New video compares new Gyroscope to Motion Sensor, makes us dizzy

One odd omission from Windows Phone 7 at launch was the lack of gyroscope support, a feature that would allow augmented reality apps and more sophisticated motion sensing games to enter the Marketplace. It's a pretty standard feature across nearly all smartphones today and fortunately Microsoft has graciously included it into Mango. Microsoft has also said these new gyro-enabled apps can still be compatible with older hardware lacking the feature thanks to a new Motion Sensor API that uses some math alongside the accelerometer to give the same effect, so no harm no foul.

But in reality how does the new gyroscope compare to the motion sensing-workaround? In the video above you can see for yourself and there's definitely a noticeable difference to our eyes. Of course the gyroscope is the Fujitsu IS12T on the left while the motion sensor is the HTC Trophy on the right. By rotating the devices around we can see that the IS12T is much more precise and one-to-one with real movements while the Trophy appears to be more 'floaty'. It's an interesting comparison and unfortunately proves that it is difficult to implement new features at the same level of performance as new hardware to older hardware.

P.S. If anyone can translate the subtitles in the video that would be super helpful! Just drop a comment below if you know some.

Source: YouTube

Group Messaging uses MMS by default, carriers always ruin a good thing

One of Mango's slickest features is Groups, where you can categorize contacts together and see all of their contact info as well as their social updates in one place. It looks great, works well and genuinely useful as long as you're willing to sort out your contacts like that. Unfortunately, there's one thing about messaging a Group that has gone unnoticed until now: by default the feature will use MMS (multimedia messaging service). Fortunately you can easily turn that off and switch back to SMS by going to Settings --> Applications --> Messaging and switching Group Text to 'Off'.

There's no telling as to why it uses this by default instead of regular old SMS but it's worth knowing because MMS is typically separate from your data plan (which is bull**** I might add) and therefore if you go over your limit you could get slapped with an abnormally larger bill. This wouldn't have been a big deal if SMS and MMS weren't billed separately from data (in reality they are using data) but unfortunately carriers rule the smartphone world and we have to play by their rules.

...when is Skype coming out again?

Via: WPCentral
Source: We Love Windows Phone

Molly Wood's thoughts on first week with Mango: "decidedly mixed"

For those who may not remember, Brandon Watson issued a serious challenge to a few web-celebs a couple of weeks ago asking them to try Mango. If they didn't like Mango, Microsoft would donate $1000 to the person's charity of choice. One of the aforementioned personalities involved in the challenge is CNET's Molly Wood and a few days ago she shared her early impressions, which you can watch above. Now she has posted up her complete thoughts on her first full week with Mango. She lays them out in a pros/cons list so here's the condensed version:

• The Pros
• Interface: "The Mango interface is lovely. The screen tiles are attractive and the "live tile" behavior (they update constantly with new Facebook images, flip-board incoming e-mail counters, and so on) is dynamic without being annoying."
• Social: "Mango has integrated Facebook and Twitter support (and Windows Live and LinkedIn, for the record), and it's pretty nice."
• Local: "Simple and elegant, and I dig it."
• Autocomplete: "The autocomplete is awesome. It's accurate, it's less aggressive than the post-Gingerbread Android dictionary, and it seems to have a lot more words. Love it."
• Speech: "I like. I've used it several times for composing texts and for launching searches."
• The Cons
• Speech: "Speech is there in Mango, but it's not there in Mango. [...] Android is doing speech to text light years better than Mango at this point, because it's integrated across the OS."
• Turn by turn: "Here's what I don't understand, though. Why is the turn-by-turn navigation only audible when you tap the screen for directions!?"
• Fit and finish: "I know I'm running a developer's build of Mango, but I also know it's probably not far off from finished, and there are more than a few oddities that make Mango feel like a first-gen product, instead of the 7.5th iteration on a long-lived mobile operating system. They're niggling, but they annoy."
• Apps: "There's just no getting around that fact: the app support isn't quite there yet, and it'll have to get there before this platform can be truly competitive. I, at least, don't want to be the one at the party, or on the field shoot, who can't get the cool app that everyone else is downloading all around me."

