The Sunday Paper - August 7th, 2011

Welcome to The Sunday Paper! If you've been too busy to check out Windows Phone Daily this week, the first week of August officially came to a close. Anticipation continues to build for Mango hardware with rumors of Nokia teasing a new device later this month and Qualcomm confirming that they don't have an exclusive Windows Phone deal. But for once it wasn't all about Mango either thanks to the first custom ROMs for Windows Phones being available to download and what might be our first look at one of Tango's new features. All of this and more awaits you below.

Featured
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. Not only will Apple suck the wind out of everyone by September/October, others are rushing to get their products out before then. 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 season: Nokia.

We are now www.WindowsPhoneDaily.com!
Yeah, you read that right. I finally decided to stop being a cheap ass and I bought a proper domain name. What was once a Blogger-hosted site is now www.WindowsPhoneDaily.com!

News
DFT releases Custom ROM tools for HTC Windows Phones, enters unknown territory
Some huge news out of the Windows Phone development world today: the Dark Forces Team (DFT) have released RSPL/HSPL tools for a slew of HTC Windows Phones. For the common Joe that may not mean much, but these tools should be the gateway for developers to create custom ROMs for Windows Phone.

First Custom ROM crashes the scene, allows HD7 to upgrade to Mango Beta seamlessly
Exciting news Windows Phone fanatics! DFT's hard work to create the RSPL/HSPL tools for custom ROMs on HTC Windows Phones appears to have finally paid off. Ansar of XDA-Developers has delivered the very first Windows Phone custom ROM for the HTC HD7!

DFT releases "Freedom ROM", independence for all supported HTC devices
Just a few days ago we had the very first custom ROM for the HD7 come from ansar of XDA-Developers and now DFT (the ones behind the tools that make all of this possible) have decidedly one-upped ansar's effort and have revealed their own "Freedom ROM" for all supported HTC devices.

Windows Phone 7.10.8200 spotted, Tango already in the wild?
We knew Microsoft was thinking long-term with Windows Phone, but if this story is true they're really ahead of the curve.

Tango seen in new photo with Content Search, makes us lust for more
Content search (or more commonly known as universal search) is one of the most defining parts of any smartphone OS, and somehow Microsoft has yet to incorporate it into Windows Phone. However that photo hints the feature is likely on its way in the next update.

Rumor: Nokia Windows Phone to debut on August 17th?
Partaaay! According to an invitation received by the::unwired, Microsoft and Nokia are holding a little shindig at Germany's GamesCon 2011 on August 17th.

Chances of Nokia announcing new hardware at GamesCom? "No dice."
Yesterday the image above from the::unwired began circling around the 'net and many speculated that the party the invitation was sent out for could be the official unveiling of Nokia's first Windows Phone. Well according to This is my next's Chris Ziegler, "no dice".

Qualcomm doesn't have exclusive Windows Phone deal, dual-core Nokia on its way after all?
Well, well, well. You were so adamant to proclaim yourself as the sole chipset provider for upcoming Mango handsets, weren't you Qualcomm? As it turns out, The Inquirer has uncovered your dirty little secret: you don't have an exclusivity agreement with Microsoft!

Apps and Games
XBL Wednesday: Cro-Mag Rally
This week’s new Xbox Live game is Cro-Mag Rally by Pangea Software. For those who don't know, this prehistoric kart racing game has been around for a long time now. Since its debut in 1998 on the Mac the game has become quite popular and is now making the transition to Microsoft's newest platform.

XBL Deal of the Week: ilomilo
This week's Deal is ilomilo by SouthEnd Entertainment. This game was one of the most hyped before its release shortly after the launch of Windows Phone 7, and it turned out to be a phenomenal game. Rich graphics, a quirky art style, and deceivingly hard gameplay.

GameHouse announces five Xbox Live games in the works
We complain about Xbox Live quite a bit, but one thing that's remained pretty consistent is the release-after-release schedule Microsoft has managed to maintain every single week since launch. Now we hear that  GameHouse (developer of Doodle Jump and Sally's Salon) is planning an additional five Xbox Live games to be released for Windows Phone in the future. Whoa!

Trio of Xbox Live Indie Games headed to Windows Phone
Want some real gaming meat? Look no further than Xbox Live Indie Games developers. WP7 Connect sat down with three teams at the Indie Games Uprising event and discovered that all three are planning to port their already XNA-complete titles to Windows Phone's open arms.

