Windows Phone Blog

Love magazines? Get a $50 credit from Zinio for your Nokia Lumia

2013-05-17T19:16:23Z

The popular digital magazine app Zinio arrived in the Windows Phone Store this week as an exclusive for Nokia’s Windows Phone 8 models. (Miss it? You can grab it here.) It’s a beautifully-designed app that should please any magazine junkie.

But it gets better: To celebrate their debut, Zinio is also offering a $50 magazine credit to jump start your library. Click here to claim the credit. The deal ends June 30.

Zinio has an impressive stable of publications to pick from—everything from mainstream titles like The Economist, Esquire, and Rolling Stone to niche offerings such as Poker Player and Simply Crochet. Reader-friendly features of the official Windows Phone app include the ability to pull articles from multiple sources into your own customized reading list and read magazines offline. Zinio also serves up free articles each day from a selection of top-drawer titles. Check it out and let me know what you think.

Now in the Store: Angry Birds Rio for Windows Phone

2013-05-15T17:06:46Z

Here’s another classic Angry Birds title for your growing Windows Phone collection. As we previously hinted, Rovio’s Angry Birds Rio arrived this morning. The game works on both Windows Phone 7 and 8 devices. Price: $0.99.

In the game, the original Angry Birds have been caged up and shipped off to exotic Rio de Janeiro, where they eventually elude their captors and set out to rescue friends Blu and Jewel—two rare macaws you’ll recognize from the 2011 movie Rio. The scenery in the game is fresh and exciting, and the physics-based gameplay is as fun as ever—with 210 challenging levels and more than 40 bonus ones. Speaking of bonus: The Windows Phone 8 version of the game also includes Xbox LIVE achievements and leaderboards.

Buy it for Windows Phone 8

Buy it for Windows Phone 7.5

Buy' ngop! Bing adds Klingon to its popular Translator app for Windows Phone

2013-05-14T19:33:13Z

Bing just added a new language to its highly rated Translator app that makes it a must-have for Star Trek fans headed to see Star Trek: Into Darkness this Thursday: Klingon. Download it to your Windows Phone communicator.

In what could be the biggest advance for the popular fictional language since the publication of 1984’s “The Klingon Dictionary,” the app lets you translate back and forth between Klingon and the 41 planetary tongues it supports. If you really want to test your skills, check out this post from Microsoft’s Translation team.

Klingons, as most fans of the Trek franchise know, are a fictional warrior race with famously boney foreheads (an anatomical quirk that presumably inspired the cringe-inducing Klingon curse: “Your mother has a smooth forehead!”). Early in the series, they were everybody's favorite villain. According to Guinness World Records, their throat-wrecking tongue is today the world’s most popular fictional spoken language (though it’s unclear how much competition it has).

Curious linguaphiles and younger Trek fans might be surprised by its origins and rich history.

Klingon got its start with some words and phrases made up by James Doohan, the actor who played Montgomery “Scotty” Scott in the original series. The occasion was 1979's "Star Trek: The Motion Picture,” the first time the language was spoken in a movie. It was then fleshed out by UC Berkeley-trained linguist Marc Okrand, author of "The Klingon Dictionary,” which is still in print.

In the years since, as Wikipedia notes, several Shakespeare plays and parts of the Bible have been translated into Klingon. There’s even a nonprofit Klingon Language Institute, formed in 1992 to promote the study of “Klingon linguistics and culture.” The organization, which publishes its own quarterly academic journal registered with the Library of Congress, assisted Bing with its intergalactic upgrades to the app. As the LA Times reported yesterday, Bing also received help from Okrand and Microsoft engineer Eric Andeen, who is fluent in the language. (You knew there’d be someone here who was, right?)

Give it a shot and post a comment—Klingon only, please. And leave my mother’s forehead out of it, thanks.

(In case you’re wondering, the headline starts with the Klingon for “Great news!” As the screenshots above show, the Translator app is also handy for doing things like ordering Chinese for lunch.)

Nokia’s first metal Windows Phone arrives. Meet the sexy Lumia 925

2013-05-14T13:36:06Z

Nokia’s design team is on fire lately. Just days after unveiling a sleek new addition to its Windows Phone 8 flagship line—the Verizon-bound Lumia 928—the company today took the wraps off another innovative new model at a highly-anticipated London press event today. (Watch the replay.)

There’s a lot to say about the new Lumia 925, but let’s start here: The first Windows Phone to incorporate aluminum into the design is something to hold and behold. The second thing to know is that the phone will come with the latest Windows Phone 8 update that adds FM radio support and a handful of other goodies—extras that existing Windows Phone 8 owners will ultimately be offered, too. (More on that in a moment.)

