Yahoo Mail for Windows Phone 7 gets a patch - Phone Arena

Yahoo Mail for Windows Phone 7 gets a patch - Phone Arena: "In wake of the news that Yahoo Mail was responsible for the huge amount of excessive data consumption on WP7 devices an IMAP patch has been released in order to correct the issue. For a while it was a mystery as to what was causing the excessive amounts of data usage on Microsoft’s mobile OS. When it became known that Yahoo Mail servers were to blame, it was only a matter of time until a fix became available. What would happen is the server would send a lot more information than necessary in replies to requests from a phone with Windows.

Sometime over the course of the last few days, Yahoo updated their IMAP servers in order to correct the misuse of data. Moreover, this should bring a sigh of relief to those relying on their Yahoo Mail while dealing with the restrictions of a capped monthly data allowance. Tell us what you think in the comments below. "

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Have a taste of Android or WP7 by simulating them on your iPhone - Phone Arena

Have a taste of Android or WP7 by simulating them on your iPhone - Phone Arena: "Lets say that you are a happy iPhone owner but at the same time you have sometimes wondered what it might feel like to use Android or even Windows Phone 7 for a little bit. Well, now you can actually try either one of the operating systems to some extent by simulating them right there on your iPhone. OSFaker is the app that you need to download, assuming your iPhone has already been successfully jailbroken.

OSFaker can be easily obtained through Cydia and will do its best to give you a graphical representation of either Android or WP7. For those of you unfamiliar with Cydia, imagine Apple's App Store, but offering apps which were designed specifically to be used on a jailbroken iPhone or iPod touch. Needless to say, such applications would have never made it to the listings of Apple's App Store.

Using the application proves to be pretty simple as it gives you the option to simulate Android or WP7 right after its launch. OSFaker added WP7 simulation in its most recent update, which explains its limited capabilities. On the other hand, the Android simulation includes access to a handful of basic apps such as Facebook, Twitter, Calculator, and Paint. Feel free to give it a try if you are curious enough already!"

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A glimpse into the future from Microsoft's perspective - Phone Arena

A glimpse into the future from Microsoft's perspective - Phone Arena: "There was a time when Microsoft was nothing more than a company with a vision for the future, which was destined to becoming true – putting a PC in every home in the U.S. and having Microsoft's software running on it. Microsoft may be late to revolutionizing cellphones the way Apple did already with the iPhone, but that doesn't stop Microsoft's researchers from treating us to their perspective on what interfacing with electronic devices may look like in the future.

In a video, which was taken at a recent TechForum event, Microsoft's Chief Research and Technology Officer, Craig Mundie, was seen demonstrating the potential of your smartphone as a link between human-machine interaction, as his HTC HD7 was controlling a fancy computer interface with the flick of a wrist. The smartphone in this example did not simply act as a tool, but also exchanged calendar records with the computer in real time. It is the result of Microsoft's idea of linking computers and smartphones through software, which lies in the foundation of WP7."

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LG Optimus 7 Review – A New Kind of Phone - Softpedia

The E900 Optimus 7 is the first smartphone manufactured by Korean company LG that runs on Microsoft's Windows Phone 7 mobile platform.

Unlike its Windows Mobile predecessor, which was targeted at enterprise users, the Windows Phone 7 operating system is aimed at consumers. This puts the WP7 platform in direct competition with Apple's iOS and Google's Android, which both have the same target.

Microsoft has issued strict hardware requirements for all manufacturers who want to implement the new OS on their devices. These hardware requirements are tough to meet and limit the variety of devices that can run Windows Phone 7.

Obviously, the LG Optimus 7 fulfills the minimum requirements needed: 1 GHz processor, DirectX9 rendering-capable GPU, 256MB of RAM with at least 8GB of Flash memory, accelerometer with compass, ambient light sensor, proximity sensor and Assisted GPS, 5-megapixel camera with an LED flash, FM radio tuner and 6 dedicated hardware buttons.

