Microsoft Pranked People with a Live Floor Tile That Knocked Down a Wall in the Middle of a City

One of the coolest things about Windows 8 are the Live Tiles, which are like the beautiful love children of widgets and icons. Microsoft thinks so too so they created a hilarious prank that involved a light up floor tile (think Michael Jackson’s Billie Jean) and a collapsing wall. More »

Microsoft unveils Data Sense for Windows Phone 8, to debut on Verizon devices

Microsoft unveils Data Sense for Windows Phone 8, to debut on Verizon devices

Microsoft has just outed Data Sense, a new app for Windows Phone 8 that helps ensure you don’t burn through your data plan. On top of tracking your usage app-by-app, it compresses every single web page you browse to keep data consumed to a minimum, and also sniffs out WiFi hotspots when they become available. The app features a Live Tile to give an ongoing saga of the megabytes you’ve consumed and will warn you near a preset limit. Redmond claims the hotspot sniffing and compression will let you consume 45 percent less data “when compared to the competition” — likely a reference to iOS and Android, which already have a similar feature. Data Sense will arrive first on Verizon this fall, but there’s no word yet on when other carriers will have it. To check the PR, go past the fold.

For more, check out our Windows Phone 8 event liveblog!

Continue reading Microsoft unveils Data Sense for Windows Phone 8, to debut on Verizon devices

Microsoft unveils Data Sense for Windows Phone 8, to debut on Verizon devices originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 29 Oct 2012 13:34:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Microsoft accentuates the positive, gives Windows Phone 7.8’s new start screen a closer look (video)

Microsoft accentuates the positive, gives Windows Phone 78's new start screen a closer look video

Reactions to news that Windows Phone 7 devices would never turn into Windows Phone 8 handsets were decidedly mixed, but the company is now making sure people know just what’s in the coming “pattern of upgrades.” Company evangelist Ben “The PC Guy” Rudolph shot this video of Windows Phone 7.8 running on a Lumia 900, showing off its updated Start screen with resizable tiles. We weren’t able to get hands-on time or take video when we saw one of the phones in person last week, but now you can see how smoothly it works for yourself. There’s more than just a video, as Ben’s blog post points out a new Windows Phone 7.5 site set up to keep owners updated on all the new features and apps they are getting (like Audible, Words With Friends and Draw Something), as opposed to focusing on the ones they’re not.

Microsoft accentuates the positive, gives Windows Phone 7.8’s new start screen a closer look (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 26 Jun 2012 00:52:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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