For the most part we agree with her assessment. There were a few parts where she thought a feature wasn't available when it actually was. For example, adding phone numbers to the address book is done by tapping on the number in the Call History, while she assumed it was done by long-pressing on the number (which is fine to be a little confused about). Also, we still think we have plenty of apps and the Marketplace is only growing faster, but of course for her line of work she needs access to the latest popular apps which Windows Phone is still working on.

In conclusion she felt that Mango in its current state is a love-hate relationship (we definitely agree). Wood promised to continue using Mango and teased she plans to look more closely at Microsoft's many integrated services (like Office, SkyDrive, and Zune Pass) for Week 2. Stay tuned for that, but in the meantime you can finish reading her full Week 1 thoughts.

Source: CNET

Mango RTM build 7720 leaked, flashable to devices (Update)

Whoa! Someone over at XDA-Developers is quite the connected cool kid. User longshot442 has uploaded a build of what he claims to be the official Mango 7720 RTM which is flashable to any device that would have it. Members in the thread have confirmed that it does indeed work without conflict, so this looks like a universal build (similar to Microsoft's own beta builds). There are also instructions on how to do it yourself available here, but be warned that flashing a device is always risky. You could end up with a bricked device, so unless you know what you're doing we recommend you wait!

We're looking forward to seeing any new features pop up in 7720. (If you find one remember that you can always tip us so we can write an article about it.)

Update: Here's the in-progress list of devices that have been confirmed to work with this RTM leak:

• HTC 7 Pro (and Arrive)


• HTC HD7


• HTC Mozart


• HTC Trophy (International and Verizon)


• LG Optimus 7


• Samsung Focus v1.3


• Samsung Omnia 7

Via: WPCentral
Source: XDA-Developers

Samsung: Omnia W leaked details "not accurate"

Looks like we have yet another rumor debunk on our hands! Yesterday we reported on a rumored Samsung Omnia W device which was said to include a 1GHz processor, 5 megapixel camera sensor, and a 3.7-inch display. The Omnia W was joined by a slew of Android smartphones and tablets as well, but now Samsung has come out to deny the information in this leak. Posting on the official Samsung Tomorrow blog, this was the following statement from the company (emphasis ours):

Some media have been reporting that Samsung is preparing to launch nine new smartphones and two new tablet devices. While Samsung is continuously working on new devices for our customers, the details being cited are not accurate in this case.

We appreciate the interest in our upcoming mobile devices and will share more information once its available.

So there you have it. Does this mean the Omnia W doesn't exist? We'll let you be the judge, but if you ask us there's a pretty good shot we'll see it pop up again in the future.

Via: SlashGear
Source: Samsung Tomorrow

Joe Belfiore on September 1st Mango launch: "Just a rumor"

Well it looks like at least one rumor this week has been debunked. Windows Phone team leader Joe Belfiore just tweeted the above message. He only used 28 characters to address rumors about a major product launch, which is even more impressive considering this is Twitter we're talking about. So is this a denial? It sounds like it is, but Belfiore likes to tease his followers so it's tough to tell. For now just don't get your hopes up on that September 1st launch and we'll see how it goes from there, okay?

Fun Fact: Joe Belfiore uses MetroTwit! (You should too.)

Source: Twitter (@joebelfiore)

HTC Mazaa shows off next-gen potential, performance that makes us drool

One very special student developer won quite the treat from Microsoft: an HTC Mazaa! There she is, and ain't she a beaut? Of course it's identical to the HTC Trophy, but it's the inside that counts and Mazaa certainly delivers there. XDA user Cpitt, the recipient of the phone, compared the WP Bench results of the HD7 to the Mazaa and the most obvious difference is the GPU. The Mazaa's 50 FPS more than doubled the HD7's performance of 23 FPS. Even more impressive was the Internet Explorer 9 performance, with the Mazaa clocking in 47 FPS with the Fishtank test compared to the HD7's 30. Very impressive stuff and if this is just the minimum we can expect to see from future hardware, sign us up!

