Microsoft: over 1.5 million Windows Phone 7 devices sold to carriers and retailers

Microsoft has decided to finally dish out some sales figures for its new Windows Phone 7 platform, but alas, these are not the sales figures we are looking for. Instead of giving us the juicy number of actual devices sold to end users, the Redmond crew has provided a neatly rounded figure of 1.5 million sales to mobile operators and retailers. That tells us that the mobile industry is cautiously buying into Microsoft’s new OS, and it’d be foolish not to, but it doesn’t really educate us on the relative success of the platform’s launch — 1.5 million units is a tiny, tiny number when you consider the platform launched on 10 devices on over 60 carriers in over 30 countries. All that Microsoft’s Achim Berg would say is that early sales have been “in line” with expectations.

Microsoft: over 1.5 million Windows Phone 7 devices sold to carriers and retailers originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 21 Dec 2010 09:32:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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HTC HD7 gets its .bins all in a tizzy, custom ROMs up next?

What do you get when you cross an HTC HD7 with a Mondrian ROM? Or a Schubert ROM? (‘Elephino… wait, that’s not right.) Nothing too crazy, we imagine, but in doing so, xda-developers patron ansar.ath.gr has provided a proof of concept that custom ROMs can be implemented on Windows Phone 7 devices. In more technical terms, “this proves that the imgfs.bin can be used from any branded device to any other branded device.” It’s okay, you don’t have to know what an imgfs.bin is, but if you’re the sort who likes to tweak phones well beyond what’s in the settings menu / user manual, just be patient and know there’s at least a few brilliant coders who’ll capitalize on this freshly laid groundwork.

HTC HD7 gets its .bins all in a tizzy, custom ROMs up next? originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 17 Dec 2010 19:40:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Microsoft rolls out updated Windows Phone 7 Connector for Mac

It’s still technically in beta, but Microsoft has just rolled out a fairly significant update to its Windows Phone 7 Connector software for Mac. Among other things, the software now has a new device setup process, support for manual file imports from the device, and the ability to sync content purchased on your phone back to your Mac — not to mention a slew of bug fixes and other more minor tweaks. Hit up the source link below to start downloading, or just look for it in the Microsoft AutoUpdate app.

Microsoft rolls out updated Windows Phone 7 Connector for Mac originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 17 Dec 2010 14:22:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Paramount rolls out Silverlight-enhanced movies for Windows Phone 7

Why simply download a movie when you can download a movie app? That’s the thinking at Paramount, at least, which launched it’s first Silverlight-enhanced movie app, School of Rock, for Windows Phone 7 devices this week. That’s one of an initial batch of ten movies that will be released before the end of the year, which will also include Zoolander, GI JOE: The Rise of Cobra and Waiting for Superman, among other yet-to-be-announced titles. In addition to the movie itself, each of those will come packed with a range of extras including trailers, DVD-style special features, a Scene It? pop-up trivia mode, and the ability to create custom movie clips. As for how much they’ll cost, School of Rock currently runs $10, although it’s not clear if that will be the standard pricing for all releases.

Continue reading Paramount rolls out Silverlight-enhanced movies for Windows Phone 7

Paramount rolls out Silverlight-enhanced movies for Windows Phone 7 originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 17 Dec 2010 02:02:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Dell ships at least one Venue Pro, the saga continues

The observant among you will have noticed that we’re a week past December 9th, yet Venue Pros are still conspicuously absent from their pre-orderers’ hands. Dell’s ever-changing shipping date was last bumped back to early January, though the company itself said it was hopeful that some units will ship out this week. And guess what? At least one did. Our tipster placed his order for the 8GB Venue Pro on December 2nd, and according to FedEx’s online tracking service, his shipment has been picked up from El Paso, Texas, and is currently en route to him. What say you, brave Windows Phone buyers, has your Venue Pro broken out of the warehouses ahead of its (delayed) release?

[Thanks, John]

Dell ships at least one Venue Pro, the saga continues originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 16 Dec 2010 07:44:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Windows Phone 7 said to be getting major ‘Mango’ update in August or September

We’d already heard that Windows Phone 7 is set to get an update of some sort early next year — possibly coinciding with Mobile World Congress in February — but ZD Net’s Mary Jo Foley is now reporting that an even bigger update could be following in August or September. According to her sources, the update is codenamed “Mango,” and it will effectively amount to Windows Phone 7.5, which she says might even be the actual name when it’s released. That update will apparently bring Silverlight runtime and HTML5 support to the OS, along with Far Eastern language support, and some other unspecified features and functionality. It will also presumably be the most significant update until Windows Phone 8, which Foley says is codenamed “Apollo,” and is on track for a release in late 2012.