The Lumia 925, which also includes an advanced new camera, will debut in June on Europe’s Vodafone network, then head to China Mobile and China Unicom. It’s scheduled to launch on T-Mobile in the U.S. later this year, Nokia said. In Europe, the phone will cost around 469 euros before taxes and subsidies.

Why metal?

All of Nokia’s Windows Phone 8 models to date have been made with sturdy polycarbonate plastic. Adding metal to the mix opened up a new world of design possibilities for Nokia engineers. Metal supplies strength, saves weight, and allows designers to sculpt a thinner, more tapered edge. It also helps deliver better antenna performance, Nokia says. (Learn more about its construction.)

The new Lumia 925 sports many of the same specs and hardware that helped earn its sibling, the Lumia 920, Smartphone of the Year honors from Engadget this year. It has a 4.5-inch AMOLED WXGA touchscreen with curved Gorilla Glass 2, 1.5 GHz dual-core Snapdragon processor, 16 GB of internal memory, and a beefy 2000 mAh battery. Nokia Lumia 925 will be available in white, grey and black matte. Wireless charging snap-on covers will come in white, black, yellow and red. Here’s a little peek at how it all comes together.

Introducing Nokia Smart Camera

But the real star of the show is the phone’s 8.7 megapixel PureView camera with optical image stabilization and dual LED flash. The Lumia 925 continues to evolve this critically-acclaimed camera and push the boundaries of what’s possible on a smartphone, thanks to its advanced new lens design and new imaging algorithms.

I never realized that a smartphone lens is actually a sandwich of glass, but the Lumia 925’s camera now includes a sixth physical lens—an industry first. This means the phone’s Carl Zeiss optics are able to take in five times more light than competing smartphones for sharp, naturally-colored images and 1080p HD video, even under challenging conditions. The video above offers a glimpse of how this new lens is constructed. The Lumia 925’s onboard imaging software algorithms have also been tweaked to help make the camera perform even better in low light, and to improve color reproduction and reduce noise in shots.

Another cool innovation in the Lumia 925 is its new Smart Camera feature, which captures ten 5-megapixel shots in a short burst and then lets you edit them using one-touch editing options like Best Shot, Action Shot, Change Faces, and Motion Focus. Check out the video below to see what I mean. Then head over to the Nokia Conversations blog, which has an even more detailed post today showing how Smart Camera works. Another nice touch: The Lumia 925 lets you set Nokia Smart Camera as your default camera interface so you can open straight to it just by pushing the camera button.

Nokia says Smart Camera—as well as the new under-the-hood imaging algorithms—will roll out to all its Lumia models with Windows Phone 8 as part of a future update the company is calling Nokia Lumia Amber.

Windows Phone 8 update coming this summer

Speaking of updates. As I mentioned earlier, the Lumia 925 comes with the latest update to the Windows Phone 8 operating system that includes a small number of improvements and upgrades. (It’s similar in size to the one we delivered earlier this year, which brought new Wi-Fi and messaging improvements like the ability to text a reply to an incoming call.)

The new update, which is expected to start rolling out to existing Windows Phone 8 phones later this summer, brings back support for FM radio (we heard you!) and makes the Data Sense feature of Windows Phone 8 available for more carriers to offer. The update also makes it easier to select, download, and pin tunes in Xbox Music and improves the accuracy of song info and other metadata—something I know music fans will appreciate. (FM Radio and Data Sense availability depend on your phone model and carrier.)

The update includes hundreds of other small quality improvements. One final one worth highlighting, as we announced earlier, is that the update also ensures Windows Phone continues to work with Google services by adding support for the company’s newest sync protocols—CalDAV and CardDAV.

Make sure to check out Nokia’s official blog for more coverage and photos of the new Lumia 925.

“The wait is over”: Lumia 928 for Verizon Wireless launches May 16 for under $100

2013-05-10T14:09:40Z

If you were paying close attention earlier this week, you might’ve picked up on some clues—buzz over a billboard spotted here, a magazine ad there—that our friends at Nokia had something special brewing. A moment ago, all was revealed.

Meet the Lumia 928, a new addition to Nokia’s award-winning Windows Phone 8 flagship lineup and its first exclusively for Verizon Wireless. Available in black or white, the phone goes on sale next Thursday for $99.99 (with $50 mail-in rebate and two-year contract). Pick one up and for a limited time you’ll also get $25 to shop at the Windows Phone Store, which now has 145,000 apps and games (read the fine print).

“Verizon Wireless customers: we heard you,” said Matt Rothschild, vice president of Nokia North America. “The wait is over.”

