Hasta La Gadget!

Internet Explorer not stirring your cup of Windows Phone 7 tea correctly? Well, you now have an alternative in the form of a new browser that’s arrived in the Marketplace: Browser+. It does seem to have been built on IE code rather than its own framework, so don’t get your hopes up for Chrome to Phone on WP7 any time soon. Anyhow, the new app’s been given a test drive by a couple of sites, who note it integrates a view of your current tabs and a Google search box right into the general web view, providing a slightly more accessible interface than the default option, while also throwing in a private surfing mode for the paranoid among us. A few crashes and bugs have been spotted in Browser+ so far, but hey, it’s cheap and it at least gives us hope for a less monotheistic browsing experience. See it in video action after the break.

Continue reading Windows Phone 7 will work with third party browsers, so long as they’re based on IE? (video)

Windows Phone 7 will work with third party browsers, so long as they’re based on IE? (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 17 Nov 2010 06:10:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Want the cheapest way to try out Windows Phone 7? Outside of getting yourself hooked up with a job at a tech blog, Amazon might have the very finest option for you with its newly discounted $0.01 pricing on two AT&T handsets for the new platform. The HTC Surround and its slide-out speaker are available immediately whereas the LG Quantum, which slides to reveal a more conventional QWERTY keypad, is on back-order. Fear not, though, both will cost you a mere cent when obtained in conjunction with a new AT&T line and a two-year bond with the carrier. We might still prefer their European counterparts, but you can’t deny these phones look to be priced just about right for what they are. Shame that this pricing will only last through the weekend.

HTC Surround and LG Quantum available for $0.01 at Amazon this weekend originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 12 Nov 2010 06:12:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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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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We’re finding it hard to hold back our enthusiasm for Dell’s Windows Phone 7 slider, but come launch day the 4.1-inch Venue Pro may be a tricky one to find — you’ll need to line up at one of only seven Microsoft retail stores on November 8th (a likely date) if this allegedly leaked document is right. If you’re willing to wait until November 15th, however, there’s also Dell itself, which will apparently double as the only place you’ll be able to go to get any support for the T-Mobile device. Neither niggle will stop us from nabbing one, however. For all we know, Lightning might not strike Windows Phone 7 twice.

[Thanks, Ryan]

Dell Venue Pro launches November 8th at Microsoft stores, November 15th at Dell website? originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 06 Nov 2010 22:05:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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