riddler and Penguin. It’s fun for all ages, and it’s out in stores today.

Acer Iconia A510 Olympic Tab now on sale in UK

Acer’s Iconia 510 Olympic Tab has finally gone on sale in the UK. The limited edition Tegra 3 processor-powered device has 1GB RAM, 32GB of built-in storage and Olympic branding on the back. Want? It’s yours for £349 from Carphone Warehouse.

Zombies, Run! Paces onto Android


Unless you’re the self-motivated type, chances are that New Years fitness resolution has long been forgotten. Zombies, Run! is a part game, part fitness app that helps you to sweat it by getting you to run away from zombies. The idea is to run a certain distances in order to collect supplies to survive a zombie threat. Before you know it, you’ve run a mile, and are on your way to shedding the flab. It’s fun, it works, and it’s now on Google Play and Windows Phone Marketplace to download to your Android and Windows Phone respectively.

First Windows Phone 8 by year’s end

Earlier this week Microsoft named Nokia, Samsung, Huawei and HTC as four manufacturers signed up to develop Windows Phone 8 handsets. The first of these will be made by Huawei, and will arrive in the US at the end of the year the smartphone maker announced. It looks like we may have to wait till 2013 for the others. 


Nokia’s 41-megapixel phone out July 8th?

Is it time to give up guessing when the Nokia 808 PureView gets released? Amazon.co.uk earlier listed the 41-megapixel cameraphone for a June 21st device, before changing that to June 30. Now the smartphone may not be in stores till July 8th. Take it from us, and wait for official confirmation. We’ll let you know when it arrives for real. Will you be buying the Nokia 808 PureView, or has Nokia left it too long?

www.tell-me-first.com

Five for the weekend: Nokia’s new 12MP Lumia 910, no Xbox 720, Windows Phone 8 leaks and more


It’s been another great week in gadget land. OK, no staggering new devices hits the shops but the week has been dominated by new phone leaks, new online streaming services and the hottest gaming rumours around.
If you missed any of our top stories, fear not: we’ve rounded them up in one place, taking in word of Nokia’s latest 12-megapixel camera, Sky’s new internet TV service and the latest on the Xbox 720.

The beginning of the week was dominated by Nokia gossip. Known insider Eldar Murtazin tweeted about the existence of a 12-megapixel Nokia 910. It was a rumour, and then the device begun appearing on store websites, appearing to confirm what we suspected. Exciting stuff. Mobile World Congress takes place at the end of this month, so we hope to find out more.

Sky’s new television service will let viewers watch programmes on a pay as you watch basis. So there’s no need to subscribe. Even better is that those who use the service will be able to watch on all sorts of devices including mobile phones, tablets and video game consoles.

BlackBerry phones are in for a major revamp, starting with the forthcoming BlackBerry London. The first picture of the device landed on the web, revealing a very different look. There are no buttons for a start. Word is it will be the most powerful BlackBerry phone yet, and make more use of apps than any previous BlackBerry device ever did.

Rumours of a n new Xbox console, already dubbed the Xbox 720 have been rumbling for months. Those rumours could now show signs of coming to an end after Xbox France confirmed that Microsoft will not be showing anything new console-wise this year.

A video that wasn’t supposed to be released has spilled the beans on all the new features set to arrive in Windows Phone 8. Among them: SD card support, Near Field Communication, more apps and more power. Hit the link to learn more about the operating system with the potential to rival Android and iOS.