SupterTube leaps to v1.9, syncs downloaded videos with PC
Despite our reservations about its interface, there's no denying how feature-rich SuperTube is for the money. One of its biggest selling points is the ability to download YouTube videos for offline viewing pleasure. With the latest SuperTube v1.9 update, FastCode has added a much sought-after feature to those downloaded videos: wireless PC syncing.

The Sunday Paper - July 31st, 2011

Welcome to The Sunday Paper! If you've been too busy to check out Windows Phone Daily this week, you missed a huge week full of Mango goodness! Mango officially hit RTM, a new Mango developer build was released, we figured out a way to get that update to your non-developer phone, and the first Mango phone was officially unveiled for the world to see. So here's the lowdown on all of the top stories you may have missed:

Featured
How to Update to the new Mango Beta WITHOUT a Developer Account!
Want to update to the new Mango Beta that was just release for developers? Normally you would need to be a registered developer, but we've got your back on this one.

News
Brandon Watson Challenges Web Personalities to try Windows Phone, Will Donate $1000 to Charity if They Don't Like It
Do you think more people should give Windows Phone a chance and try it out for themselves? You can do your part by sharing with your friends and loved ones, but if you're as well-connected as Microsoft's Brandon Watson you can issue a true "Windows Phone Challenge".

Rumor: HTC Omega leaked specs reveal 1.5GHz CPU and 8MP camera
It looks like someone noticed the HTC Omega case's appearance the other day and decided to flesh out the rumors we know so far. Previously we only knew that the Omega would have a 3.8" display, but now things are getting a lot more interesting with a full spec sheet floating around for the unreleased device.

Mango Officially Released to Manufacturers (RTM)!
Well it looks like those rumors were off by just a few days: Microsoft just announced via the Windows Phone Blog that their latest and greatest build of Mango has been released to manufacturers!

T-Mobile Dell Venue Pro update rolling out later today (hopefully)
We know some of you had to be crushed when you heard the update for the T-Mobile Dell Venue Pro had suffered from a last-minute delay but if you're ready to open your heart again, Dell has once again set a date for the promised update: later today!

Fujitsu IS12T Officially Announced and Detailed 
There it is! Fujitsu, KDDI and Microsoft just officially unveiled the first production Mango device to the world: the Fujitsu IS12T. The phone is packing a Qualcomm 8655 processor, 13.2 megapixel camera, DLNA support--oh yeah and it runs Windows Phone 7.5!

Developers: New Build of Mango Beta released and New SDK
Thanks to a post from Cliff Simpkins over at the Windows Phone Developer Blog, it seems like those earlier grumblings were true: developers are receiving a Mango Beta update! Of course, what's a new build without a new SDK? That's exactly what Microsoft has given in its new "Beta 2 Refresh" package of development tools.

Nielsen: Microsoft has 9% Smartphone Market Share, HTC accounts for 6% of it
The Nielsen Research group just released their manufacturer market share analysis for Q2 of 2011 (April to June) and has discovered quite a bit about Microsoft's piece of the pie.

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 and document sharing, but with Mango it appears Microsoft is preparing more than just that.

Stream video from SkyDrive directly within the Pictures Hub with a click
While the method above is cool, it sorely needs some spit shine. Luckily a new method was 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.

Apps and Games
XBL Wednesday: Sally's Salon: Luxury Edition
Looks like the exclusive titles are over and now we're back to hand-me-downs from other platforms. The Diner Dash-esque has definitely been on more than one platform and certainly hasn't been limited to smartphones.

XBL Deal of the Week: Parachute Panic
The game was released a little while back and was revered for its unique hand-drawn graphical style and addictive gameplay. That praise has held up with the game staying at a strong 4-star rating in the Marketplace from user reviews. Parachute Panic was already quite cheap before at $2.99 so an extra buck off the total is a nice bonus.

Crackdown 2: Project Sunburst bites the dust, early adopters outraged
The innovative but troubled Xbox Live game was originally pulled from the Marketplace due to bugs and complaints, but now the dev team has come out and said they've decided to end the project altogether. They are offering anyone who bought Project Sunburst in the last 60 days a refund, but apparently a lot of gamers who bought the game earlier are more than a little upset with this move.

The Washington Post's 'Trove' is yet another slick news app, misleads mobile treasure hunters
Can't get enough cold hard facts in your daily life of smartphone-using? There's an app for that. The Washington Post recently launched the Trove app for Windows Phone. For those who don't know, Trove is a powerful news aggregator service that organizes news by their main topic and beams in hundreds of articles related to it.

Angry Birds gets updated with 90 more levels, we're a little less Angry now
We recently went on a little rant a few weeks back about how Angry Birds for Windows Phone has less content than other platforms. Well funny story: Rovio just updated the port to v1.1 and makes up for about 90 of the 105 missing levels. Not bad!