One push of its camera button or blast of its speakers and you’ll understand why online buzz around this new Lumia has been building. While the phone sports many of the same innovative features and specs that earned its sibling, the Lumia 920, Smartphone of the Year honors, you can tell Nokia designers wanted to give Verizon’s first flagship a unique spin. (Nokia likes to call it a “new expression” of the Lumia 920).

So, for example, the Lumia 928 has a super-fast Xenon flash that makes its 8.7MP PureView camera—widely considered the best low-light camera on the market—even more helpful in dim conditions and for freezing fast-moving objects. The phone also comes preloaded with Nokia’s handy Smart Shoot app for removing photobombers and other spoilers from the picture.

The new phone has a 4.5-inch OLED display screen for easier viewing outdoors. The device’s stylish polycarbonate body feels thin and light in the hand, and the glass extends to its very edge—a subtle but slick design touch.

Some innovations are less seen than heard. Tucked inside the Lumia 928 are three high-audio-amplitude-capture (HAAC) microphones and a new speaker, which Nokia says is one of the most advanced available for smartphones. These new audio components are designed to record and playback the sound more accurately and with less distortion—all the way up to a whopping 140 decibels (the equivalent ruckus of a jet engine). I can’t wait to hear it take on my AC/DC collection or, say, the new Vyclone collaborative video app that also officially launched today.

Need more concrete proof of the Lumia 928’s awesomeness? Check out Nokia's new teaser videos, like the one below shot during a late-night roller coaster ride that compares the 928’s camera with the iPhone 5 and Samsung Galaxy S3. And don’t miss all the additional coverage of the new phone—including this hands-on video Nokia put together—on Nokia Conversations, the company’s official blog.

Lumia 521 hits Walmart on Saturday, T-Mobile stores May 22. Plus: What else can you buy for under $150? (Answer: Not much)

2013-05-09T16:33:08Z

After quickly selling out during its retail debut on Home Shopping Network last month, Nokia’s no contract, sub-$150 Lumia 521 is about to make an even bigger splash.

Walmart officially starts selling the phone on Saturday at the insanely low price of $129, although you’ll already find it listed in the retail giant’s online store. (As I wrote this morning, it won’t be the only Windows Phone on Walmart’s shelves, either.) The Microsoft Store, meanwhile, is also planning to start carrying the wallet-friendly phone this weekend for $149.

And T-Mobile announced today that it would start selling the Lumia 521 on May 22. The phone, as you might recall, was designed specifically for T-Mobile and is based on the popular Lumia 520, the most affordable model in Nokia’s Windows Phone 8 lineup. It will be available via the carrier’s retail and online stores for $29.99 down and 24 equal monthly payments of $5 for qualifying customers with T-Mobile’s new Simple Choice Plan. Lumia 521 smartphones sold through T-Mobile also feature its nifty Wi-Fi Calling feature. (If you buy the phone from one of the other outlets listed above, T-Mobile said an over-the-air update will start rolling out May 20 to enable Wi-Fi Calling.)

One big reason for all the pre-release buzz and early sales rush: You get a ton of phone for less than $150. The Lumia 521 features a 4-inch touch screen, 5-megapixel camera with 720p HD video recording, and 8 GB of internal storage—expandable to 64 GB via microSD card. Designed for T-Mobile’s 4G HPSA+ network, it comes pre-loaded with great Nokia apps like Music, Cinemagraph, Creative Studio, Panorama, Smart Shoot, and the HERE navigation suite—Drive, Maps, and Transit. Check out Ben Rudolph’s recent hands-on video review for an up-close peek.

Finally, I said the Lumia 521 gives you a lot of phone for the money. But that begs the question: What else does $150 buy you these days?

To find the answer, Ben, Lucas, and David from the Windows Phone team recently went on a shopping spree for comparably-priced prepaid smartphones. After scouring local stores, they returned to base camp with the Samsung Illusion, Samsung Galaxy Appeal, T-Mobile Prism, and the LG Optimus Elite. Check out their first impressions of how the Nokia Lumia 521 stacks up against these other devices. (In his post-spree bliss, my buddy David gets so excited he even forgets that the Prism also comes with a 2GB memory card—although it doesn’t change his analysis one iota.) Anyway, it’s definitely a fun and instructive watch.

Huawei W1 with Windows Phone 8 coming to Walmart this month

2013-05-09T13:18:33Z

Huawei’s first Windows Phone 8 smartphone—the Huawei W1—is expected to go on sale at Walmart later this month, the company announced today. So keep an eye out. It will be sold in Walmart’s online and retail stores. (See what other Windows Phone is headed to Walmart.)

