Microsoft loosens up, enables Windows Phone 7 apps to run beneath screen lock
We felt that Microsoft's Windows Phone 7 was a product that would be perpetually evaluated, tweaked and overhauled as time went on, and sure enough, we're already seeing those winds of change blow yonder. Reportedly, Microsoft has now removed the restriction that prevented developers from writing applications that would continue to operate behind a locked screen (without a user's explicit permission, anyway), enabling a whole host of apps to breathe in a manner in which they simply should.
Categories: Mobile Phone, Other Tags: audio, charlie-kindel, conference, developer, engadget, mobileos, operating-system, permission, permissions, result, the-background, unlock, user-permission, windows, wp7
HTC 7 Mozart and Samsung Omnia 7 on sale tomorrow at 7am on Orange UK
We knew Windows Phone 7 was scheduled to land first internationally, but it's always a treat to hear the particulars. Orange UK has just (re)revealed that it'll be the exclusive carrier of HTC's 7 Mozart across the pond, and it'll be joined by Samsung's Omnia 7 as both go on sale tomorrow morning in Orange's Oxford Street shop -- fittingly, at 7am local time. Naturally, the carrier is going to blow out the launch, with each customer buying a WP7 handset to receive a complimentary Bluetooth headset...
Categories: htc, Mobile Phone Tags: 7 mozart, bluetooth, entry, handset, mobile-os, mobileos, north-america, omnia, omnia 7, orange, orange uk, phone, sale-tomorrow, samsung, windowsphone7
Copy and paste coming to Windows Phone 7 in ‘early 2011′
So, maybe Microsoft meant " people don't do that in 2010 . " At the mega-corp's UK-based Windows Phone 7 launch event , we were just informed that its hot-off-the-presses mobile OS will be blessed with a software update that'll add copy and paste functionality in "early 2011." That's according to one Andy Less, and while details beyond that are scant, it's possible that said update will also bring other magical makeovers into the fold.
Categories: Mobile Phone, Other Tags: copyandpaste, guess-certain, magical, makeovers, mobile-os, mobileos, phone, software-update, wp7 launch
Droid Does website points to imminent Froyo update for Droid X… but what does it mean?
Just as Paul Vasquez would have us do, we're questioning the true meaning behind a curious page that has popped up over at the Droid Does website -- a very authentic portal that Verizon Wireless itself has been pushing for nearly a year. Put simply, the splash page details "great news!" surrounding a heretofore unannounced Android 2.2 update for the arguably gigantic Droid X.
Categories: Android, Mobile Phone Tags: droid, droidx, entry, froyo, mobileos, news, portal, tipster, verizon
Gartner: Symbian is ‘re-arranging the deck chairs,’ losing buoyancy fast
We all know that Symbian is still holding the fort as the globe's most widely used mobile OS, but anyone interested in criticizing it nowadays will have to get into a queue . Nick Jones from Gartner is latest to launch a broadside against the apparently complacent market leader, opining that its user experience has been surpassed by iOS and Android , and arguing that future iterations do not promise enough innovation to make the platform stand out. He underpins these observations with his firm's latest estimates, which indicate Symbian's decline in share is accelerating , before positing the idea that the Foundation sets aside some talent for skunkworks projects in order to give itself fallback options should Symbian^4 not be blindingly marvelous.
Categories: Android, Mobile Phone Tags: analogy, analyst, before-positing, entry, estimates, globe, mobileos, nick-jones, nokia, platform, symbian, symbian 3, symbian3, symbian4
Symbian^3 reviewed in exquisite and ruthless detail by Eldar Murtazin
No folks, those mythical N8 review units still aren't on our doorsteps, but we can offer you the next best thing: a thorough (we mean thorough ) overview of the Symbian^3 environment that will be front and center on Nokia's next great phone. Eldar Murtazin of mobile-review reports on everything from the sophisticated handling of contacts and caller ID pictures, through the noticeable speed improvements, past the limited utility of online widgets that display only two lines at a time, beyond the "weak spot" web browser, and all the way to Symbian's unhealthy habit of "clinging to continuity." It's an enlightening read, which pulls no punches with its conclusion: Symbian^3 is an evolutionary step up from S60 5th edition, which brings nothing new to the market and offers no comparative advantages. Strong words from Eldar, paricularly when he doesn't disclose what build of the OS he's using; his rationale, however, is that his analysis relates to overarching design decisions and ignores software bugs and version-specific foibles
Categories: Mobile Phone Tags: analysis, decisions, design, doorsteps, foibles, mobileos, nokia, speed, symbian3, web-browser
webOS 1.4.5 reportedly coming any day now… except for AT&T users
As friends very near and dear to us have confessed, " soon " is a relative term. If you'll recall, we heard from Palm (in)directly that the next webOS update was "coming soon" back in the early days of May, and here we are a fortnight from July without so much as an update regarding the update
Categories: Mobile Phone Tags: carrier-testing, entry, finally-bring, fortnight, mobileos, operating-system, operatingsystem, palm, patience, relative, result, webos 1.4
Motorola Droid gets early Android 2.2 ROM, ready to download… now!
What shall we call this, Frodroid or Droyo? Either way, an Android 2.2 update has been made available for Motorola's all-conquering slider, and it awaits eager firmware upgraders at the download link below. Produced by the good folks at My Droid World , this includes almost everything you'll need to get your Froyo on in style, though it excludes WiFi support at this stage.
Categories: Android, Mobile Phone Tags: consolation, download, droid, droid-world, length, mobile-os, mobileos, moto, motorola-droid, motoroladroid, official-update, privileges, update, upgrade, world
Symbian^3 to launch on non-Nokia handset, courtesy of ‘Asian vendor’
Well, here's a bit of thunder theft for you. Nokia's N8 launch is still firmly wedged in Q3 2010 , but according to Symbian Foundation Executive Director Lee Williams, other handset makers are not going to hang around and wait for it to be the vanguard Symbian^3 device. Instead, says Lee, the first phone with the overhauled software will be provided by an unnamed Asian vendor -- we're thinking LG or Samsung, with the latter being more likely as it has more history with Symbian.
Categories: Mobile Phone, Other Tags: director, engadget, goods-should, launchdevice, lee, mobileos, more-history, overhauled, roadmap, samsung, schedule, symbian 3, symbian3, the-overhauled, vendor
MeeGo 1.0 for netbooks and N900 now available to download
You've seen it teased , and now it's time to shelve whatever you had planned for this evening (or morning, depending on your current coordinates) and slap the first bona fide 1.x MeeGo release onto whatever device you've got handy.
Categories: Mobile Phone Tags: evening, glance, intel, maemo, meego, mobileos, n900, netbooks, nokia, nokian900, result, sdk, shelve-whatever, whatever-device