The Sunday Paper - July 24th, 2011

Welcome to The Sunday Paper! If you've been too busy to check out Windows Phone Daily this week, you may have missed out on a lot! The Samsung Focus v1.4 finally got its update groove back, the Nokia Sea Ray teased us in a new video, developers saw a huge update in the App Hub, and we reached our own very special milestone! So here's the lowdown on all of the top stories you may have missed:

Featured
Bing Vision: The Garage Sale Test
We finally came up with the perfect place to put Bing Vision through its paces: a garage sale! What better place to whip out your phone and quickly look up info on some goods? So to see how Bing Vision fared in our garage sale test, check out the article.

We've Posted 500 Articles, Another 500 On the Way!
Wednesday was a proud day for me. That was the day I published my 500th article here on Windows Phone Daily. That's 500 news reports, app reviews, game reviews, and editorials. That's 500 posts since the site began in February, so you know I'm taking my job seriously. I honestly can't believe the site has made it this far and I can only think of one person to thank: you.

Five Things We Love (and Five Things We Hate) about Windows Phone Mango
Microsoft wants to see real feedback from real people about their operating system's next major update so they can get to work. Well we're here to do our part now and after spending a few weeks with the Mango beta on our Samsung Focus, we're ready to tell Microsoft just how we feel about Mango. Here are the five things we love (and the five things we hate) about Windows Phone Mango.

News
New video of Nokia Sea Ray discovered, this time with buttons!
Ever since last week, Mango hardware has been quite the leaky faucet and a new look at the mother lode of all future Windows Phones just leaked onto the web. Yes, there's a new video that shows a quick hands on of the Nokia Sea Ray in action and includes real Windows Phone buttons (no buttonless for you) as well as a nice long look at it running honest-to-god Mango. Awesome.

Fujitsu IS12T set to be unveiled in Japan next week, the first official Windows Phone Mango device
KDDI and Fujitsu are all set to unveil the first second-generation Windows Phone to the public on July 27th...which is next week!

Developers: ChevronWP7 Labs device unlock to cost $9
ChevronWP7 wasn't messing around when they announced their new Labs service last month. Not only does the service promise to offer an affordable device unlocking method, it's also Microsoft-approved! It doesn't get any better than that...until you hear about just how cheap ChevronWP7 is making device unlocking.

Developers: Mango App Submissions start on August 22nd, App Hub changes detailed now
A major App Hub update began to roll out globally a few days ago and we spotted quite a few new features. However, everyone was confused as to why Microsoft hadn't bothered detailing what's new but now Todd Brix has come to give us all the details.

Update for Samsung Focus v1.4 Now Available!
Wow, they weren't kidding about that 'expediting' process. Eric Hautala just took to the Windows Phone Blog less than 24 hours after his last post to announce that Samsung Focus owners can expect their promised updates....now. Or now. Or anytime starting from now actually.

Update-pocalypse: Dell Venue Pro, HTC Mozart, LG Optimus 7 and Samsung Omnia 7 all receive updates
Yeah, you read that right: we have officially dubbed it as Update-pocalypse. Why? Well it's because there's four new hardware-specific updates on their way to users starting this week! 

LG Fantasy Leaked in Product Roadmap, the sole new Windows Phone from LG?
PocketNow landed on a huge pile of information thanks to a leaked product roadmap for LG's smartphones. Within that roadmap contained what is most likely LG's upcoming Mango handset: the LG Fantasy.

HTC Omega & Eternity cases discovered, phones not included
Remember that rumored HTC Eternity? The one with a 4.7" display, 1.5GHz processor and a body exactly like the Desire HD? Well we didn't buy it at first but now evidence is starting to appear in the rumor's favor.

Apps & Games
App Review: easyTube
Who needs Google? The company decided not to bother with an official YouTube app for Windows Phone and was initially met with outrage, but now we don't need them. Windows Phone has already been blessed with incredible 3rd-party YouTube apps and now easyTube is aiming to join that crowd.

Game Review: Word Arena
Z-Games Studios has turned out an impressive new addition to the online word game category that improves upon a successful formula in almost every single way.

Xbox Live Wednesday: Tentacles
This week’s new Xbox Live game is Tentacles by Press Play. For those who don't remember, this game was actually announced at this year's E3 alongside a slew of other games (which included last week's Beards & Beaks). Another thing worth pointing out is that Tentacles is 100% exclusive to Windows Phone!

