Ring Ring Ring Ring Ring Ring Ring Ring, Mango Phone (Ringtones)!

We hate ringtones. There, we said it. We don't need to hear electro burping/farting/chicken cooing remixes, MIDI tones from the late 90s, or an auto-tuned Will.I.Am every freaking time we're in public. It's called sound pollution people and it's unnatural. What ever happened to the classic ring? The same exact ring from the original telephone, when Alexander Graham Bell couldn't have begun to imagine what he had created. But no, everyone and their dog wants "I Gotta Feeling" as their ringtone.

Now Microsoft has begun approving of this sick ear torture and is even planning to provide tools in Mango and new Zune functionality in order to encourage it. Not only has Microsoft added the necessary APIs for developers to add a new 'Save as Ringtone' feature to their sound-hungry apps, they've also made it available for basically any app. Plus now with this addition, users themselves will also be able to create new despicable custom ringtones for their Windows Phones. Mercifully they have decided to pose a few restrictions in order to reduce the amount of Justin Bieber ringtones available to the world, and so users have to make sure their next work of paralyzing annoyance follows these guidelines:

• 39 seconds or shorter
• smaller than 1 megabyte (MB)
• saved in MP3 or WMA format
• not copy-protected (i.e. DRM free)

Finally, Microsoft has also made the horrid tunes of our eardrum's death syncable through the Zune desktop software. As long as files are labeled with 'Ringtone' in the Genre section, they will sync to a new 'Custom' area of ringtones and will not get jumbled in with that new Beyonce album you just picked up. Plus Mango will be shipping with a few new preinstalled ringtones from the get-go, just in case you wanted pointers on how to make your own.

All of this makes us sick. Enjoy your victory you tone deaf bastards.

(Oh and in case you were wondering exactly what the heck that headline is referencing, we suggest you watch the video embedded just past the break...and don't suggest to make it your new ringtone this Fall.)

Source: Windows Phone Blog

Nokia Helen, Zeta, Cindy and Fate with Symbian Belle and 1GHz CPU Leaked

We reported earlier about Nokia's upcoming N series smartphone codenamed N5 that has emerged along with the next in line, the N6 and N7.

It appears that more information about the Finnish giant's plan has been unveiled as the guys over at Flashfly managed to take a few shots of four unannounced phones that we think will be launched by the end of the year.

Although the pictures do not show the actual phone, we do have parts of the phones' specs sheets, which show that they are not ordinary Symbian smartphones.

Just like the N5 that leaked yesterday, the four smartphones are powered by Symbian Anna platform, also known as Symbian Belle.

Nokia Helen, codename Nokia 701, will have a 3.5-inch LCD ClearBlack display, an 8-megapixel camera and a fast 1GHz processor.
Apparently, the 701 will be Nokia X7's successor and its strong points will be the large screen and a better browser experience.

Nokia Zeta, or Nokia 700, will feature a slightly smaller 3.2-inch AMOLED display, NFC technology, as well as 1GHz processor.

The main attraction of the phone will be its design, as Nokia will tout the 700 as “the thinnest smartphone ever.”

Next in line is Nokia Cindy, also known as Nokia 600, which is supposed to carry a 3.2-inch AMOLED display, a 5-megapixel camera, NFC technology, a fast 1GHz processor and built-in FM radio antenna.
  
According to Nokia, the Cindy will be delivered with several pre-installed apps, including Skype, Shazam, Youtube, F-Secure, Vlingo and PDF.

The phone is aimed at youth and will appeal customers through an attractive price.

The last on the list is called Nokia Fate (Nokia 500) and seems to be the cheapest of the four, but will keep almost the same level of hardware.

Nokia Fate will be powered by the same 1GHz processor, but it will lack NFC technology. In addition, it will sport a 5-megapixel camera.

There is no additional information about the phones' release dates or prices, but we can easily assume that these will be launched by the end of the year as part of Nokia's plan to flood the global market with Symbian smartphones until the first Windows Phone 7 devices arrive. 

Xbox Live Deal of the Week: James Patterson's Women's Murder Club

Xbox Live Deal of the Week gets you gaming on the cheap. Every Wednesday an Xbox Live game goes on sale and the discount stays in effect until the new Deal is released.

This week's new Deal is James Patterson's Women's Murder Club from I-Play. Here's the official description of the game:

After captivating over 15 million players, the hit PC game based on JAMES PATTERSON's popular book series finally comes to mobile! Discover a unique blend of hidden object, light adventure and puzzle games combined with an exciting mystery tale and exclusive features tailored for your mobile device!

-- A THRILLING "PAGE TURNER" OF A GAME!
Take on the role of a homicide detective in this spine-tingling mystery by bestselling author JAMES PATTERSON. Study murder scenes, perform forensic analysis and find evidence as you try to solve a series of ghastly murders in San Francisco.

-- SEEK & FIND & MORE!
Much more than a hidden object game! Each investigation features fun and challenging puzzles that require you to use both your eyes and your brain to gather evidence in 15 murder scenes and complete all 29 investigations.

-- A BONE-CHILLING EXPERIENCE
With strikingly immersive environments and chilling sound effects, award-winning game designer JANE JENSEN recreates the intense, dark and gritty atmosphere that already captivated millions of book readers and players around the world!

-- TOUCH AND SEARCH
Enjoy flawless touchscreen controls! Pinch the screen to zoom in and explore amazingly detailed scenes, then tap to use tools and collect objects.

Women's Murder Club has dropped from $2.99 to $1.99 for the rest of the week. The standard free trial is also available.

Click on the tile below to get the game (opens Zune).

James Patterson's Women's Murder Club I-Play $1.99 + Trial Version 1.1

Xbox Live Wednesday: Angry Birds

It's Wednesday and do you know what that means? New Xbox Live games for Windows Phone!

