Hasta La Gadget!

Who needs a marketing department when you have a personal Sina Weibo account? So reasoned ZTE’s marketing strategy manager, Dennis Lui, as he posted the above photo of three ZTE Windows Phones to the internet. The right-hand device is just a regular ZTE Tania and, although it looks like it’s running Windows Phone 8, the screen is actually a dead ringer for a certain “WP8 simulator” app available for WP7 phones. The remaining two devices are obscured by a generous helping of blur, but the handset on the left could well be running legit WP8, as evidenced by the shrunken live tiles, hinting that ZTE may be among the first wave of manufacturers diving into the new OS. To further whet our budget hardware appetites, Lui also posted a photo of a Windows 8 or Windows RT tablet (shown after the break), which suggests that ZTE is getting into that game too.

Continue reading ZTE marketing guy goes crazy with unknown WP8 handset and Gaussian blur

Filed under: Cellphones, Tablets, Mobile

ZTE marketing guy goes crazy with unknown WP8 handset and Gaussian blur originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 18 Sep 2012 10:52:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Nokia’s Lumia 820 was firmly stuck in the Lumia 920’s shadow — in fact it barely figured in Nokia’s big presentation. But one thing it holds over its bigger, publicity-hungry brother is the ability to switch covers, so while the 820 won’t get its wireless charging built-in, a specific case can add the same functionality. Well, we knew that already, but Nokia’s now revealed the phone’s own range of dedicated ruggedized cases. These covers, arriving in green, yellow and orange, will measure in at the same length and width as the others, but will protrude marginally more, offering some protection to that 4.3-inch screen when it comes into contact with surfaces. A “rubber-like” trim will afford some extra protection to those glossy corners too. Expect the toughened cases to appear alongside the Lumia 820 at launch — whenever that is.

Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile

Nokia details new ruggedized shells for Lumia 820 originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 18 Sep 2012 03:11:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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With the Nokia Lumia 820 comes not just another Windows Phone 8 device, but a phone whose ready to bring you a variety of options on the outside as well as the in. We’ve already seen the standard case in our original Nokia Lumia 820 hands-on, then the Wireless Charging Shell in our extended hands-on. Now we’re seeing that Nokia’s plans don’t stop there, they continue on with the Active Shell being revealed today, complete with protective bits galore.

This rugged shell is made from the same PC/ABS material that the other two shells are made of, but here you’ve got a rubber-like material for full reinforcement. This shell is made to be a softer concoction with an added bit of cushion around the front and edges. It covers the back on the corners but also creeps around the front edges just a bit too to protect the edges of the screen and the corners of your device on the whole.

This new set of shells will be available at the same time as the Nokia Lumia 820 here in the USA and will be available in matte yellow, green, and orange with a black trim. The trim is TPU and will protect the heck out of your Lumia 820 even if you’re an often-dropper. Tuomas Reivo, Lead Designer on the Nokia Lumia 820, lends a bit of insight into the device as it stands here just before release.

“We’ve moved beyond just changing the colour of your phone. People can now decide how they want to use their phone, by doing something as simple as changing a shell to add a function.” – Reivo

With all of the shells you’ve got here for the Lumia 820 you’ll be working with materials that are colored in and of themselves – they aren’t just coated with color. Should you drop one of these devices with a Nokia-made shell you’ll not see off-colored gouges, that’s for sure. Have a peek at our hands-on collection with this device and the Lumia 920 as well and get pumped up about the final release rather soon!

[via Nokia]

Nokia Lumia 820 get bumpers-laden Active Shells is written by Chris Burns & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Windows Phone 8 may not have a firm release date, but reports are flooding in that it’s just been released to manufacturers (RTM) so they can work on their side of the equation: hardware production. According to LiveSino, pictures posted to Chinese social network Sina Weibo show members of the Windows Phone team signing a banner marking the milestone. In particular, Terry Myerson, Corporate Vice President of the Windows Phone Division, was caught penning his name alongside others. ZDNet’s own sources corroborate that Ballmer and Co. have deemed the operating system fit to ship. With manufacturers seemingly taken care of, developers will be able to get their mitts on the WP8 software development kit in roughly two weeks.

Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile

Microsoft employees ‘sign off’ on Windows Phone 8 RTM originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 14 Sep 2012 22:13:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Reprising a Windows Phone 7 giveaway from back in 2010, Microsoft boss Steve Ballmer announced at the company’s annual event that all 90,000 or so full-time employees are getting a taste of its latest hardware. That’s one Surface for Windows RT tablet and Windows Phone 8 phone (we’re told that last time around these came with two year contracts) in late December, along with a new touch compatible office computer running Windows 8, presumably arriving sooner. Forbes indicates those PCs can be a desktop, laptop, ultrabook or tablet, and we have a pic of one employee’s new Lenovo-built slate running Windows 8 on a Core i7 CPU with 8GB of RAM after the break. Pulling an Oprah, again, isn’t just one way to improve employee morale, it also ensures everyone’s familiar with the new products as they roll out and are ready to tell people about them. Will that provide the necessary bump to catch up with the competition from Apple and Google? Only time will tell, but if you’re wondering what to say when someone asks if every single person wants a Surface then our advice follows after the break.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Continue reading Microsoft gifts full-time employees with Surface tablets, Windows 8 phones and PCs

Filed under: Cellphones, Desktops, Laptops, Tablets, Mobile

Microsoft gifts full-time employees with Surface tablets, Windows 8 phones and PCs originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 14 Sep 2012 01:38:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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