Hasta La Gadget!

Microsoft showed off a ton of new features for Windows Phone 8 at the Windows Phone Summit back in June, but the company did mention that some functionality had yet to be revealed. WPCentral has noticed that Microsoft may be planning to enhance lock screen notifications in Windows Phone 8. Currently users will see notifications for any missed calls or text messages, but WPCentral believes Microsoft will open up the lock screen to third-party apps.

WPCentral says there are four options that developers will be able to take advantage of, with one “being extremely creative” and changing the lock screen throughout the course of a day. They stopped short of revealing all the details, however. It’s also not entirely clear if Microsoft will extend support to a full blow notification center like iOS or Android.

New functionality in Windows Phone 8 will include an improved interface, with users able to change the size of tiles and arrange them as they see fit on the home screen. The OS will also gain support for 720p screens as well as dual-core processors from Qualcomm, and Windows Phone 8 share a common core with Windows 8. Microsoft also focused on its NFC and Wallet features, plus new enterprise and business security details.

[via The Verge]

Windows Phone 8 may see improved lock screen notifications is written by Ben Kersey & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

It may not be that well known over here, but the Telefonica-owned Tuenti social network is big in Spain, where it has 13 million users and rakes in over 40 billion page views per month. Now it’s hoping to make itself better known elsewhere, today kicking off a major expansion that will see it made available around the world in nine different languages. What’s more, it’s also announced some new mobile apps for the occasion, including integrated messaging and dedicated Tuenti apps for Android and BlackBerry, with iOS and Windows Phone versions promised in the “coming weeks.” As TechCrunch notes, the social network is similar to Twitter in many respects, with status updates (or what Tuenti calls “moments”) limited to 140 characters, but it also veers a bit into Facebook territory as well, focused more on the notion of friends than followers. You can sign up and give it a go yourself at the source link below.

Filed under: Internet

Telefonica’s Tuenti social network kicks off global expansion, rolls out mobile apps originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 11 Jul 2012 20:12:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink TechCrunch  |  Tuenti  | Email this | Comments

Steve Ballmer delivered a fair bit of news during his keynote at the company’s Worldwide Partner Conference in Toronto yesterday, but it looks like he saved some of his stronger words for an interview he gave to CRN following his talk. In it, he boldly said that “we are trying to make absolutely clear we are not going to leave any space uncovered to Apple,” adding, “not the consumer cloud. Not hardware software innovation. We are not leaving any of that to Apple by itself. Not going to happen. Not on our watch.” Asked if that included a change in its smartphone strategy, Ballmer said that “right now we are working real hard on the Surface. That’s the focus. That’s our core,” although he did add a “look, we’ll see what happens” before talking up its current partners. He also reaffirmed that Microsoft’s retail stores and website will be the primary sources for Surface tablets initially, noting that the company’s focus was on putting “one foot in front of the other” and getting it out the door, although he added that there’s nothing stopping partners from ordering them from Microsoft.com and selling them.

Filed under: Cellphones, Laptops, Tablet PCs

Steve Ballmer says Microsoft won’t ‘leave any space uncovered to Apple’ originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 10 Jul 2012 12:39:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Techmeme  |  CRN  | Email this | Comments

It looks like Nokia has been playing the blindfolded dictionary game again. Well, that’s if the image we see above is correct. It’s purportedly a table containing names of upcoming Windows Phone 8 devices, found by a curious wallpaper designer. The names listed for Nokia include “Fluid,” “Dogphone,” and the previously seen “Phi.” One slightly less superlative name — Nokia P4301 — caught the attention of PhoneArena, who mused that P might be for PureView? An interesting, if not optimistic leap. There are two other items in the table that might pique interest: a Samsung SGH-1687 and a Juggernaught Alpha. There’s little else to get excited about specification-wise, bar different versions of Windows Phone, however. That said, no one as yet has mentioned the elephant in the room — what about that “Virtual” model in the works from Microsoft?

Filed under: Cellphones

List of alleged Windows Phones reveals Nokia Dogphone, Fluid and P4301, working titles we hope originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 10 Jul 2012 07:26:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink PhoneArena  |  WPDang  | Email this | Comments

A reputable Windows Phone site in Russia has leaked out a comparison chart that details the differences in features between Windows Phone 7.8 and Windows Phone 8. Not only that, it throws in a spanking new feature for Windows Phone 8 that not many people have heard of before. Most of the features are already what we have expected based on Microsoft’s announcement, and there are no real surprises at all, but it is perfectly all right to see just what happens in between now and then. WP7Forum has been rather reliable to date, so this kind of information is worth trusting even though it is leaked. something you can trust.

Many people expect Windows Phone 7.8 to come with the new Start screen, and they will not be disappointed at all, with the new addition of Tile sizes. Majority of the other features will not be making the cut though. You will be able to find Skype, RCS-e, and DataSmart in Windows Phone 7.8, but they will arrive as separate apps, instead of being integrated as what you see with Windows Phone 8.

Voice Command, Bing Audio, and cloud services will remain the same all the way from Windows Phone 7.5 to Windows Phone 7.8, althoug those who are rocking to Windows Phone 8 will be receiving more powerful versions of each software though.

By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Windows Phone 8 devices to be available later this year?, Twitter for Windows Phone offers notification support,