Hasta La Gadget!

Microsoft may have told us a lot about Windows Phone 8 in June, but it left out much of what the Office component’s update would entail. Thankfully, Partner Group program lead John Jendrezak has voluntered to let us peek under the hood, including our first real glimpse of the new Office Hub. The app’s connection to Office 2013 is more than the skin deep looks you see here: Office documents will sync more seamlessly from desktop to phone, and it’s implied that the reading position sync from the desktop version will extend to the mobile realm as well. Many mysteries still remain as to what’s exactly different in the more pocketable version of Office. There’s more about the new work suite’s communion with the cloud at the source link, however, so dig in if an offline Office feels like a prison.

Filed under: Cellphones

Microsoft gives a tease of Office for Windows Phone 8, talks up Office 2013 integration originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 17 Jul 2012 16:07:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Most talk of a Nokia Lumia for Verizon has been relegated to small-scale rumors and incidental CDMA references. Nokia’s Worldwide Developer Relations head Richard Kerris has rather suddenly brought the elusive subject into focus through an interview: he tells Neowin that it “won’t be long” before the can-you-hear-me-now network gets a taste of an experience that has previously been limited to the GSM side of the US telecom world, like AT&T and T-Mobile. We’re not getting a roadmap for any Verizon devices just yet, to no one’s surprise, but Kerris is more than willing to share when we can expect the next wave of Nokia devices. We should expect a refresh of the line sometime in the fall, and whatever’s arriving in the spring will purportedly be good enough to have people “climbing over themselves” to get it — just in case Nokia’s role as a Windows Phone 8 partner for the fall launch and beyond wasn’t clear enough. The question-and-answer session touches on a handful of other subjects, including a hint that the near-mythical Windows Phone with PureView may be a bit closer to reality, so click on through if you’d like a peek at where the Lumia is headed next.

Nokia: it ‘won’t be long’ before Verizon gets its due, and we’ll have more gear in the fall originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 09 Jul 2012 10:48:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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If you saw Microsoft unveil Windows Phone 8 and were disappointed that it only had a handful of conspicuous new features to show, such as that new Start screen and NFC support, don’t worry: that’s just the tip of the iceberg. Senior product manager Greg Sullivan (not pictured here) tells Pocket-lint that much of the information provided so far had to be revealed early to please developers and IT managers, many of whom can’t wait until the last minute. Unlike a certain rival in Cupertino, Microsoft has a range of partners to work with and can’t just be ready to go “hours after” the OS is announced, like those that control both the hardware and the software. That split is good news to us, as it sounds like there’s a raft of public-facing Windows Phone 8 features waiting to surface between now and the end of the year — whatever impressions we had in June may have been conservative.

Microsoft: our nature makes it tough to show everything Windows Phone 8 can do just yet originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 02 Jul 2012 17:58:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Now that the dust has settled on the big Windows Phone 8 hoedown, Redmond is filling in the details of all its announcements. To wit, it just released a list of the 180 countries that will get access to its WP marketplace and developer app hub. That number is a big jump from the 63 markets and 38 app hubs of today, and with in-app purchasing coming soon, Microsoft emphasized that point — along with the 100,000 apps in stock — to developers. The software giant also added that the marketplace will filter apps by phone screen resolution and “other key characteristics,” allowing easier targeting of users. To see if your country made the cut, check the source for the very long list.

Microsoft lists 180 countries in Windows Phone 8 Marketplace, says apps can filter by screen size originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 29 Jun 2012 11:54:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Reactions to news that Windows Phone 7 devices would never turn into Windows Phone 8 handsets were decidedly mixed, but the company is now making sure people know just what’s in the coming “pattern of upgrades.” Company evangelist Ben “The PC Guy” Rudolph shot this video of Windows Phone 7.8 running on a Lumia 900, showing off its updated Start screen with resizable tiles. We weren’t able to get hands-on time or take video when we saw one of the phones in person last week, but now you can see how smoothly it works for yourself. There’s more than just a video, as Ben’s blog post points out a new Windows Phone 7.5 site set up to keep owners updated on all the new features and apps they are getting (like Audible, Words With Friends and Draw Something), as opposed to focusing on the ones they’re not.

Microsoft accentuates the positive, gives Windows Phone 7.8’s new start screen a closer look (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 26 Jun 2012 00:52:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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