Announced in October 2010, LG Optimus 7 was launched on the market in November 2010. Currently, the handset can be purchased for about $550 without a subscription.

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HTC 7 Mozart review: Eine kleine Nachtmusik - GSMArena.com

The HTC 7 Mozart is not the kind we are used to meeting - and no, before you ask, it’s not a music-centric gadget as the name suggests. Something quite different in fact, it’s all about the camera that goes beyond Microsoft’s demanding specs. Once again, HTC are trying to escape from Microsoft’s cookie-cutter approach and the Mozart promises to let Windows Phone 7 show it can do more. There’s much to be excited about here and there’s bad news for some of the top cameraphones around. The HTC 7 Mozart is the first WP7 phone to go 8MP and the first one to pack a Xenon flash. Seems like plenty of cameraphone buffs are hearing Christmas bells already. We’ll pretend we don’t for a while and put on our shooting socks instead. It’s time to see what the HTC Mozart is really made of.

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HTC HD7 review: Dim the lights - GSMArena.com

There’s no such thing as a small WP 7 phone. However, 4.3 inches of screen estate are really something else. The best case scenario: the HTC HD7 is the phone you’ve been waiting for. The worst case scenario: it’s too big to fail.

The HTC HD7 was inevitable. Was it not the first Windows Phone 7 ever rumored? And rightly so. There’s no phone too big or too powerful for Windows Phone 7. In fact, if you ask Microsoft they’d say the bigger the better. HTC – on their part – didn’t have to think too hard. They simply skipped right to number seven.

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HTC 7 Trophy review: Achievement unlocked - GSMArena.com

It truly is a catchy name, but the Trophy is – so to speak – the consolation prize in the HTC Windows Phone 7 lineup. It’s not the big guy in the family nor is it the smartest. The Trophy is a middle-of-the-roader, the mass market choice. It’s the first HTC-made Windows Phone 7 device we’re reviewing and we guess it’s up to them to prove there’s no such thing as an ex PocketPC maker. Windows Phone 7 is about sky-high hardware standards and Microsoft is not really encouraging out-of-the-box thinking. What does this mean for the HTC 7 Trophy? Well, believe it or not, this here Trophy has come onto the scene to bring the one thing that Windows Phone 7 is obviously short of – device personality.

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Browser : Windows Phone 7 Supports Third-Party IE-Based Web Browsers - Softpedia

Application developers interested in bringing a mobile browser to the newly launched Windows Phone 7 mobile operating system can easily do so, as long as the solution is based on Microsoft's Internet Explorer, it seems. One such solution was already made available in the Windows Phone Marketplace, dubbed Browser+, with a series of pretty appealing features, even if the solution was built on the IE browser in the beginning. Priced at $0.99, the browser brings some great functionality to the Windows Phone 7 operating system, including the possibility to see tabs just like on the desktop PC, without the need to access secondary menus and the like.

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LG E900 Optimus 7 review: Lucky seven - GSMArena.com

Windows Phone 7 is new territory for LG to conquer and the LG E900 Optimus 7 is their first pawn in the game. However “pawn” hardly describes the rich feature set of this player. LG has done its best to set the Optimus 7 apart with great build quality and some subtle but useful software perks. With the strict hardware restrictions imposed by Microsoft, it’s really hard to make you product stand out and we hope the LG attempt turns out successful. You must’ve heard of the strict Redmond rules outlining the hardware requirements of their latest mobile OS. Not that demanding excellence is a bad thing – but manufacturers are under a lot of strain to make their phones unique while keeping within the Microsoft-imposed guidelines.

Much like with any other WP7 smartphone, the Optimus 7 specs leave little doubt that it’s a high end gadget. But Windows Phone 7 brings with it a certain trade-off – you can bet that the hardware is top notch but the platform-specific limitations may or may not prove to be dealbreakers for you.

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Windows Phone 7 limits camera access for apps | Beyond Binary - CNET News

Steve Ballmer, speaking with CNET after Microsoft's New York launch of Windows Phone 7.

