Hasta La Gadget!

To be a jailbreaker means different things depending on the device that you’re busy hacking preinstalled walls from. If you’re fiddling with consoles, a legal team would come highly recommended, but if you’re tweaking mobile code, at least Windows Phone mobile code, you’re in for a much sweeter ride. The ChevronWP7 guys that brought us the first jailbreak of Microsoft’s Windows Phone 7 are currently in Redmond having a sitdown and a frank exchange of views with WP7 dev experience director Brandon Watson, and the amicable nature of their discourse has been evidenced by the image above. Microsoft is clearly taking a light-hearted and community-friendly approach to handling the (now inevitable) efforts at disabling limitations to its software and we can only congratulate its mobile team for doing so.

[Thanks, Tasos]

Update: Looks like Microsoft’s softie approach really is working. Shortly after the jolly news, notorious hacker Geohot announced on Twitter that he’s going to treat himself to a WP7 device; but before long, Redmond’s already reached out to offer him a free handset. Any bets on MuscleNerd hitting the tweet button next? [Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Visualized: the glamorous lifestyles of WP7 jailbreakers (update: Geohot crashes the party) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 18 Jan 2011 03:29:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Each week Ross Rubin contributes Switched On, a column about consumer technology.

And so, at Steve Ballmer’s keynote, the company announced that the next version of Windows will support not only x86 offerings from Intel and AMD – themselves moving closer to ARM-like system-on-chips – but ARM designs from companies such as Qualcomm and NVIDIA as well. Microsoft noted that the new chip support was requested by its partners, implying that PC companies want to take advantage of the long battery life and thin form factors enabled by ARM architectures, but also bring along Windows’ broad driver and software support. Microsoft clearly considers the tablet another PC, albeit one that Windows’ hardware and user interface layer needs to support better. However, in striking back at Android evolution, Microsoft risks collateral damage to its own mobile OS. Can Windows Phone 7 co-exist with a ARM-based version of the real thing?

Continue reading Switched On: Making the call on Windows Phone 7

Switched On: Making the call on Windows Phone 7 originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 15 Jan 2011 19:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The only hard news we’ve seen from Microsoft regarding Windows Phone 7 sales was less than revealing, but it seems that LG is stepping out from the behind the curtain a bit to let us in on how things are going — from its perspective, anyway. In a sit-down with the folks over at Pocket-lint, LG’s marketing strategy and planning team director James Choi noted: “From an industry perspective we had a high expectation, but from a consumer point of view the visibility is less than we expected.” Nothing too shocking there, but he followed up by noting that LG feels Windows Phone 7 “is absolutely perfect for a huge segment out there.” Perhaps more shocking was this tidbit: “What we feel is that some people believe that some operating systems, mainly Google, are extremely complicated for them; but Windows Phone 7 is very intuitive and easy to use.” He followed his not-terribly-subtle Android jab with a WP7 jab, oddly enough, noting that “for tech guys, [WP7] might be a little bit boring after a week or two, but there are certain segments that it really appeals to.” What’s left unclear is exactly how much support LG is going to give Microsoft after launching the Optimus 7, but we’re guessing that next month’s outlay at Mobile World Congress will be a huge indication. Naturally, we’ll be there with our eyes peeled.

LG: Windows Phone 7 launch did not meet expectations, still a fine OS for ‘a huge segment’ originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 14 Jan 2011 09:54:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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As has been discussed before, Windows Phone 7 is set to release a major update later this year, but it appears that the boys in Redmond may finally be ready to send out an OS refresh that will substantially improve the existing WP7 user experience. First and foremost, copy and paste is included, which given how long we’ve been waiting for that functionality, would be more than enough to appease the majority. The update, however, also promises significantly lower load times for third-party apps due to improvements made in memory management. We don’t have details on the specific tweaks made, but generally, the changes allot more memory for pre-loading applications to hasten things significantly. Who knows when users will receive the upgrade, but here’s hoping it’s sooner rather than later. Peep the video after the break to see just how much faster you’ll get to start honing your Fruit Ninja skills when the mood strikes.

Continue reading WP7 update with faster app load times, copy and paste is real; release date remains nebulous

WP7 update with faster app load times, copy and paste is real; release date remains nebulous originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 11 Jan 2011 14:41:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Got iTunes? Got a Windows Phone 7 device? Then you’ll probably want to check out the new Remote app in the Marketplace. It promises to make the two sing in perfect harmony by making them talk over a WiFi connection. There’s a basic set of iTunes controls at your WP7 phone’s disposal, including volume, starting /stopping music, and searching by album, artist, and song, and a corresponding piece of desktop software you need to install to make the magic happen. It’s compatible with both Windows (XP and above) and Mac OS (10.5.8 and above), so all you really need now are $1.99 for the mobile app and the overwhelming desire to control your playlists remotely.

Windows Phone 7 can now act as a WiFi remote control for iTunes originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 10 Jan 2011 19:47:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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