Via: WPCentral
Source: XDA-Developers

Rumor: Mango launching September 1st, updates to begin before hardware?

We want Mango, like now. We think you do too. That's why this rumor will make you very, very happy. According to Pocket-Lint's "multiple trusted sources", Microsoft will be launching their Mango onslaught on the youngest day of September. This won't just be limited to new hardware either, which is of course included, but Pocket-Lint also claims that first-generation devices will also see updates begin to roll out from then as well. So why September 1st which is not exactly in the Fall season? Here's what they think:

The launch date, we now understand, has been chosen due to its importance in tieing in with IFA, Europe's largest consumer electronics show in Berlin, and means that companies like Samsung, Acer, ZTE and LG will be able to show off new devices with Mango installed.

That actually makes plenty of sense as IFA is a pretty huge event in the year (the biggest in Europe for smartphones besides Mobile World Congress). Plus we know that Microsoft is opening Mango app submissions starting August 22nd, so we figured the Mango launch couldn't be much later than that.

How does Nokia figure into the September 1st timeframe? Well, it looks like they don't. Nokia wasn't mentioned in this rumor while other OEMs were, and everyone is expecting their first device to launch at Nokia World 2011 which takes place in October. Pocket-Lint makes a good observation that Microsoft will perform a two-pronged attack during the Fall with its first wave of devices in September during back-to-school and then the Nokia devices on the brink of the holiday madness (and possibly go head-to-head with Apple).

Hold on to your seats.

Source: Pocket-Lint

Molly Wood talks about her Windows Phone Challenge, begs for more apps

CNET's Molly Wood was spotted having Android troubles on Twitter by Microsoft's Brandon Watson. One thing led to another, and Watson issued Wood a challenge to try out Windows Phone Mango instead. If she didn't like it, Watson would donate $1000 smackers to her favorite charity. Not a bad deal, and now Wood is holding up her end of the deal. She's just posted up the first video covering her initial day/week with her Mango'd up HTC Trophy and for the most part she's positive. However, when it comes to apps she's feeling the pain. For her full thoughts in this first week, check out the video above and head on over to her article on CNET for more.

Source: CNET

Mango drops support for old Office documents due to "an unacceptable risk of data and formatting loss"

Mango brings a lot to the table and definitely raises the overall functionality of the OS tenfold. However sometimes when an OS goes under the microscope before an update is planned, some existing features may be cut. In this case, it looks like Mango's Office Hub will be losing its support for older Office documents (the .doc, 97-2003 variety). It's a shame that it's being cut as old types of documents are still widely used to ensure broad support for everyone, so why is Microsoft cutting it? PocketNow talked to Microsoft's Office Mobile Product Manager, Guy Gilbert, to find out. Here's his response (emphasis ours):

Office Mobile on the next release of Windows Phone, codenamed Mango, will be available later this year and will deliver many improvements for customers. With Office Mobile on the Mango release, people will be able to open and view most Office files with the rich formatting they expect. In addition, newer Office files created with Office 2007 SP2, Office 2010 or the Office Web Apps (e.g., files with extensions .docx, .xlsx, .pptx) can be edited with Office Mobile on Mango. When it comes to older Office files (e.g. files with extensions .doc, .xls, .ppt), our testing revealed an unacceptable risk of data and formatting loss during editing, and therefore, these files can only be opened and viewed. Some newer Office files will also open as “read-only” if they contain certain elements, for example: documents that are marked final, digitally signed or have tracked changes; or Excel workbooks with macros, data tables or external references. We will provide documentation of these cases in a Microsoft support article before Mango becomes available to customers.

How do you feel about Microsoft completely dropping older document support? Would you rather accept that there's a risk of losing data and editing them anyway, or is Microsoft making the right call to protect us from ourselves?

Source: PocketNow

Thought: Microsoft is going to lose this Fall (unless Nokia does something about it)

Outside of this wonderful Windows Phone bubble we live in, there's been a lot of talk about the prophesied iPhone 5 lately. Rumors have been flying left and right for the past two weeks with some saying the device will release in September while others are denying that and claiming October is the real timeframe. Then there's the discussion of Apple changing their strategy a bit to compete with Android's colossal rise. Most gossiping points towards Apple having three iPhones set to invade the mobile world -- a cheap version that wouldn't cost more than $299 off contract, an iPhone 4 injected with newer tech for the mid-range, and the iPhone 5 to compete at the high-end.