Already a popular choice among price-savvy smartphone buyers overseas—where it’s known as the Ascend W1—it’s the first time the phone has been offered in the U.S. While Huawei didn’t disclose pricing info today, the phone—which comes in black—will use a no-contract prepaid plan and be priced “competitively,” Huawei’s Michael Chuang said in a statement. “The Huawei W1 brings consumers a truly compelling alternative to what’s currently in the marketplace,” he added.

We blogged about this phone when it was unveiled at the Consumer Electronics Show earlier this year. It sports a 4-inch 480x800 LCD display with Gorilla Glass, a speedy dual-core 1.2 GHz Snapdragon processor, a 5MP rear-facing camera that captures 720p video, and 1.7 GB of user-available internal storage (expandable to 32GB via microSD card)—all squeezed into a 0.4 inch-thin case.

But its secret weapon is its battery life. According to Huawei, the W1 delivers up to 320 hours of standby time (that’s a tad under two straight weeks, folks) thanks to its built-in power-saving technology. After putting the phone through its paces earlier this year, my colleague Ben Rudolph concluded: “If you’re looking to get your first smartphone (or upgrading to Windows Phone from an old iPhone or Android device), the Ascend W1 is going to give you a lot of value for your dollar.”

Watch Huawei’s website for more details about the phone and its U.S. rollout.

Full-res photo and video backup now available worldwide for Windows Phone 8

2013-05-08T21:10:13Z

[This post was written by Aaron Sauvé, a senior program manager on the Windows Phone camera and photos team. –KC]

One great feature of Windows Phone 8 is its ability to save full-resolution backup copies of your pictures and videos on SkyDrive, Microsoft’s cloud storage service. It’s an option that both helps protect your best shots and also makes them easier to share. But as some of you have noted, that feature wasn’t available in all markets.

Until now. Today I am pleased to announce that we’re making the ability to back up full-res photos and videos available everywhere. (We just started to light this up, so be patient if you don’t see it right away. The change could take a few days to roll out around the globe.)

To start using the new feature, tap Photos>More>Settings>SkyDrive. Here’s what it looks like visually:

Now, instead of the menu on the left, you’ll now see the one on the right. Just tap Best quality to upload your photos or videos in the highest resolution. One caveat: To save your phone bill, it does require a Wi-Fi connection. (Learn more about the feature.)

Finally, a big thank you to the SkyDrive team, who we’ve worked closely with over the months to make this key feature is available globally. As you can imagine, backing up high-res photos and videos involves a lot of data. To ensure we could provide a quality experience in each market, we deliberately took things slow and planned a staged roll out of the feature.

I’d love to hear your thoughts about this or anything else related to the camera and photos experience on Windows Phone.

--Aaron

Ubisoft’s hit game Monster Burner is here—and it’s free

2013-05-08T16:47:45Z

Protecting castles from marauding monsters is the idea behind Monster Burner, Ubisoft’s fast-paced, highly-rated hit that just arrived in the Windows Phone Store. The game, which runs on both Windows Phone 7.5 and 8 devices, is free. So there’s no reason not to give it a spin. Download it now

There isn’t much of a learning curve here: Your task is to torch every (admittedly cute) creature in sight by slinging fireballs and conjuring fire spells. The game is a nice blend of high-energy arcade and strategic puzzle solving. One nice touch: The built-in kids mode, which ratchets down the difficulty level but not the pace of the action, making it perfect for the preschool set. But my favorite thing about Monster Burner is that a typical game is all over in a matter of minutes, so it’s one of those titles that you can pick up or put it down whenever you’d like; a great way to shorten the wait at Starbucks or your next doctor’s appointment.

The world of YouTube, designed for Windows Phone 8

2013-05-07T16:00:55Z

The Windows Phone 8 version of the official YouTube app is getting a major update this morning; It’s been completely redesigned to make the most of Windows Phone 8 features. If you already have it, watch for an update notification on your phone. If you don’t, grab it here. (The app just published, so it might take a few hours to show up.)

What’s new? Lots.

Pin videos, playlists, channels, and even search queries to Start as Live Tiles for fast access. The tile flips to show either the latest video from your subscriptions or the most popular one.
A new and innovative playlist design gives you easy access to videos using a touch-friendly filmstrip.
Just want to listen to a video? It now plays in the background even when the screen is locked.
You can share videos to popular social networks, and via email and text.

And there’s no need to worry about the little ones viewing content you don’t approve of, since you can now pin YouTube to Kid’s Corner and limit content based on YouTube Safety Mode settings you configure. An update for Windows Phone 7.5 is also on the way in a few weeks.

