Hasta La Gadget!

Bank apps are a dime a dozen and to be honest there’s really nothing overly special about them. For the most part they do as advertised, which is to manage your online bank accounts, transfer funds, make payments, and so on, but over in Turkey, it seems that one particular bank, Akbank, is hoping to shake things up a bit with the inclusion of augmented reality in their bank app for Windows Phone. Yup, you read that right, a bank app is about to include augmented reality, making it possibly one of the coolest bank apps we’ve heard about to date!

So what’s with the augmented reality? What can it be used for? Well ever had to look for a nearby ATM? Granted most banks offer that service but usually in the form of a map, which to be honest might be tricky especially since unlike bank branches, ATMs can be somewhat inconspicuous, meaning you could walk by and not even notice it is there. Well with Akbank’s augmented reality app, it shows you (screenshot above) where nearby ATMs are in relation to you, providing a more pin-point accurate method of tracking down the nearest ATM. Unfortunately we do not live in Turkey so we cannot try out the app for ourselves, but we have to admit it is a pretty cool idea.

Turkish Bank App For Windows Phone Incorporates Augmented Reality original content from Ubergizmo.

We’re sure many of you guys have heard of the dating app called Tinder. For those who haven’t, it’s basically an app that lets you scroll through profiles of the opposite/same sex, swiping right if you like them, swiping left if you don’t. What makes Tinder different from a majority of dating apps/services is that messages can only be sent if you and the other person have “liked” each other’s profiles, ultimately cutting down on unwanted messages from people you might not have interest in. The app is available on iOS and Android, but it looks like it will soon be making its way onto Windows Phone, albeit unofficially with the 6tindr name.

This is thanks to a post by its developer, Rudy Huyn, on Twitter where he showed off the app’s UI. According to Huyn’s post, it seems that the app is currently in development meaning that we might not be able to expect it soon, but at least we know that it’s on its way. For those wondering where and how have they heard that name before, it is because Huyn is a pretty famous developer in the Windows Phone community where he has released unofficial Windows Phone apps for services such as Snapchat, Instagram, and even Vine, gaining him a fair bit of recognition in the process.

In fact Huyn’s efforts, such as with his Wikipedia app, was so beautifully done that it even received the blessing of the Wikimedia Foundation in the process. Huyn has his own share of original work as well, although we guess his unofficial projects were the ones gaining him more attention. No word on when 6tindr will be out, but any Windows Phone users pleased by this? Or isTinder so 2013?

Rudy Huyn Teases Unofficial Tinder App For Windows Phone original content from Ubergizmo.

According to The Information, Sony could release a Windows Phone device, diversifying its mobile device lineup, bolstering Microsoft, and perhaps demonstrating a growing wish among hardware firms to hedge against an Android-dominated future.

Sony appears to be strongly interested in the project. The Verge wrote this morning that the company has continued the project despite Microsoft’s plan to purchase Nokia’s handset business. Its willingness to consider building a Windows Phone device despite the platform having a firm home-advantage tilt towards Microsoft’s own hardware is indicative.

For Sony the move would diversify its mobile line away from Android, a platform now generally associated with Samsung hardware. The irony to that is the simple fact that Nokia is the de facto Windows Phone OEM, so Sony would be entering into a second realm where it would be a second-place player.

The winner in Sony’s potential entrance is Microsoft, even if the release of a Vaio-branded Windows Phone handset could potentially slow sales growth of its — soon to be owned — Lumia phones. Microsoft would collect a per-unit fee, perhaps enjoy faster overall platform sales growth, and, of course, there has ever been an implied connection between the Windows Phone and Xbox product lines. We have yet to see hard evidence in my estimation that one leads to greater use of the other, but the shared Xbox platform experience must have some impact on consumer activity.

Therefore, Sony building a Windows Phone would have some positive impact on Xbox. And that would, presumably, come at the cost of Playstation momentum.

According to the latest public data, Nokia’s control of usage share in the Windows Phone hardware ecosystem is now more than 92 percent. That’s dangerous for Microsoft as betting your mobile platform on a single device stack could lead to platform risks (a poor hardware update cycle could slow growth for a year, etc.), meaning that Sony’s joining the Windows Phone cadre could better moor Windows Phone.

When Windows Phone launched, it did so with OEM partners as diverse as Dell. There has been a winnowing. If Microsoft can flip that trend, it will have gone a ways to proving that the progress it made in 2013 was no fluke.

Top Image Credit: Flickr

Sony is known for its Android powered smartphones, and it released a number of devices in 2013 that received rave reviews. The company hasn’t said anything about its smartphone plans for 2014 but rumor has it that Sony might release a Windows Phone powered smartphone in 2014. The device is expected around mid-2014, no technical specifications have been leaked as yet.

This rumor comes from The Information which claims to have heard from a person that has knowledge of Sony’s plans. It also claims that in order to bring more manufacturers on board, Microsoft is reaching out to potential OEMs and even thinking of cutting licensing costs to sweeten the deal. Sony’s entrance in the Windows Phone market might serve the platform well as it looks to increase its global market share to close up to Android and iOS, the company has only made Android devices for quite some time now. With Nokia’s hardware business almost under its belt, Microsoft effectively bought the largest WP vendor, a deal that was rumored have caused concerns for other OEMs that currently manufacture WP devices. However the company clearly wants to keep working with other OEMs as well, China’s ZTE and India’s XOLO have already hopped onboard to develop their own WP smartphones which will also be released in 2014.

Sony Expected To Launch Windows Phone Smartphone In 2014 original content from Ubergizmo.

The fine folks at AdDuplex have provided Paul Thurrott with an early look at their final Windows Phone market data for 2013, giving us in the public a final look at the key statistics of Microsoft’s smartphone platform’s OEM and device makeup.

The figures are much as they have been all year, only more so. Nokia continues to control the lion’s share of Windows Phone hardware, ending the month up a few points at 92.1 percent (this is a calculation of usage share, tracked through AdDuplex’s network). And the Lumia 520 handset continues to dominate its brethren, with a new high of 39.3 percent share. And that Windows Phone 8 grew against the now-fading Windows 7.x system, with record relative market share of 78.3 percent.

Windows Phone’s 2013, if you had to put it into basic trends, would be that Nokia cleaned up, and its Lumia 520 was the weapon of choice.

Thurrott well describes the current low-ending of Windows Phone (bolding original):

Almost no high-end phones are popular. Worldwide, only the Lumia 920 makes the top 10 list for usage among all Windows Phone handsets, and if you look just at Windows Phone 8 handsets, only two high-end devices make the list: The Lumia 920 and the 925. In the US, there are three: The Lumia 920, 928, and 1020. All the rest are new low-end devices or old devices. The Lumia 1520 phablet doesn’t appear anywhere in this report.

What this means is that the sales momentum that Windows Phone has comes at the cost of per-unit revenue. Margin pressure increases at lower price points. The list of sacrifices that had to be made to produce the Lumia 520 is not small.

So, as we tally what could be the final month in which Nokia rules Windows Phone, it’s important to note that rising unit volume has come at a cost. The Lumia 1020 is a hit among a subset of the technology elite, but perhaps few else.

Can you build a mobile empire on predominantly low-end phones? Apple managed the opposite, so perhaps this, too, is possible.