Hasta La Gadget!

Microsoft’s rebuilt Skype app is now available to download for those early Windows Phone 8 shoppers. While we already took a tour of the new app last month, you’re now able to do the same. New features include Skype contacts within the People Hub (and access directly from there), while you’ll be able to login to the service with either your Microsoft or Skype account — no option yet to merge the two. You will be able to send messages to anyone still using Messenger, but more importantly, receive both Skype calls and chat missives even when the app is whirring in the background. Incoming call notifications will appear on screen and its very own Live Tile will then notify you of any messages (though not calls) missed.

This is still a preview of a final product, however, and some issues with incoming calls meaning it could tap into your cellular data connection even if WiFi is hooked up after the call is accepted. At the moment, incoming calls when the app is closed will only be delivered through audio, even if the other person is trying to send video. Similarly, if you exit the app during a video call, the stream will be cut short. There’s also no ability to edit your phone contacts and there’s some missing Windows Phone integration links on this early build. Hit up the source for a full list of the early drawbacks and if you’re still in, the second source will send you to the download. We’ve also added our recent hands-on video after the break.

Continue reading Skype for Windows Phone 8 official preview available now (video)

Filed under: Cellphones, Software, Mobile, Microsoft

Skype for Windows Phone 8 official preview available now (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 12 Nov 2012 06:21:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Now that we’ve got the dates and prices sorted, all you need to do is get yourself to the nearest AT&T store (or one of those source links below) today to pick up either of Nokia’s Windows Phone 8 handsets (Lumia 920 for $100, or the Lumia 820 for $50) or HTC’s Windows Phone 8X, priced along the same lines as Nokia’s bigger smartphone. Not a fan of Ma Bell? Then you’ll can wait it out with Verizon, which starts taking preorders for both the Lumia 822 and 8X from today.

Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile, AT&T

PSA: Get your Windows Phone 8 from AT&T starting today originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 09 Nov 2012 16:15:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Windows 8 and Windows Phone 8 together mark a rare confluence for Microsoft: they represent the first instance of the company’s desktop and phone platforms sharing the same browser base, and that has wide-reaching implications for what developers can do. The Redmond team doesn’t want anyone plunging headlong into web apps without knowing what to expect, however, and it just reminded us in a blog post that there are still a few off-limits areas for Internet Explorer 10 on the mobile side. Not surprisingly, elements that demand a truly big screen or a windowed interface won’t fly — there’s nowhere to drag-and-drop from or open a new window to. A few other aspects are more likely to catch web developers off-guard, such as the lack of in-line video, a handful of touch inputs, ActiveX and the level of file access. The most important common ground stems from simply having a modern rendering engine whose HTML5 and CSS3 support will prevent any rude shocks. There’s much more at the source link, although Microsoft and designers may just be happy that any Windows Phone web development is a question of finding those few things that won’t work, rather than reinventing the wheel.

Filed under: Cellphones, Software, Mobile, Microsoft

Microsoft outlines Internet Explorer 10 differences between Windows 8 and Windows Phone 8 originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 09 Nov 2012 06:54:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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After just a few short months at v2.0, Microsoft’s own SkyDrive app is now sitting pretty at 3.0. What’s an extra point get you? For starters, it’ll support all incoming Windows Phone 8 products, and it’ll also allow users to search their SkyDrive files / folders. Moreover, you’ll find new settings for photo upload and download size, as well as updated app icons and visuals. Microsoft has also improved performance when it comes to loading one’s content, but as of now, the 3.0 update won’t play nice with WP7 handsets. Hit up the source link if you’re hungry for more.

Filed under: Cellphones, Software, Mobile, Microsoft

SkyDrive app gains Windows Phone 8 support in version 3.0 originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 07 Nov 2012 12:03:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Following its launch event in San Francisco and the appearance of its first devices last week, the folks behind Windows Phone 8 is hoping for big things in the future. Microsoft’s chief exec Steve Ballmer said that its work with Nokia, HTC and Samsung offered them the chance to create a “really strong third participant in the smartphone market.” He admitted that they weren’t there quite yet and told the audience at a Windows 8 launch event in Israel that Microsoft’s mobile OS was “still relatively small”, but that he expects “the volumes on Windows Phone to really ramp quickly.” The company will be lavishing more on marketing and advertising around Windows 8, Window Phone 8 and Surface than it has on anything previous — which sounds good, as its new mobile OS might need the help.

Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile, Microsoft

Ballmer: Windows Phone 8 ‘still small’, but will ‘really ramp quickly’ originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 05 Nov 2012 06:59:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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