Hasta La Gadget!

It’s tough to ignore that the Zune era at Microsoft is quickly winding to a close. That doesn’t mean you’ll necessarily be out of options for syncing a Windows Phone’s contents by the time the Zune desktop app fades away, however. A tip to The Verge has shown a companion app for Windows 8 users that will reportedly load the first time a Windows Phone 8 device syncs up, giving a fully Metro-friendly place to transfer any media. Windows 7 would get its own parallel, just in case some of us aren’t willing or able to upgrade our PCs in concert. The replacement desktop apps could be available at about the same time as the Windows Phone 8 launch, if the claims are at all accurate — which might leave less than two months before one more vestige of Microsoft’s MP3 player days goes away.

Filed under: Cellphones, Software

Windows Phone companion surfaces for Windows 8, could take over syncing duties originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 03 Sep 2012 19:29:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Not all mobile news is destined for the front page, but if you’re like us and really want to know what’s going on, then you’ve come to the right place. This past week, MetroPCS welcomed the Coolpad Quattro 4G into its stable and we also caught wind of a redesigned Huawei Mercury for Cricket. 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 August 27th, 2012.

Continue reading Mobile Miscellany: week of August 27th, 2012

Filed under: Cellphones, Wireless, Mobile

Mobile Miscellany: week of August 27th, 2012 originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 01 Sep 2012 21:30:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Renders, shmenders. According to Coolxap.com what you see above is a real-world prototype of the Nokia Lumia 820 — aka Nokia Arrow. As well as some tantalizing hardware shots, we get a sneaky glimpse at that all important “About phone” page. All we can see, though, is that it’s running Windows Phone 8 (shock) and has only 335MB of RAM? Though, being a prototype, that’s likely to change. Sadly little else of note, but it’s at least good to see that while the mock-ups were close, the real thing has a little more going for it.

Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile

Nokia Lumia 820 prototype breaks cover in photos, confirms little else originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 31 Aug 2012 12:27:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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So, if you don’t want your child messing up your smartphone, you can always snag a Mugtuk in hopes of scaring the crap out of them, but before you start inflicting emotional scars — and racking up psychologist bills — take a look at what the folks at Microsoft are cooking up for Windows Phone 8, because it seems much more sane. Known as Kid’s Corner, the app is a separate launcher that parents may fully customize. Not only can you include or exclude individual apps or games, but also music and video selections. Parents can find Kid’s Corner by swiping left from within the lock screen, though it’ll also be remarkably easy to exit — a child merely needs to press the power button. With this in mind, it seems that a lock screen password will be in order. According to The Verge, we can expect this feature to be available on all Windows Phone 8 handsets.

Filed under: Cellphones, Software, Mobile

Kid’s Corner uncovered for Windows Phone 8: a customizable, simplified launcher for rug rats originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 30 Aug 2012 21:13:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Word on the street is that Windows Phone 8 will get its official launch on October 29th. When asked for confirmation, Microsoft issued a pretty standard “no comment,” which leads us to believe there might actually be something to this rumor. With Windows 8 slated to land on October 26th, we wouldn’t be surprised to see its portable counterpart hit the market just a few days later, as ZDNet’s Mary Jo Foley is suggesting. October is already expected to be a rather hectic month for Microsoft, with launch of countless Windows 8 tablets scheduled. Putting WP8 out alongside its first batch of handsets (hello ATIV S!) would only make sense, really. We can think of a reason or two that Microsoft might want to utterly dominate a few news cycles.

Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile

Windows Phone 8 may land October 29th, just days after its desktop brother originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 29 Aug 2012 16:19:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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