Foursquare updated for Windows Phone 8—now includes speech, Live Tiles, and more

2013-05-07T15:54:24Z

A snazzy new version of the official Foursquare app for Windows Phone 8 just checked in to the Store. Download it now.

Version 3.0 brings a bunch of new features: Pin people and venues to your Start Screen, get notifications on your lock screen, and check-in and share using NFC. In this version, you can also use your voice to search, find, check-in and more. As you use the app, Foursquare fine tunes its recommendations for things to do and try in your vicinity. Check it out and let me know what you think.

Now in the Store: Hulu Plus for Windows Phone 8

2013-05-06T16:50:17Z

The official Hulu Plus app arrived for Windows Phone 8 this morning, bringing tons of top-notch TV shows and movies to your phone. Download it now. The app is free but a Hulu Plus subscription will run you $8 a month.

The app provides all the conveniences of the Hulu service—like ad-free kids shows and popular grown-up offerings like Community, Family Guy and Modern Family—with some nice Windows Phone design touches. You can pin Hulu Plus to Start for Live Tile updates about new show and films, or configure the app to update your Lock screen wallpaper for even faster glance-and-go updates. Another handy feature: You can find, queue, and start watching a program on your Windows Phone, then pick up where you left later back at home on your PC or Xbox 360.

The official Hulu blog has more about the new app.

Now in the Store: Star Trek App and Untappd

2013-05-02T18:58:00Z

Romulan ale, anybody? A pair of official apps focused on two of life’s greatest pleasures—Star Trek and beer—landed in the Windows Phone Store today. Both are Windows Phone 8 only. Check them out and let me know what you think.

Star Trek App

The latest Star Trek installment, “Star Trek Into Darkness,” lands in theaters May 17, but the free and official Windows Phone 8 companion app is here now. Beam it down. Like Tribbles, movie tie-in apps aren’t always worth the trouble. But any fan of the franchise will want this one. Trekkers get the latest movie news—including exclusives available only through the app—and can enter giveaways to win an official Starfleet uniform and other movie memorabilia. If you don’t already have one yet, you can also buy a ticket for the May 15 IMAX sneak preview via the app. The trivia quizzes and polls are a fun way to kill time while you’re counting down the days.

Untappd

Drink this in, beer lovers: The official Untappd app is now available for Windows Phone 8. (When you’re born with the name Stroh, you tend to notice these kinds of things.) Download it here. Billed as a “social discovery” tool for craft beers and microbrews, the free app helps you discover new styles and the watering holes that serve them. Create wish lists, share reviews and photos of favorite brews, see what’s trending, and get personalized recommendations based on what you’ve quaffed in the past. Untappd also has a Foursquare-like check in feature so you can see where your friends are drinking. As if sipping a well-made beer wasn’t its own reward, the app also injects some fun into the pursuit by giving you badges when you try new places and pours. Cheers!

Angry Birds relaunches on Windows Phone with 100 new levels—and it’s free until May 15

2013-05-02T16:03:34Z

It’s the rebirth of a classic. Rovio announced on their blog today that they’ve published a new version of Angry Birds for Windows Phone that adds 100 new levels—for more than 400 in all. The Windows Phone 8 version also sports Xbox LIVE achievements and leaderboards. The game is free through May 15.

Download it for Windows Phone 8

Download it for Windows Phone 7.5

As the blog post notes, this new version is a completely separate download from the one that you might already have on your phone. “The reason why we’re re-releasing the game is that it will be technically easier for us to support in the future, so we’re really happy to get this out there!” Rovio writes.

The new version is also designed to work on Windows Phone 8 models with 256MB of memory.

Downloading the new version of the game won’t affect your progress in the old one. You can continue to play both. But it’s worth grabbing the improved one while it’s free for the extra levels and any future ones Rovio decides to spring on its fans.

And speaking of future releases—I’m hearing that that Angry Birds Rio is on the way for Windows Phone “very soon.”

VIDEO: Hands-on with the Nokia Lumia 521

2013-05-01T22:47:56Z

A few days ago, Michael let you know that the Nokia Lumia 521 was coming to T-Mobile. I got my hands on one a few days before the announcement, and can confirm that this is one heck of a good phone for a really, really low price. I’ll admit I was skeptical at first; how good could a $149 phone really be? But once I had the chance to hold it in my hands and play with it for a day or two, my skepticism dissipated.

Check out the video for a closer look and my first impressions:

For a first-time smartphone buyer, or someone who’s upgrading from an older phone and wants something that really rocks the basics, the Lumia 521 is tough to beat.

Don’t forget to follow Windows Phone on Twitter and like us on Facebook. And remember to follow me on Twitter to ask questions or just say hi.