HTC Ignite, Prime, and Pyramid renders surface?

Even before the Incredible S was announced as the company’s new top-of-the-line set back in February, the rumored Pyramid was the upcoming HTC phone that was capturing everyone’s imagination thanks in no small part to its promise of a dual-core processor — something the Incredible S notably lacks. We hadn’t seen what this beast might look like, though… until today. Chinese site xda.cn has posted alleged renders of the Pyramid’s front and rear, showing a careful evolution of HTC’s current design language along with claims of a 4.3-inch 960 x 540 display, 8 megapixel primary and 1.3 megapixel front cameras, 768MB of RAM, and Android 3.0 (that last bit doesn’t sound right to us, though — Android 2.x with Sense would be more plausible). Rumors have this one pegged for launch on T-Mobile at some point this year; it’d be nice if that happened at CTIA next week, but considering how tied up they might be with Sprint at the show, it’s hard to say if that’ll happen.

Moving on, we’ve got some visual evidence here that HTC’s pressing on with its Windows Phone line. The first of the two, the Ignite, looks like a midrange slate thanks to an 800MHz Qualcomm processor (clocked slower than the current batch of 1GHz units that are out there), a mere 3.7-inch display, and a 5 megapixel camera around back. The Prime, meanwhile, looks like a little brother to the 7 Pro thanks to a slide-out QWERTY keyboard and similar specs to the Ignite — not blockbusters by any stretch, but HTC (along with other OEMs) might be waiting to pull out the big guns until Mango. Check out those renders at the source link.

HTC Ignite, Prime, and Pyramid renders surface? originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 15 Mar 2011 13:51:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink PocketNow  |  sourcexda.cn  | Email this | Comments

HTC Arrive up for $50 pre-order at Wirefly, requires new Sprint account and two-year contract

HTC’s first Windows Phone 7 QWERTY slider handset is a mere five days away from its launch on Sprint, but already there’s an online retailer keen to undercut everyone else for your business. Wirefly is currently offering the HTC Arrive (aka the 7 Pro outside the US) for $49.99 in upfront costs when bought in conjunction with a new two-year service plan from Sprint on, importantly, a new account. Eligible upgraders will have to shell out $149.99 for the privilege, though that’s still less than Sprint’s own $199.99 pricing. If you find it any cheaper elsewhere, do make sure to let us know.

HTC Arrive up for $50 pre-order at Wirefly, requires new Sprint account and two-year contract originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 14 Mar 2011 22:15:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Windows Phone Thoughts, everythingwm  |  sourceWirefly  | Email this | Comments

Windows Phone 7 Marketplace hits 10,000 apps, Microsoft WP7 updates still way outnumbered

It’s a milestone in the life of any OS: the day you reach that magical 10,000 app number. Windows Phone 7 is the latest kindred soul to achieve the feat, accomplishing the task in just over four and a half months — that’s faster than both the Android Marketplace and iTunes App Store. Microsoft’s been adding around 1,000 apps a week since it hit 5k right before the New Year, and as of late that rate’s been picking up. Congrats WP7 devs, you’ve officially issued more software updates than Microsoft itself. Your move Microsoft, we’re still waiting for copy & paste.

Windows Phone 7 Marketplace hits 10,000 apps, Microsoft WP7 updates still way outnumbered originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 11 Mar 2011 21:51:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Yahoo Mail gets IMAP patch, Windows Phone 7 data consumption catches a break

Yahoo had been pegged a few weeks ago as the culprit behind excessive data usage on Windows Phone 7 devices, sending far more information in replies to requests from the phone than necessary — not really a big deal for those on unlimited data plans, but a legitimate cause for concern if you’ve got a data cap and overage to worry about (as more and more customers on AT&T do these days). Well, turns out Yahoo went ahead and updated its IMAP servers at some point in the last few days, fixing the issue and more or less obliterating the ravenous gobbling of kilobytes. If you don’t use Yahoo… well, this is of little concern, but for the rest of you — whether you’re on a Windows Phone, an iPhone, or pretty much anything else with a limited bucket — this should be music to your ears.

Yahoo Mail gets IMAP patch, Windows Phone 7 data consumption catches a break originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 10 Mar 2011 23:40:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Electronista  |  sourceWithin Windows  | Email this | Comments

Microsoft France pegs Windows Phone 7’s copy and paste update for second half of March

We’d heard “early March” being thrown around for the so-called NoDo update to Windows Phone 7 that includes support for copy and paste (along with performance tweaks and a CDMA stack that’ll allow Sprint’s HTC Arrive to go about its business) back at MWC, but it looks like that may have slipped a tad: Microsoft France’s official PR blog is now trumpeting the second half of this month, which means you can probably stop checking your phone for updates every 15 minutes and regain some semblance of sanity and normalcy in your life for a few days. Legendary Microsoft insider Mary Jo Foley says her sources are telling her that the week of March 21st is looking likely — conveniently the week of CTIA and the Arrive’s launch — so that would make some sense.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Microsoft France pegs Windows Phone 7’s copy and paste update for second half of March originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 09 Mar 2011 17:28:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Bloomberg: Microsoft to pay Nokia ‘more than $1 billion’ to make Windows Phones

