Hasta La Gadget!

Windows Phone 7 is out, so we’re going to review as many awesome and essential apps as we can, live, updating throughout the day. If you’re curious about what Windows Phone, this is the place to really check it out. More »

Got yourself a big new Windows Phone 7 device and need something to fill its screen with? Sling Media has your back with its SlingPlayer Mobile app, which has hit the Marketplace just in time to earn its Launch App Partner achievement. Pricing for the software is set at $30 in the US, C$32 in Canada, £23 in the UK, and €21.10 in Europe plus local tax, though you’ll obviously need to have a Slingbox to communicate with as well. It ain’t cheap, but good things rarely are.

Update: We’ve also just come across a signup page for news updates on an iPad version of SlingPlayer Mobile. It’ll be priced identically to the company’s smartphone offerings, at $30, and looks to be coming soon. Thanks, Blake!

Continue reading SlingPlayer arrives in Windows Phone 7 Marketplace, headed to iPad next (updated)

SlingPlayer arrives in Windows Phone 7 Marketplace, headed to iPad next (updated) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 10 Nov 2010 02:30:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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In case you missed it, Wired has a new piece out on the (very brief) history of Windows Phone 7. Unfortunately, the article pulls all punches, and skates through some bizarre statements from Microsofties, including calling Kin “a worthwhile risk that resulted in important lessons,” and the real head scratcher of the piece: “Software is like making a movie and building a skyscraper. You’re not quite sure how it’s going to stand until it comes out in the end.” Still, we were glad to find this slide (pictured above) in the article’s photo gallery, chronicling the journey of the Metro design language from Microsoft’s ill-fated Portable Media Center, to the vaguely successful Zune products, and around at last to the newly available Windows Phone 7. A bit of comeuppance for 2004’s ahead-of-its-time, PlaysForSure-laden iPod killer? We like to think so.

Microsoft slide chronicles the journey from Portable Media Center to Windows Phone 7 originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 08 Nov 2010 14:10:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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HTC HD2 owners have been trying to shoehorn Windows Phone 7 onto their hapless devices practically since day one, but it looks like a port won’t make it into the wild before the platform’s formal US launch. That doesn’t mean you should give up hope, however, because one variant seems to be at least partway done, winding its merry way from boot through the splash screen and deep into the speedy UI in a far more convincing video demo than the last one that hit our inbox. Though no apps are actually demonstrated nor so much as a basic phone call (pretty please?), multitouch pinch-to-zoom appears to work just fine, and we’ve little doubt any remaining quirks will be worked out in due time — if not nearly as soon as new HTC HD7 owners migrating from the HD2 might have liked. Video after the break.

Update: Here comes a new, 5-minute video of the purportedly WP7-equipped HD2 (via XDA.cn / Pocketnow), this time side-by-side with the Surround and with expanded functionality — Office, Zune, and more. Video is also, as you might’ve guessed, after the break.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Continue reading HTC HD2 runs Windows Phone 7, makes us yearn for more (video)

HTC HD2 runs Windows Phone 7, makes us yearn for more (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 06 Nov 2010 23:59:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Though already open for early registrants, as of this week Microsoft has unbarred the floodgates for Windows Phone 7 app submissions from all developers. Full details and instructions can be found at the official App Hub, but if you’re just curious about the experience overall, WP7 dev Adam Nathan — who’s reportedly submitted 30 through the system already — outlines what he sees is the good, bad, and ugly of the process (literally). Face it, if you ever want to see your app on the Venue Pro, this is the gateway you must pass.

Windows Phone 7 app submissions are a go, now for everyone originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 05 Nov 2010 21:10:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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