Put four knowledgeable Brits with a passion for mobile technology together on a website, and if you’re very lucky you might get something that looks a bit like this week’s Blog Star. Please make some noise for the magnificent All About Windows Phone.
What is it?
This week’s featured blog is chock full of news, reviews and features, with in depth writing and personality-filled fortnightly podcasts. It looks at phones, accessories, software and related technology. A British blog with international appeal, it launched in October 2011 and is the latest addition to the All About family of blogs, alongside All About Symbian and All About Meego.
Who runs it?
Rafe Blandford has headed up the All About blogs for more than a decade. His Twitter profile describes him as “thinking about mobile” which I think is a bit of an understatement: it’s more like he eats, sleeps and breathes it. He writes with Steve Litchfield (who also edits the blog), Ewan Spence and David Gilson, each of the guys writing from a noticeably different angle – from a deep understanding of the underlying technology and what it’s capable of, to photography and multimedia and the consumer experience.
What we love about it
The sheer volume and range of content is vast. It isn’t unusual for ten articles to go live on a single day. These can include anything from hardware and software news and reviews to buying tips, photography hints and tricks, and views on fascinating news from elsewhere – much of which is just passed over by other bloggers. It really is a place that immerses you in Windows mobile technology.
The hardware reviews are astonishingly detailed – take a look at the four part 7,852 word beast of a review on the Nokia Lumia 928 – while their app and game reviews offer a great taster for new software, with screenshots and a great understanding of what their readers need to know.
Of course with so much content, you could easily miss some really important stuff in a standard day by day blog format – but not only do the All About Windows Phone team know their technology, they also know how to structure their stories so you can find them no matter how you like to browse. And we absolutely adore their regular podcasts, where the team gets together to share facts and opinion with a decent dollop of banter thrown in too. Here’s what they had to say about the launch of the Nokia Lumia 1020, in which they scrutinise the New York launch event itself as well as sharing their expectations of the 1020 itself. And the best bit about the podcasts? I think it’s that you can tell these guys genuinely enjoy the technology they’re talking about. It’s so much more than just “thinking about mobile”.
What’s its stand out feature?
Once in a while, I come across a blog that has depth, knowledge and objectivity, coupled with an honest passion for its subject and a good dose of personality to keep it running. Done just right, that can be a pretty potent mix for holding an industry to account. All About Windows Phone is just such a blog.
All four contributors are enthusiastic about Nokia products – but they aren’t about to let us kick back. They’re quick to tell us when we’re getting it right. They’re quicker to tell us when we could do better. And that’s the most valuable thing that I get from All About Windows Phone – that they’ll do everything they can to keep big players like Nokia and Microsoft on our toes. Please don’t stop, guys.
Hooking up beyond the blog
You’ll find All About Windows Phone on Twitter, Google+, Facebook and YouTube – and their four personal Twitter feeds (find them on the About Us page) are a great way to get to know them individually. The fact is that wherever you hook up with All About Windows Phone, you’ll find yourself totally immersed in a daily stream of up to the minute, accurate, expert views and know-how.
So what should Rafe and co be writing about this week to keep the Windows Phone community on its toes?