Not only will Apple suck the wind out of everyone by September/October, others are rushing to get their products out before then: RIM is making a comeback attempt with competitive BlackBerry OS 7 devices in late August, HP is pinning their hopes on the Pre 3 to make up for lost time with WebOS, and Google will likely launch their eagerly-anticipated Ice Cream Sandwich update for their phones and their tablets. With Mango (or 7.5) powered phones likely releasing in September, it's getting slotted in at a very competitive time in the smartphone world.

One thing is assured: Microsoft is screwed on its own.

Whatever the case, one thing is assured: Microsoft is screwed on its own. But there's one little thing that may just save them from the all-out war about to break out this holiday: Nokia. With rumors that the first Finnish Windows Phone could miss the first wave of Mango devices and instead debut later in Q4 2011, Nokia could have a prime opportunity to make a strong entry back onto the scene without any real competition surrounding it. For that to happen though, Nokia would have to do more than just a 'vanilla' Windows Phone handset.

While the manufacturer has proven time and again that it can excel in hardware design and build quality, they are competing in a very different market. As Stephen Elop said himself, "...there has been a shift from a battle of devices to a war of ecosystems." Unfortunately for them, Nokia must rely on Microsoft's current ecosystem which besides the overhauled Bing experience (one of our favorite things in Mango) hasn't seen much change since its launch.

Nokia needs to create a new defining characteristic in order to find a new audience.

Let's take a look at what other manufacturers are putting into their Windows Phones: Samsung has Super AMOLED and thin design, HTC has their WinMo/Android reputation and Sense (for better or worse), LG has their solid construction, and Dell has their left-field design. All of those things are what Nokia is good at and while some may argue a combination of all of these is enough, I would disagree. For Nokia to really be successful with their new devices, they needs to incorporate a signature Nokia experience. In other words, the company needs to create a new defining characteristic in order to find a new audience. Hardware alone isn't going to cut it this time.

So what will? That's the golden question and it's difficult for one person alone to answer. However Nokia plans to take on the field's stiffest competition, a warmed over N9 may not be enough.

Verizon product roadmap for September & October leaks, no Windows Phones in sight

Uh oh. We don't want to see another Verizon Trophy debacle on our hands, but we're beginning to worry that may happen yet again. IGN received a photo of Verizon Wireless's inventory plans for September & October and there are quite a few devices in the works for Big Red customers. There's the much delayed but still eagerly awaited DROID Bionic, a possible Galaxy S II device in the Samsung Stratosphere, the female-friendly HTC Bliss, and plenty more interesting phones. However, we can't help but notice that one little thing is missing: a Windows Phone!

Many (including us) were expecting Verizon to be ready from the get-go this time with Microsoft's impending Mango hardware onslaught, but judging from the photo it doesn't look like that's going to happen. Now don't grab your pitchforks just yet -- this roadmap is for September & October only from what we can tell, so there's still a chance we could see a CDMA (and possibly LTE) Windows Phone riding Verizon's airwaves before the year closes. There's also the notable omission of any iPhone 5 which is likely being kept out of their inventory systems by Apple, so it's not unreasonable to think Microsoft may be doing the same.

Still if this information does prove accurate and if Microsoft isn't hiding the phones from these lists, the lack of a Big Red Mango at launch will surely be a big disappointment to many budding Windows Phone bandwagoners.

Source: IGN

New devices to be shown in September at Japan's Microsoft Conference 2011?

It looks like Microsoft really is gearing up for a September release date after all. Nanapho.jp spotted the official teaser/sign up page for the annual Microsoft Conference 2011 in Japan. While that's nothing quite unorthodox, they did take note of a particular tile in the banner image on top of the site. You can see that tile enlarged and to your right. Now we don't know about you, but squares arranged in a grid not unlike the Start page we know and love plus text that reads 'New Devices' is enough to make us think some new Mango hardware is set to strut its stuff in Japan. When exactly? The event is penciled in for September 28th and 29th which means we could be looking at a similar time-frame for Microsoft to hold other Mango unveiling events. It's all in the math.