Microsoft's tight design rules require all Windows Phone 7 devices to have a pretty nice camera on them; they must tout at least 5 megapixels and video capture to boot. Unfortunately, Redmond's new phone operating system has limitations that mean developers can't fully take advantage of the lenses.

Although Windows Phone 7 devices can record and upload video and pictures, application developers can't fully take advantage of those image sensors to do other fun things like video chat and augmented reality. 

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First Windows Phone 7 reviews | Dialed In - CNET Blogs

Samsung Focus - Like the Surround, the Focus features a standard candy-bar design. The display is especially brilliant and Bonnie appreciated the great call quality and camera performance. On the downside, she said the Focus feels a bit plasticky and the Xbox Live games load too slowly. The bottom line: For anyone looking for an alternative to the iPhone and who wants better multimedia features and a more organized user interface than Android offers, the Samsung Focus with Windows Phone 7 has all that plus solid performance and a sleek design.

HTC Surround - On the outside, Bonnie liked the speakers and the kickstand, and inside she appreciated the 1GHz processor, the 5-megapixel camera, and the full set of wireless options, Yet, she wasn't crazy about the device's heft, the low speakerphone volume, and the limited support for landscape mode. Bottom line: The HTC Surround features the high-quality design that we've come to expect from HTC, but the only thing its built-in speakers really add to the phone is weight. Unless you're set on the speakers, the Samsung Focus is a sleeker Windows Phone 7 device for AT&T with slightly better performance and options.

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Microsoft’s Kinect and Windows Phone 7 marketing blitz to top $1B

If you haven’t heard of Microsoft’s Kinect yet, it will no doubt be hammered into your head over the next few weeks as the software giant is gearing up to spend over $500 million to market the Xbox 360 motion controlling accessory, the New York Post reports.

Together with Microsoft’s reported half a billion dollar marketing budget for Windows Phone 7, the company will be spending upwards of $1 billion to outdo its competition - which includes rivaling mobile platforms from Apple and Google, and other motion control offerings from Nintendo and Sony.

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Windows Phone 7, Facebook-Bing Alliance Marked Microsoft's Week

Microsoft's Windows Phone 7 launch, its deeper partnership with Facebook over Bing search tools, and a monster Patch Tuesday were the highlights of the company's week.

Microsoft focused this week on launching Windows Phone 7, the company’s newest smartphone platform and its next best chance at reversing its market-slide.

“I’ve been looking forward to this day for some time,” Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer told media and analysts gathered for the company’s New York City launch event Oct. 11. “We set out to build a phone that was thoroughly modern.”

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Windows Phone 7 will flop

THE CONVENTIONAL WISDOM in the IT industry press expresses cautious optimism about the prospects for Microsoft's latest mobile operating system, Windows Phone 7 (WP7).

But I believe it's going to fall flat on its face, and I'll outline here three major reasons why I think so. I also suspect that there are some other factors that are going to work against WP7 too, but these are the main problems that I see now.

First, WP7 is handicapped by the legacy of the Windows Mobile line of operating systems for mobile phones put out by Microsoft over the past ten years. Based upon the fairly awful Windows CE software platform initially developed for Pocket PC gadgets, Windows Mobile never stood out or attracted a base of satisfied customers on either feature phones or smartphones.

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Samsung Focus Microsoft Windows Phone 7

Samsung Focus

OS : Microsoft Windows Phone 7

CPU: Qualcomm Snapdragon QSD8250 1 GHz processor

CAMERA : 5 MP, 2592 x 1944 pixels, autofocus, LED flash

DISPLAY : Super AMOLED capacitive touch screen, 16M colors, Size 480 x 800 pixels, 4.0 inches, Multi-touch input method, Accelerometer sensor for UI auto-rotate, Proximity sensor for auto turn-off.

READ MORE - Samsung Focus Microsoft Windows Phone 7