XBL Deal of the Week: The Sims 3
This week's Deal is The Sims 3 by Electronic Arts. The game is one of the oldest Xbox Live titles for Windows Phone, originally debuting in the Marketplace on October 15th, 2010.

'This or That' is a gameshow in your pocket, digital Bob Barker sadly not included
As corny, irritating, and out-of-touch with the world as they are, game shows still rock. There's just something about them that feels almost like they've preserved a piece of cultural history that time has (thankfully) passed. To anyone who agrees with us, Peter Sarrett's new game This or That lets out your inner gameshow freak in the palm of your hand (and with a lot less public embarrassment).

'Calendar Calculator' Makes Waiting For Your Birthday a LOT Harder
Why is there only one day in the year when you get presents, cake, and unconditional love just for existing? I just don't get it. If birthdays are awesome (which they are) and if everyone loves birthdays (which they do), why can't each person have birthdays more often? But hey, since birthdays are sadly only one day in the year, watching the days wind down to the next one with Gus Perez's Calendar Calculator may help fill the void. 

The Sunday Paper - July 17th, 2011

Welcome to The Sunday Paper! If you've been too busy to check out Windows Phone Daily this week, we're willing to forgive you. As long as you promise to just read this article instead. Plus this contains all of the stuff you can catch up on--not too shabby, right? Check out this week's best content below.

News

Joe Belfiore spotted with Mango Twitter integration, #insanelyjealous
Oh, okay. We get it. A bunch of developers just got upgraded to a shiny new beta build of Mango and everyone was happy, but you just had to rain on everyone's parade didn't you Mr. Belfiore?

Say Hello to the Future of Microsoft
Microsoft appears to have finally achieved their goal of "three screens" offering a unified Windows experience.

New Samsung, Other Windows Phone Devices Teased at WPC 2011!
Microsoft pulled out a surprise at it's Worldwide Partners Conference--our first look at new Windows Phones powered by Mango!

A Detailed Look at Revealed Windows Phones
Join us for an in-depth look at what to expect from tomrrow's phones today!

Rumor: Mango phones to be released by September?
Winners of Microsoft's Imagine Cup 2011 contest are lucky...very lucky. Apparently the finalists are all going to be awarded with Mango-powered production phones from Microsoft for their talent. That's a pretty sweet deal for them and we're insanely jealous, Microsoft may have let some crucial release info slip by making this announcement.

Rumor: Future Microsoft OS to run phones, PCs, tablets, consoles--and may leave 'Windows' in the dust
Microsoft is plotting even bigger moves in the future for their post-Windows 8 operating system.

Fujitsu Windows Phone launching in August in Japan, first Mango device to hit the market?
Japanese carrier KDDI seems to have announced the upcoming release of the network's first Metro-lovin' phone in the Fujitsu IS12T and a late August timeframe for its launch.

Apps & Games

Game Review: Wordrix
Who doesn't love a good word game? No one. Why? Probably because most everyone can play them. However not every word game is so great and there are plenty of duds floating around in the world as we know it. Fortunately we usually find some pretty good word games for Windows Phone like the excellent Wordament. Now under our most critical eye is another word game from Haylex Studios called Wordrix. [Rating: 9/10]

New YouTube app enters the battle -- 'easyTube'
Well look what we have here, another YouTube app competitor! We've had a long history of covering Youtube apps on our site beginning with our War of the 'Tubes feature and LazyWorm as well as SuperTube have both matured quite a bit since. But it's always good to get some fresh blood in the scene especially when things start to slow down like they are right now for YouTube apps, and so we now have easyTube by wsoftvn.

Angry Birds on Windows Phone has less content than others, no timeline for updates
When we reviewed Angry Birds for Windows Phone, we noticed that the port was based on an earlier version (specifically v1.4.2). Quick calculations of numbers give us the total of 135 levels for the Windows Phone port. Now compare that to the latest version of Angry Birds on iOS and Android, both of which are now on version 1.6.1. Both top out at chapter 17 level 15 which, assuming each chapter consists of 15 each, means that iOS and Android have 105 more levels than the Windows Phone port.

Xbox Live Wednesday: Beards & Beaks
This week’s new Xbox Live game is Beards & Beaks. This is actually a landmark title as it is the first Windows Phone game to be created entirely by Microsoft Game Studios. Usually MGS has their hand in helping all of the Xbox Live titles from different developers, but this is the first time a game has been wholly their own.

Deal of the Week: Max & The Magic Marker
Max & The Magic Marker has dropped from $4.99 to $2.99 for the rest of the week. The standard free trial is also available.