Via: Nanapho.jp
Source: The Microsoft Conference 2011

HTC launching 8 smartphones in Q3 2011, five are possibly Windows Phones

The stars are aligning and Microsoft's aim to unleash its next wave of Windows Phone devices in the Fall is nearly in its reach. Mango just RTM'd, the Fujitsu IS12T is already official, and leaks of new hardware are slowly trickling out each week. Now we hear from CENS that HTC is reportedly planning to release 8 new smartphone models in Q3 alone. That's not a crazy number for a company with as strong of a market share as HTC, but the number is suspiciously higher than normal compared to the typically high forecast for Q4 (i.e. the holiday season).

So what gives? Windows Phone. Remember that we've already heard about five alleged new devices, four with their accompanying specs. There's the earliest leak, the HTC Bresson, which is in the works for T-Mobile. Then there's the HTC Eternity (seen above) which rocks a 1.5 GHz CPU and a behemoth 4.7-inch display. Finally there's the HTC Omega which we believe is a new Mozart-type model with the same high-end 1.5 GHz processor as the Eternity but with a more finger-friendly 3.8-inch display. Then there's the pair of low-end devices, the Ignite & Prime, which both offer 800 MHz processors and different form factors.

If all of these devices are real and heading to the market this Fall, HTC is certainly going to bolster their standings among the Windows Phone manufacturer and Microsoft will get five devices out of the deal. That leaves about three HTC models for Android, which is the usual amount of devices they debut in their Fall lineup anyway. See? Counting is useful, kids!

Via: The Next Web
Source: CENS

New Windows Phone logo confirmed, sky is blue

This was pretty obvious and it's basically already an officially endorsed logo, but a Microsoft Japan employee has confirmed the new look anyway. We also spotted the new square logo in quite a few places like the Mango Preview Event trailer, the hardware shown off at WPC 2011, the leaked video of the Nokia Sea Ray, and plenty of other places. Despite this being sort of old news at this point, this is still an important piece of the Mango launch puzzle which is becoming clearer with every passing day.

Personally I think the logo is a big improvement and is much more consistent with the Metro UI than the old logo. What do you think?

Via: WPCentral
Source: Shinobu Takahashi's Blog

Rumor: T-Mobile prepping 4G Windows Phone promotional materials

As Microsoft's promised "Fall" release date for Mango hardware quickly approaches, evidence of its impending arrival is slowly leaking. Over the weekend TmoNews received photos of new promotional stickers that clearly show the words "4G" and "Windows Phone" less than an inch apart from one another. If this isn't a clear indication of at least HSPA+ capable Windows Phones being available to the public, we don't know what else could be. We've heard that the 16-megapixel packin' HTC Bresson is headed to the magenta carrier and there's plenty of reason to assume the phone will join in on the 4G fun. Now there's a little bit of hesitation around the credibility of these stickers due to the Windows Phone logo being outdated compared to the revised new 'tile' design, but honestly it wouldn't be the first time (or the worst case) of the brand suffering from a little confusion.

Via: WPCentral
Source: TmoNews

Stream video from SkyDrive directly within the Pictures Hub with a click

As much as we try to offer the absolutely best coverage of all things Windows Phone, we have to admit MobileTechWorld has been on a roll with the latest Mango 7712 update and have unearthed quite a few very cool secrets. Previously the site discovered how to stream music and video content on your SkyDrive to your phone by using the Office Hub's new SkyDrive implementation. While that feature was quite cool, we still felt it sorely needed some spit shine to make the whole experience more seamless and, you know, to avoid using the Office Hub just to get your music and videos. Luckily at least part of that has been answered with a new method discovered to stream your videos directly within the Pictures Hub and as a bonus it's all done on the SkyDrive-side of the equation.

