Microsoft has announced some improvements to its Xbox video catalogue. Great news, because, "this update will allow us to more quickly and efficiently add the highest quality video content to the Xbox Video service", says the official wording. How about collateral damage? Yes! Sadly, "as a result, beginning in late February 2014, any Xbox Video content you own as of then, will no longer be playable through the Zune PC client, Zune devices, or Windows Phone 7 devices." Microsoft apologizes for the inconvenience and lets all Windows Phone 7.x users still using the Zune app that content can ...

You might be able to read that headline and interpret it as saying that everything in Windows Phone 8 has improved so much that the best part of the previous version is now the worst part of the latest version.  Or you might read that as saying the best part of the previous version has been completely ruined in Windows Phone 8.  The latter is going to be the case here. Let's start with what was in my opinion the best part of Windows Phone 7; the Music & Videos hub combined with the fantastic Zune Pass service.  Back in 2010 there was nothing like it.  Nothing else was as good at ...

Sitting on the couch the other night, I saw a commercial that really piqued my interest.  Lumia 920 from AT&T – buy one get one free. Holy Crow! That’s just the excuse that I’ve been looking for! Sure I’d have to go on contract again – I haven’t bought an AT&T phone since June of 2010 – but this might just be worth it. But wait. As much as a Lumia 920 would fulfill a good portion of my smart phone naughty dreams, is this REALLY the best time to pony up $100 and the next two years of my life on a new phone? Can the Lumia 920 still be considered a “new” phone? It ...

All companies go through rough times. You may not see them financially at first, but it's always a matter of time before the rest of the signs of decline reach their bottom line. We've been worried about Microsoft's performance lately. Whether it's about not being able to deliver compelling products, or having the compelling products not really deliver, it seems that all the corporate genius that was so well put together by Bill Gates is just there to cash a check and be polite. The irony is to have to worry about Microsoft's marketing strategy for Windows Phone. I mean, aren’t they ...

"We ran out of time", that's what Microsoft’s Thomas Fennel said at the Build conference when talking about a possible notification center for Windows Phone 8. As with the previous version of Microsoft's mobile operating system, the latest iteration doesn't sport a notification center to gather all of your toasts which, once they disappear after ten seconds, you can't bring back. While some might argue that the platform doesn't need one, the homebrew community disagrees. The video below is a demo of a fully working notification center for Windows Phone 7 --and claimed working on Windows ...

Several months back, I wrote a piece explaining why it's the rate plans, not device prices, that customers should focus on when buying subsidized smartphones in the U.S. That's because, while shelling out a mountain of dollars for a smartphone at a retail store feels a lot more costly than paying $80 a month for a wireless bill, the reality is that the monthly bill will cost you much more over the course of a two-year contract. I'm not sure people, as a whole, have gotten the point yet. That's probably because reality's hard to accept, companies obscure the true cost of their services, ...

The mobile world is no stranger to litigation, and 2012 has been a year pockmarked with legal battles of all shapes and sizes. While most of the action has centered around Apple and Samsung, today papers are being served on Microsoft, which just a few days ago unveiled its new Windows 8 and Windows Phone 8 platforms. The complainant, SurfCast, is a self-proclaimed operating-system designer headquartered in Portland, Maine. The complaint centers around Windows' use of Live Tiles in the Metro Windows 8 Store Style layout, which SurfCast claims it developed. The company's website says the ...

As Nokia closes another quarter the official numbers are in. In order to make a comparison (and also, to serve as a reminder), Nokia sold four million Lumia devices according to the official Q2 2012 figures. Compared to that, Nokia is now reporting 2.9 million Lumias being sold in the last quarter, representing a 27.5 percent decrease compared to the previous period. However, mobile phones in general recorded a quarter-on-quarter increase to 77 million units due mainly to a strong start for Asha phones. Nokia's main focus is Windows Phone though and the decrease in sales is somewhat ...