Hasta La Gadget!

 After delay and minor intrigue, the $7.2 billion Microsoft-Nokia deal will close this Friday. With its conclusion, Microsoft will become the de facto Windows Phone OEM, building and shipping the lion’s share of the smartphones that are part of the platform. Read More

Parents, if you’re planning on getting your child their own Windows Phone handset, you might be interested to learn that one of Windows Phone 8.1’s features, Cortana, will not be available to your kids as long as they are aged below 13 years. It has been recently discovered that users whose Microsoft account has been marked as a “child” account are not able to access Cortana.

Attempts to use the voice assistant feature will be met with a message that reads, “I’m sorry, you’ll need to be a bit older before I can help you.” Basically what this means is that if you wanted your kids to be able to use Cortana, the Microsoft account that they sign in with needs to be yours, otherwise they’d be out of luck, at least until they turn 13.

From that error message, all users are left to do is exit the screen because Cortana will not be able to function otherwise. It is unclear as to why Microsoft has decided that the minimum age to use Cortana has to be 13 years and above, but it could be a legal thing especially with regards to internet services. After all we’ve seen some restrictions when it comes to signing up for certain services that one needs to be at least 13 years and above, or in some cases, 18 and above.

Microsoft has yet to issue an official statement on the matter but in the meantime, this is definitely something to take note of, especially if you’re planning on getting your kids a Windows Phone handset, unless of course the lack of the Cortana voice assistant feature is not a big deal to you.

Cortana Is Off-Limits To Users Aged Below 13 Years Old , original content from Ubergizmo, Filed in Cellphones, Cortana, Microsoft, Windows Phone,

Microsoft has just started to accept universal applications for its combined Windows and Windows Phone Store, and what better way to introduce universal apps than in the form of a game – Halo: Spartan Assault? The one time purchase of this game will be able to be used on either platform, where it has been listed as a universal app in both the Windows Store and Windows Phone Store.

In a nutshell, anyone who actually picks up the game via either store will be able to obtain a license to play the game on both Windows and Windows Phone platforms. Halo: Spartan Assault costs $4.99 a pop, thanks to a recent price cut for the app.

There is also a new disclaimer on the Windows Phone Store that takes note on how the universal nature of the app, touting that this particular title was developed “for Windows Phones and Windows PCs.” Apart from that, there is also another icon in the store’s listing that shows off the game’s dual-platform status. The game itself has not changed, of course, and it remains to be seen whether Microsoft will take the step to extend its universal app store to the Xbox One or Xbox 360. Are you going to give Halo: Spartan Assault a go anytime soon? You can pick up Halo: Spartan Assault for Windows Phone 8 at 691 MB and for Windows 8 and RT at 843 MB here and here, respectively.

Halo: Spartan Assault Kicks Off Universal Windows Games , original content from Ubergizmo, Filed in Cellphones, Gaming, halo, Windows, Windows Phone,

Just the other day, Microsoft officially released the preview version of Windows Phone 8.1. This update is primarily targeted at developers as the final version of the build has yet to make its way to the handsets of end users. That being said, we also reported that despite Windows Phone 8.1 having yet to be released, word has it that Microsoft could be planning at least two more GDR updates that will see a release this year, with the third expected to be released in 2015.

So with Windows Phone 8.1 packing a fair amount of new features, such as the Cortana voice assistant feature, what other features will Microsoft bring to the table with future GDR updates? Well according to Nokia Power User, their sources have revealed to them some of the features that could be present in the GDR2 update.

One of the rumored features is support for 2K displays. As it stands Microsoft currently supports displays up to Full HD and with Android devices from Oppo, Vivo, and LG to sport 2K displays, we guess Microsoft thinks that they should probably catch up before it becomes too late. New resolutions support in Windows Phone 8.1 include 960×540 and 854×480.

The rumor also suggests that there will be support for Qualcomm Snapdragon 805 chipsets as well, meaning that Windows Phone users can probably look forward to even more powerful Windows Phone devices. There’s no way of knowing if any of this is real, but earlier leaked benchmarks have pointed to devices with 2K displays and Snapdragon 805 processor, so perhaps there’s some truth to them, but what do you guys think?

Are you looking forward to even more powerful Windows Phone handsets in the future, and do you think it will help encourage adoption of the platform by OEMs and consumers?

WP 8.1 GDR2 Update Could Support 2K Displays And Snapdragon 805 [Rumor] , original content from Ubergizmo, Filed in Cellphones, Rumors, Microsoft, Windows Phone,

A special preview of Windows Phone 8.1 has been released this week right on top of the developer-preview review series. If you’d like to have a peek at our Windows … Continue reading