Hasta La Gadget!

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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Continue reading LG giving away ten free Windows Phone 7 apps every two months

LG giving away ten free Windows Phone 7 apps every two months originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 04 Nov 2010 02:41:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sprint will apparently be offering preorders of its HTC 7 Pro — the only CDMA Windows Phone 7 device to be announced so far — in just a few days’ time on November 8th, but there’s a fairly big catch: you’ve got to be a Microsoft employee to get in on the action. Redmond has been great about seeding WP7 models to its staff so far, so it’s definitely possible that Sprint is working with Microsoft in some capacity to get 7 Pros to its folks a little early in an effort to smooth out last-minute bugs and get feedback… either that, or it’s just doing them a solid by letting ’em preorder a few days before everyone else. Last we’d heard, the 7 Pro won’t be coming until 2011 (despite the fact that there’s already an FCC certification ready to roll), so if we were to see a few of the things floating around campus before January, we certainly wouldn’t be surprised. Pricing is yet to be announced.

HTC 7 Pro going on preorder for Microsoft employees November 8th originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 01 Nov 2010 18:13:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We felt that Microsoft’s Windows Phone 7 was a product that would be perpetually evaluated, tweaked and overhauled as time went on, and sure enough, we’re already seeing those winds of change blow yonder. Reportedly, Microsoft has now removed the restriction that prevented developers from writing applications that would continue to operate behind a locked screen (without a user’s explicit permission, anyway), enabling a whole host of apps to breathe in a manner in which they simply should. Audio apps, for example, will now be able to run in the background without yet another layer of pointless Vista-esque permissions, and Microsoft’s Charlie Kindel said in an interview at its Professional Developer Conference that this move “is an example of us continuing to listen to customers.” Frankly, it’s just more fair — Microsoft’s own ingrained applications could already do this sans user permission (email, Zune playback, downloads, etc.), so it makes sense to give loyal developers that same opportunity. Of course, devs will have to prove that background apps won’t burn up an absurd amount of battery life, but that’s definitely not an unexpected qualification.

Microsoft loosens up, enables Windows Phone 7 apps to run beneath screen lock originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 29 Oct 2010 22:37:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We thought the Samsung Focus was the only Windows Phone 7 launch device that could replace its external storage, but the HTC HD7 can apparently do the same — there’s an SD card slot under that Windows Phone logo, and The Unwired managed to replace it while dodging the dreaded “There’s a storage error” screen. What sort of black magic did the publication cast to make it recognize the new card? They’re not quite sure themselves, but several factory resets and physical reinsertion of the chip seemed to do the trick, if only for an 8GB card. If you’re in a daring mood, let us know if it works for you in comments below!

Update: HTC tells us that this particular surgery’s a risky one, not only for your warranty but the connectivity of your phone. Here’s what you’re getting yourself into, according to a senior company rep:

While this is not technically impossible, one thing that is important to know is that the process of removing the cover to access these components is actually very tricky – and in many cases, will result in the antenna section being irreparably detached from the circuit board (rendering the phone unusable). Additionally, to actually replace the card, a few reasonably important parts have to be forcibly removed. So, just a good warning to anyone thinking of attempting this maneuver is that the possibility of bricking is extremely high, and will, of course, void the product warranty.

HTC HD7 has hidden microSD slot, user-replacable card? (update: risky business) originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 29 Oct 2010 00:15:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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