Though neither Nokia nor CEO Stephen Elop ever said there was an exchange of billions of dollars as a part of the company’s tie-up with Microsoft for the Windows Phone platform, Bloomberg is sourcing “two people with knowledge of the terms” in saying that something in excess of $1 billion is flowing from Redmond to Espoo. Though the deal isn’t yet finalized — Elop said as much back at MWC — it’d apparently call for Microsoft to pay out at least some of the cash upfront with Nokia sending cash in the other direction for device licenses. Interestingly, the deal is said to give Microsoft access to parts of Nokia’s expansive patent portfolio — and they’ll have it for quite some time, too: the contract’s apparently going to be good for “more than five years.” That’s more than most marriages, it seems (and roughly as expensive).

Bloomberg: Microsoft to pay Nokia ‘more than $1 billion’ to make Windows Phones originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 07 Mar 2011 16:46:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sony Ericsson Windows Phone 7 device said to be just an ‘old prototype’

Get your hopes up about that Sony Ericsson Windows Phone 7 slider that surfaced over the weekend? Well, then we’re afraid we’ve got a bit of bad news. According to Mobile Review’s Eldar Murtazin, it’s just an “old prototype that was canceled last year.” As we mentioned previously, however, that shouldn’t exactly come as a huge surprise, considering that Sony Ericsson has repeatedly stated that a move to Windows Phone 7 is highly unlikely given the company’s commitment to Android, and given the fact that we’ve already heard of a since-scrapped WP7 prototype that sounds suspiciously like the one pictured above.

Sony Ericsson Windows Phone 7 device said to be just an ‘old prototype’ originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 07 Mar 2011 13:24:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink SlashGear  |  source@mobireview (Twitter)  | Email this | Comments

Sony Ericsson Windows Phone 7 prototype caught in the wild?

Sony Ericsson was named a Windows Phone 7 partner a year ago, but — like another we could name — seemingly scrapped plans to produce a device and chose another OS instead. Or did it? Pictures of what looks to be a Sony Ericsson prototype running Windows Phone 7 recently surfaced at Lizhecomb, and it could be that SE’s looking to try again… but probably not. You see, rumor had it that Sony Ericsson did produce a prototype sliding WP7 handset — the Julie — much like the one above, and this one certainly looks a little prototypical compared to contemporary designs. What it may add up to is Sony Ericsson and ASUS in the same boat — two WP7 launch partners that failed to launch, but each with hardware to show for it.

Sony Ericsson Windows Phone 7 prototype caught in the wild? originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 06 Mar 2011 14:38:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink WMPowerUser, Esato  |  sourceLizhecomb  | Email this | Comments

Updated Windows Phone 7 update isn’t updating some Samsung phones for March update

Man, talk about a flustercuck. After missing a cycle with its mobile phone strategy, the last thing Microsoft needed was a support fiasco related to its very first Windows Phone 7 software update. But after re-releasing a patched software update meant to solve the update issues seen by some Samsung owners, we’re now seeing reports of a new issue on Twitter and in a variety of support forums and blog comments. At the moment, there’s no clear fix to the dilemma characterized by a wonderfully descriptive “error code 800705B4.” Unfortunately, what solves the problem for some (reboots, removing apps, freeing up space on the handset) doesn’t work for others. Microsoft’s official Windows Phone 7 Support Twitter account has responded to one frustrated customer saying, “We are aware of the error code are are looking into it right now,” telling another to hold off on the update while MS investigates. Funny thing is, this minor WP7 update wasn’t meant to do anything except prepare phones for the first feature update scheduled for early March. Not funny ha ha.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Updated Windows Phone 7 update isn’t updating some Samsung phones for March update originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 04 Mar 2011 04:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Windows Phone Thoughts  |  sourceMicrosoft Answers  | Email this | Comments

Microsoft resumes WP7 update for ‘bricked’ Samsung handsets

After much brouhaha and rigmarole, Microsoft appears to be back on track with its inaugural Windows Phone 7 software update. An update that wasn’t actually supposed to do anything but prepare that first wave of WP7 devices for their first real update but, ironically, left about 10 percent of WP7 owners with issues including some precision-built Samsung paperweights. Last night Microsoft issued an update on the matter saying that the February update for Samsung handsets has been fixed, resuming its rolling release schedule. Great, with this hopefully behind us, maybe we can now focus on the first real update scheduled for “early March” that will finally check off the platform’s infamous lack of copy ‘n paste on the road to multitasking, Twitter integration, and a vastly improved IE9 browser later in the year.

Microsoft resumes WP7 update for ‘bricked’ Samsung handsets originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 03 Mar 2011 03:34:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink WMPoweruser  |  sourceWindows Team Blog  | Email this | Comments