Hasta La Gadget!

Cross-platform game compatibility and syncing aren’t anything new, but there have been few if any games that truly make us feel at home when we switch devices. Developer 17-Bit’s just-launched Skulls of the Shogun bucks that trend in style as the first game with a unified experience across every one of Microsoft’s platforms. Start a game on a Windows 8 or RT PC, Windows Phone or Xbox 360, and cloud saves will carry over with nary a hitch in sight. Turn-based multiplayer works the same way: anyone involved in a match can play from whichever device is convenient, rather than give up a big screen or mobility. We just wish the undead strategy game’s prices enjoyed the same level of consistency — Skulls costs $5 on Windows Phone, $10 on Windows PCs and 1,200 points on the Xbox. Still, we’ll bite if it means squeezing in one more round on our Surface.

Filed under: Cellphones, Gaming, Tablets, Software, Microsoft

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Via: Windows Phone Blog

Source: Microsoft (1), (2), (3)

There’s been hints of a Windows Phone 7.8 update looming for the AT&T-spec Lumia 900, but little sign of a real timetable. As it turns out, owners hoping to move beyond 7.5 might be satisfied very quickly. Engadget has obtained an AT&T memo that claims the upgrade is rolling out on January 30th — as in, tomorrow. We don’t see any tweaks mentioned beyond what Microsoft itself said last year, although any update would most likely include Nokia-specific extras on top of the official package. We’ve reached out to AT&T, Microsoft and Nokia, and we’ll let you know if they provide tangible details. Whatever their answers, we’ll know the truth before long.

Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile, Microsoft, Nokia, AT&T

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Your smartphone and / or tablet is just begging for an update. From time to time, these mobile devices are blessed with maintenance refreshes, bug fixes, custom ROMs and anything in between, and so many of them are floating around that it’s easy for a sizable chunk to get lost in the mix. To make sure they don’t escape without notice, we’ve gathered every possible update, hack, and other miscellaneous tomfoolery we could find during the last week and crammed them into one convenient roundup. If you find something available for your device, please give us a shout at tips at engadget dawt com and let us know. Enjoy!

Official Android updates

• HTC One X: Following in Rogers’ footsteps, Telus has released its Android 4.1 (Jelly Bean) and Sense 4+ update for over-the-air installation. The software weighs in at approximately 629MB. [MobileSyrup]
• Samsung Galaxy S II: T-Mobile has begun delivery of an incremental update to address an issue with the Qualcomm SoC. The software also brings security fixes and S Voice improvements. [Android Central]
• Samsung Galaxy S II: Android 4.1.2 (Jelly Bean) is now available for the international version of this handset (i9100), which includes Samsung’s Nature UX enhancements. Owners of this handset can grab the update either over-the-air or within Samsung Kies. You’ll also find a walkthrough video and a screenshot tour at the source link. [SamMobile]
• ASUS PadFone 2: Build 10.4.11.13 is now available with a hefty number of performance and stability tweaks for the WWE version of this smartphone. The software also brings improved power management software and refinements to the HDR capture and white balance functions of the camera. [Android Police]

• Unofficial Android updates, custom ROMs and misc. hackery

• AOKP: A new milestone build of this popular Android 4.2 custom ROM is now available. With this release, the Galaxy S III on AT&T, T-Mobile, US Cellular and Verizon are all supported, as is the Nexus 10 and the Nexus 7 (HSPA+). Among the customizations in this build, you’ll find the ability to use the power button as a makeshift camera shutter button and enhancements to the boot animation chooser. [Android Police]

Other platforms

• Nokia Lumia 900: An update to Windows Phone 7.8 now seems imminent for this AT&T handset, as the revised OS (build 8878) has been spotted on Nokia’s servers. For what it’s worth, January 31st is currently being kicked around as the rollout date, but you might wanna circle that date in pencil, just to be safe. [WPCentral]
• HTC 8X: Rogers has released the ‘Portico’ update for this smartphone, which brings improvements to text messaging and WiFi connectivity. [MobileSyrup]

Refreshes we covered this week

• By popular demand, Sony releases Jelly Bean alpha build for Xperia T
• Nokia Drive+ beta now available for all WP8 users in US, Canada and UK
• CyanogenMod 10.1 Milestone 1 hits Nexus and Samsung devices
• Leaked HTC Sense 5 screenshots suggest a leaner, cleaner skin

Filed under: Cellphones, Tablets, Software, Mobile

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If you didn’t get enough mobile news during the week, not to worry, because we’ve opened the firehose for the truly hardcore. This week brought a new smartphone from Xolo to India, HTC’s crackdown on a custom ROM distributor and the UK’s largest mobile spectrum auction to date. These stories and more await after the break. So buy the ticket and take the ride as we explore the “best of the rest” for this week of January 21st, 2013.