[Thanks, John]

Windows Phone 7 said to be getting major ‘Mango’ update in August or September originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 15 Dec 2010 14:21:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Telus to bundle free Xbox 360 with every WP7 activation or renewal for a limited time, says leak

Buy this phone, won’t you please buy this phone? We’ve no idea why Telus has to try so hard to convince Canadian buyers to grab themselves a Windows Phone 7 handset, but the carrier’s expected to sweeten the deal dramatically over the next few days by bundling a freebie Xbox 360 with every WP7 device activation or renewal. The offer starts today, according to this leaked memo, and will last through to the end of the week, December 19th. Telus carries the HTC 7 Surround and LG Optimus 7, neither of which would seem to have caught fire quite the way Microsoft would have wanted. Ah well, if you’re going to sell your wireless soul for a whole three years, you might as well do it for a phone-plus-console combo.

[Thanks, Sean]

Telus to bundle free Xbox 360 with every WP7 activation or renewal for a limited time, says leak originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 15 Dec 2010 04:38:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Kin Studio closing January 31st, Verizon offers free phones to affected customers

Though the final nail in the Microsoft Kin coffin has yet to be tapped into place, the software that made the pair of ill-fated handsets strangely compelling will soon get the axe. Come January 31st, Kin Studio will be no more, effectively neutering existing Kin phones by removing them from the cloud. They’ll still be able to make calls, send SMS, email, browse the web and even stream music via Zune Pass, but their formerly live homescreens will become lifeless, stripped of social networking functionality — and will actually remain stuck on their very last status update, much like a broken clock. Their online repository of pictures, videos and contacts will cease to exist, though you can back them up to a personal computer if you act now. Thankfully, Verizon seems to understands that not all Kin customers will be happy with a zombiephone, and has taken a drastic measure to help them out — through March 31st, 2011, Kin owners can trade it in for a free 3G phone of their choice. How kind. Find full Verizon FAQs on the transition at our more coverage links.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Continue reading Kin Studio closing January 31st, Verizon offers free phones to affected customers

Kin Studio closing January 31st, Verizon offers free phones to affected customers originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 11 Dec 2010 13:51:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Microsoft said to be planning second Windows Phone 7 update for MWC in February

Coming this February, at a Mobile World Congress near you, from the company that popularized the Service Pack: a second major update to Windows Phone 7. The observant among you will already be leaping out of their seats to point out that the first WP7 update hasn’t even been delivered yet, but it seems like Microsoft’s calendar stretches beyond the next month and the company’s already churning away on enhancing and improving its rebooted mobile OS. Such is the scuttlebutt coming out of WinRumors, and it’s kind of hard to argue with the postulation that Steve Ballmer wouldn’t be keynoting MWC in 2011 without something significant to announce. Word is that users will be getting added customization options for their phones, while developers will gain an extra few API hooks and controls that will ideally lead to more sophisticated apps in WP7’s future. Sounds good to us, now how about some landscape love, Microsoft?

[Thanks, Jay]

Microsoft said to be planning second Windows Phone 7 update for MWC in February originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 10 Dec 2010 07:20:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Windows Phone Android launcher brings Metro UI’s simplicity, but none of its joy

Need to have the latest and greatest, but can’t stand the sameness on tap? You can easily spruce up your Android device with some Windows Phone 7 window dressing to impress your fanboy friends. Mind you, the “Windows Phone Android” launcher — now available in Android Market — isn’t good for more than a practical joke or three, as it’s buggy, doesn’t run on all phones (our Droid 2 failed, and we’re hearing some Galaxy S derivatives aren’t supported), doesn’t support notifications, and doesn’t even have those fancy auto-updating Live Tiles. No, what you’re looking at here is just a stack of square icons to launch your apps, and a second pane with a vertically scrolling list of the same. Until some brave soul brings us the real deal, though, this may be as close as you’re going to get.

[Thanks, marky mark]

Windows Phone Android launcher brings Metro UI’s simplicity, but none of its joy originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 10 Dec 2010 04:37:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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