Hasta La Gadget!

Nokia may see a surge of Windows Phone apps on the horizon, but it’s not waiting for that deluge before it offers further app advice to new Lumia owners. Its new App Social Beta improves on App Highlights by crowdsourcing suggestions. Users create and follow app lists whose popularity determines which titles rise to the top; there’s also a news feed for those who only want to see recommendations from friends and favorite curators. There’s no guarantee that Nokia will help you find that perfect Instagram substitute, but App Social Beta’s immediate availability in 14 countries may keep the search time to a minimum.

Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile, Nokia

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Source: Windows Phone Store

When you set up your Android phone with a secure unlock mode, it often means giving up app shortcuts. You won’t have to make that sacrifice if Google implements a newly granted US patent, however. The technique lets device owners complement a basic pattern unlock with multiple customizable patterns that launch specific apps, such as the camera or dialer. It’s a simple concept. The question is whether or not Google will ever use it — when Android 4.3 still relies on a conventional pattern unlock, it’s clear that the company isn’t in a big rush.

Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile, Google

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Source: USPTO

Microsoft has spent the past several months refining Bing results on the web and the desktop. Now, it’s Windows Phone 8’s turn. An upcoming Bing refresh for the platform will reduce the search filters to three — Web, Images and Videos — while providing more relevant information on the first result screen. The tool is also more likely to show usable results in the first place, with immediate answers available for subjects like flight schedules, movies and word definitions. Photo hunters get some additional love between infinite scrolling and auto-sized thumbnails. Just don’t expect the new Bing features right away. Microsoft is delivering the update to American devices over the course of the next few weeks, with international users to follow afterward.

Filed under: Cellphones, Internet, Mobile, Microsoft

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Source: Windows Phone Blog

If you’re a Nokia Lumia 820 or 920 owner, you now have a chance to try the Amber update a little early. WindowsMania.pl has posted unofficial ROMs (820, 920) that upgrade international versions of the Windows Phones to the Amber release ahead of Microsoft’s rollout. Both ROMs are relatively easy to install from a PC using NokiaViews.com‘s instructions, although they’re risky: they require wiping the phone’s data, and there’s no guarantees of future official upgrades. Even so, the new code may be worthwhile for Lumia fans who’d rather not wait a few weeks for a minor OS refresh.

Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile, Microsoft, Nokia

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Via: NokiaViews.com

Source: WindowsMania.pl (Lumia 820), (Lumia 920)

Not a YouTube partner? That’s okay — Google’s streaming video outfit is letting you access some of its premium features anyway. In a recent blog post, the company announced that it will be lowering the subscriber threshold for live streaming to 100, down from 1,000 in May. The feature should be available to all channels in good standing sometime in the next few weeks, provided users hop into their Account Features page and click on the “enable” button. The blog also reminds users that they can maximize their channel’s exposure by uploading custom video thumbnails, compiling videos into playlists and by linking out to associated websites via YouTube annotations. More features for the little guy? We can get behind that.

Filed under: Internet, Google

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Via: TechCrunch

Source: YouTube