Xolo A500 debuts in India with Android 4.0

A new Android 4.0 smartphone known as the Xolo A500 became available within India this week, and from all appearances, it’s entirely run of the mill. That said, with a price of ₹6,999 ($130), it may just turn a few heads. The Xolo A500 sports a 4-inch WVGA (800 x 480) display, along with a dual-core 1GHz CPU (Snapdragon S4 Play) and dual-SIM functionality. You’ll also find a 5-megapixel rear camera, along with a front-facing VGA shooter. The device includes a 1,500mAh battery, 512MB of RAM, 4GB of built-in storage and supports microSD cards up to 32GB in size. [Fone Arena]

Ofcom kicks off 4G spectrum auction in UK

The largest mobile spectrum auction to date in the UK began this week, which is set to nearly double the wireless resources available to Britons. In all, 28 lots of spectrum are available across the 800MHz and 2600MHz bands, which will add 250MHz of spectrum to the 333MHz in use today. Telefonica (O2), Vodafone, EE, Hutchison (Three), Niche Spectrum Ventures (BT), HKT and MLL are participants in the auction, which carries a total reserve price of £1.36 billion. According to UK regulator Ofcom, the auction will take place in several rounds over the coming weeks. [Android Central]

AT&T CEO reveals interest in smartphone financing

Verizon’s Lowell McAdam now has some company. During this week’s earnings call, AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson revealed that AT&T is similarly monitoring T-Mobile’s shift to drop the subsidized business model and instead provide customers the ability to finance their new smartphone purchase. While Stephenson may lack grace with his words, the intent is clear: “We expect there to be some dynamics in the marketplace that — and we’ll have to respond to some of it — we find interesting, like the handset financing that they’re doing.” Curiously, Stephenson admitted that AT&T has considered the approach in the past, but like Verizon, much of how his company responds will depend on consumers’ reception of T-Mobile’s new approach. [FierceWireless]

US Cellular now offers carrier billing for online shopping

US Cellular announced this week that it now supports carrier billing for online purchases. The system was launched in partnership with Boku, and subscribers may pay for goods at participating merchants by entering their mobile number at checkout and then confirming the purchase with a text message. From there, customers will find the total amount of the purchase added to their wireless bill. [PhoneScoop]

AT&T working to integrate Data Sense for Windows Phone 8

Data Sense is one of the more unique features of Windows Phone 8, which allows users to monitor their data usage and squeeze more from their data plan through the magic of server-side compression. Verizon is the only carrier to support the feature within the US, but that may soon change, as AT&T has revealed that it’s “exploring Data Sense and how to optimize the experience” for its subscribers. About damn time, right? [FierceWireless]

HTC forces shutdown of custom ROM site

A provider of many popular Sense-based ROMs is no more. This week, HTCRUU closed its doors and took its repositories offline in acquiescence to legal threats from HTC. Historically, HTC has taken an admirably lax approach to distribution of customized Sense ROMs, which are popular among enthusiasts of the company’s smartphones. Naturally, many other sources exist for custom Sense blends, which raises the question of whether this move was but a one-off showing of legal force, or whether HTC will take a more active approach to ending the underground custom ROM community. Those interested can learn more of the situation on Reddit. [Android Police]

Other random tidbits

• Following in the footsteps of Android and iOS, Microsoft has upped the mobile data cap of app downloads and updates for Windows Phone to 50MB. [WPCentral]
• The Meizu MX2 is now available as a subsidized handset for customers of China Unicom. The smartphone can be gotten for free with all two-year plans of ¥226 or more per month, or with all three-year plans of ¥156 or more per month. [GSM Arena]
• Colombia’s state-owned telecom, UNE EPM, announced that it would invest $2.5 million to bring LTE services to Barranquilla — the country’s fourth most populous city — which sports a population of approximately 1.8 million. [RCR Wireless]
• An internal leak has revealed that the HTC 8S will become available at Bell Mobility on February 1st. [MobileSyrup]
• Videotron has announced that it’ll begin selling the Nexus 4 on January 30th. Similarly, Fido is accepting reservations (and a requisite $40 deposit) for the smartphone, which it’s targeting for an early February arrival. [MobileSyrup 1, 2]

[Buy More Stuff photo credit: jbhthescots / Flickr]

[Mobile Miscellany photo credit: Thristian / Flickr]

Filed under: Cellphones, Wireless, Mobile

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From somewhere atop a Finnish mountain, Stephen Elop is both bellowing and whispering Nokia’s fourth quarter and full-year financials. The world’s former number one has finally made a quarterly profit, with the final three months of the year raking in $585.7 million. However, the baggage for those previous losses weighed low on the annual report, pinning the company to a $3 billion loss for its overall performance in 2012.

A big chunk of the quarterly profit came from the Nokia Siemens Networks infrastructure business, which chipped in with an operating profit of $334 million, while Nokia’s Device business contributed $367 million. Nokia confirmed that it shipped 4.4 million Lumia handsets and 2.2 million Symbian smartphones during this period and, while those numbers are still sliding, the higher margins on phones like the Lumia 920 have had a positive effect on the bottom line. America, however, still hasn’t fallen in love with the company’s phones, with sales increasing from 300,000 to 700,000 — but as of yet that’s hardly enough to say they’ve been a big hit.

On the upside, Nokia begins 2013 with a reasonably clean slate. It’s cashed out another $250 million donation from Microsoft and has seen its net cash reserves increase for the first time in over a year — up to $5.8 billion from $4.6 billion in the Autumn. The company has also decided not to grant a dividend to its shareholders for the first time in over a century as it hopes to keep adding to its corporate nest-egg.

Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile, Microsoft, Nokia

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Source: Nokia (PDF)