Hasta La Gadget!

In case a liveblog and a never-ending stream of Windows Phones weren’t enough for you yesterday, here’s a chance to relive Microsoft’s launch presentation of its grand OS redesign. It’s kicked off by the big dog himself, Steve Ballmer, followed by Ralph de la Vega and Joe Belfiore giving us the lowdown on carrier pricing and new features. It’s good, we promise. Though we can’t guarantee it’s quite as awesome as the UK presentation, which included a Stephen Fry soliloquy on the subject of smartphones, diversity, and Microsoft’s redemption. That one we’ve got stored in our hearts, which, regrettably, don’t yet come with a HDMI output. Video after the break.

Continue reading Microsoft’s Windows Phone 7 keynote video now available to watch… again and again

Microsoft’s Windows Phone 7 keynote video now available to watch… again and again originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 12 Oct 2010 05:23:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We just spent some serious, and we mean serious time with Xbox Live for Windows Phone 7. Just like your Xbox, this is sort of an amalgamation of “the place you go to play games” and “the place you go to ping and taunt your friends who also play games.” Unfortunately, it seems there’s a bit of a disconnect between phone-based scores and records and Xbox achievements — they all add up to the same gamerscore, but you can’t easily there are separate charts to pull up your most recent Halo exploits to show off on your mobile, for instance. Luckily, that still puts Microsoft in a better position than any other mobile games platform (until Apple can get Game Center to stop sucking, at least). Being able to message and challenge friends all from the same “hub” where you keep your games is great, and being able to view your avatar and the avatars of friends (you can even play dress-up with your own) is nice gravy on top.

Of course, what really matters is the games, right? Luckily, Microsoft has a pretty strong launch lineup, with some of the regulars like EA’s The Sims 3 and Need for Speed, along with some exclusives like Rocket Riot and the hotly anticipated The Harvest. The good news? Games look and play great, just like you might expect from an iPhone or Android level capacitive touchscreen platform, with The Harvest as an obvious and very important standout in complexity and polish. The bad news? Everything takes forever to load (our rough estimate is about three minutes to start playing in The Harvest), and when you don’t have any multitasking, that’s a really bad thing. Check out some of the Xbox Live hub and capabilities after the break, along with some games, and make up your own mind.

Continue reading Xbox Live for Windows Phone 7: your Xbox isn’t in your phone yet, but we’re getting there

Xbox Live for Windows Phone 7: your Xbox isn’t in your phone yet, but we’re getting there originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 11 Oct 2010 17:52:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Having trouble keeping track of all the new Windows Phone 7 handsets today? We don’t blame you — even we had trouble remembering all the minor differences between the similarly specced devices. To end our frustration, we’ve compiled a big chart that lists out the carriers and specs for all 10 devices (with a couple extra MIA) to make our lives a tad easier — head on pass the break if you need the peace of mind.

Continue reading Windows Phone 7 handsets: spec comparison

Windows Phone 7 handsets: spec comparison originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 11 Oct 2010 15:18:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We just got a look at U-verse Mobile running live on Windows Phone 7. It looks just like every other Windows Phone 7 app, of course, but it looks like AT&T isn’t cutting this thing off at the knees content-wise. From the phone you’ll have access to your entire DVR for scheduling and checking the program guide, and you’ll also be able to see any episodes you have recorded on your box. Within that view you can find a subset of shows that have been flagged by the content providers to allow streaming (free-for-all Sling this is not). Additionally, the phone can access a mobile version of U-verse’s on demand deals over 3G WiFi, which should hopefully be comparable to Zune or iTunes offerings — though we’ll have to see the specifics to find out for sure. The show we were shown buffered quickly over WiFi and was able to skip around within the episode even faster. Check out the video walkthrough after the break.

Continue reading AT&T U-verse Mobile preview

AT&T U-verse Mobile preview originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 11 Oct 2010 12:17:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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With thousands of developers churning out thousands of apps, we’ve no doubt exploring the Marketplace is going to be a full-time job for at least a day or two after you nab your Windows Phone 7 device this fall — but with all the hullabaloo today, we thought this would be a good opportunity to highlight a few that Microsoft and its partners have been talking about recently. Dig in!

Continue reading Windows Phone 7 launch day app roundup

Windows Phone 7 launch day app roundup originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 11 Oct 2010 11:43:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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