All you have to do is upload your videos to a folder in SkyDrive then change that folder's type from the default 'Documents' to 'Photos'. Then make sure you have SkyDrive syncing setup on your phone, navigate to the Pictures Hub, tap on the folder and you should be able to stream your videos directly from there. Now don't go crazy uploading your entire video library to SkyDrive just to stream it all as there are a few caveats to this. First of all, SkyDrive has a 100 MB limit per file so unless you're going to be chopping up your 1080p copy of Gone with the Wind into 30 or more clips we recommend you avoid longer videos. Second is that Windows Phone can only natively stream .mp4 videos so those ripped YouTube videos of dogs talking and fails aren't going to work.

That being said, this is definitely a big improvement over using the Office Hub and IE9 to view your media and this gives us just a little bit of hope that Microsoft is working on adding SkyDrive streaming to the Music+Videos Hub as well.

Via: 1800PocketPC
Source: MobileTechWorld

SkyDrive Music & Video Streaming Discovered in Mango, Still Rough Around the Edges

Bonus feature time! So you know how every registered member of Windows Live has 25 GB of free space to use in the online cloud service SkyDrive? Windows Phone's integration of the service already had some trend-setting features like cloud photo sharing (see imitators: Apple iCloud's Photostream, Google+'s Instant Upload) and document sharing, but with Mango it appears Microsoft is preparing more than just that.

Ever since people-in-the-know got their hands on Mango build 7712 (you can too!) they've been ripping it apart and have discovered support for two major features: music streaming and video streaming. However, in its current implementation it's clearly not ready for primetime and requires the files to be opened through Internet Explorer 9, so it doesn't quite match up to what others are promising. We're looking forward to a dedicated SkyDrive app seamless integration into the Music + Videos Hub to remedy this 'hacky' solution to cloud media support.

MobileTechWorld went hands-on with both features and recorded the proof. You can catch the video of music streaming above and video streaming just past the break.

Source: MobileTechWorld

HTC Ignite & Prime reemerge on Dutch site, "coming soon"?

One of the most important and still hazy things about this upcoming Mango update is Microsoft's mid-range and low-end strategy for its Windows Phones. With hardware rumors we've been able to paint a decent picture of waht to expect about two HTC devices rocking 1.5 GHz CPUs (high-end), the Fujitsu IS12T is the first confirmed Mango device and people are assuming it has a 1.0 GHz CPU (mid-range), and we previously heard of another pair of HTC devices running at 800 MHz (low-end).

Well those very same low-end devices from the Taiwan-based manufacturer, the Ignite and Prime, have reemerged on Dutch phone sale site The Phone House and have been given "coming soon" as their expected release dates. That's pretty much it, and we're just as skeptical as you probably are right now. The photos above are exactly the same ones leaked by XDA.cn earlier this year and it's very possible The Phone House just posted these up to cover their bases. However, if they know something we don't and the Ignite & Prime really are "coming soon", color us excited.

Via: Professeur Thibault, WMPU
Source: The Phone House

Worth Reading: "Mango Rocks the Best Mullet in the Smartphone World"

Do you want to hear the best argument in favor of Windows Phone to date? Then check out Matthew Miller's "Windows Phone 7 with Mango rocks the best mullet in the smartphone world" over at ZDNet. It's a short but very concise analysis of what Microsoft is achieving with Mango: business in the front, party in the back. While we do think the former can be improved, it's still drastically better and more secure than Android is right now. The latter, which is the incredible amount of work Microsoft has done to create a multimedia-centric ecosystem, is also a formidable threat to Apple which is something that many other operating systems could only dream of accomplishing. Here's an excerpt from the article:

You probably know what a mullet haircut is and while it may not be the style today, it is a very efficient style with business going on in the front and a party in the back. You also don’t have to look like a complete loser in a mullet and as shown by John Stamos in this picture to the right it can even be cool. In my opinion Windows Phone 7 is compelling because of this “mullet” design and is why I keep putting my SIM back into one. Now that I have the latest version of Mango on my 32GB Dell Venue Pro this OS update makes it an even more attractive mobile platform.

Read the rest here.

Source: ZDNet