It's finally here people! This week’s new Xbox Live game is Angry Birds by Rovio, which is the finale to Microsoft's Must Have Games program--talk about ending with a bang! Here is the official description of the game:

The survival of the Angry Birds is at stake. Dish out revenge on the green pigs who stole the Birds’ eggs. Use the unique destructive powers of the Angry Birds to lay waste to the pigs’ fortified constructions. Angry Birds features hours challenging, physics-based demolition gameplay, and lots of replay value. Each of the 165 levels requires logic, skill, and brute force to crush the enemy. Protect wildlife and play Angry Birds!

Angry Birds is available in the Marketplace for $ along with the standard free trial.

Click on the tile below to get the game (opens Zune).

Angry Birds Rovio $2.99 + Trial Version 1.0

NoDo and Mango, Say Hello to Tango and Apollo

When Windows Phone 7 first launched, people were hopeful about Microsoft's promises to keep the platform unified with fast simple updates. Turns out that Microsoft has had a tougher time with updates than everyone thought and have faced rough criticism after some major missteps (although some of them were actually out of their power). Now that the dust has settled and the passion behind those promises has withered, we've finally begun to make sense of exactly what strategy Microsoft is sticking to long-term. In this year alone we will have had two major updates: NoDo beginning this past March and Mango later this Fall. In the time between each we've also seen smaller updates sprinkled in, like pre-NoDo and the May '7392' security update.

Thanks to a slip of the tongue from a reliable Compal source in a new Digitimes article, we now know that Microsoft is going to be calling their next major update Tango:

Compal has signed with Microsoft for licensed use of the Mango platform and Tango, a platform to succeed Mango, the sources noted.

Now since this source says that Tango will in fact be an update to supersede Mango, it's easy to assume that it will be on the same level as NoDo meaning we will see general feedback-based changes as well as bugfixes and minor features. Then of course there's Apollo, which many are speculating will eventually be known as Windows Phone 8 in order to launch alongside Windows 8 (in case you missed Apollo news, read here). So now that Microsoft is beginning to show its pattern a little bit, what are your thoughts? Is this system working or should Microsoft be hitting us with more frequent, fast and furious updates?

Via: PocketNow
Source: Digitimes

Image Credit: Flickr (zabaraorg)

Game Review: ORB

What's better than a fun, motion-controlled action arcade game? One that's stylish and as a bonus won't break the bank either. Version 2.0 of Palladium Power's ORB made a splash in the Marketplace a couple of weeks ago when it went on a one-day sale for the low price of free and since then has been pretty popular. Now whenever a game is offered for free in the Marketplace, we always tend to be a little suspicious and hopeful we don't get stuck with a lemon but ORB has pleasantly surprised us (plus we waited to actually pay for the game). Follow the break for our full thoughts on and score of Palladium Power's ORB.

The Basics
The objective of the game is simple enough: you control an orb and avoid the orb falling off the tiles its rolling upon. Maneuvering the orb is done through tilting the phone side-to-side while controlling the speed is done through a tilt up/down action. The 5x8 grid of tiles is slightly tilted in the area of the screen given in order to give you a better idea of control and more time to predict any obstacles. Speaking of which, there are quite a few varieties of special tiles that can throw you off (figuratively and literally):

• A Yellow tile that shows an arrow on top of it and when your orb rolls on top, it is 'bumped' in the same direction as the arrow.
• A Red tile which, when rolled over, explodes all of the ground within a 2-3 tile radius.
• A Blue tile which will launch your phone in the air in order to make it across large jumps.
• A Green tile to rapidly accelerate the orb in your current direction.

The in-game graphics are superb and undoubtedly some of the best we've seen in a game without the Xbox Live brand on its tile.

The Good
We found plenty to enjoy in our time with ORB. For one, the presentation quality is absolutely through the roof. They are best described as 'slick', lending an ultra-futuristic vibe to the entire game. It really works too: the in-game graphics are superb and undoubtedly some of the best we've seen in a game without the Xbox Live brand on its tile. But it's so much more than that, as Palladium Power has translated the look and feel of the game to directly match the rest of ORB's interface. The result is a title that is a cohesive package; everything from the menus to the pause screen carries the  distinctive look of ORB's gameplay. Honestly, you could tell a friend ORB is an XBL game and they may just believe it. Plus we really enjoyed the tiles-based obstacles which added some nice differentiation while playing. Throw in the online and local leaderboards too and the game has a whole new competitive angle to it. We also give points out to any game that handles resuming well after you leave the game only to return later, and luckily ORB is among those select few.

The Bad
So as you can tell, we really enjoy ORB's strong features and we commend the presentation work Palladium Power has put into the game. But every game has its downsides and ORB is no different. The biggest deduction against the game is its limited replay value. This is mostly due to the game restarting from the basic beginning each time you lose, and when you're looking for more of a challenge there's no difficulty options or skill-based levels to choose from. As much as we enjoy playing the game, it's also frustrating when you make it far into the harder areas of a marathon session and you have to restart--from the very 'holding-your-hands' beginning--in order to get your fix. This made us leave the game more often that we really wanted to, so the addition of a few difficulty levels would go a long way to making this right. Besides that, there's a few more nitpicks we have for the game. When we first fired up ORB and pressed the Play button from the main menu, the game abruptly started. While that may seem like a good thing, the problem is that we had no familiarity with the game and there wasn't even any sort of 'countdown' in order to be ready. Of course now that we're used to it the issue is no longer a big deal, but we still think it's worth correcting. Another thing is the lack of an accelerometer calibration option, which is something we consider a necessity with any tilt-based games. Finally, we sort of thought the music was repetitive while playing the game which only offers two very generic electronic beats.



Overall
We think Palladium Power has definitely crafted a stand out game with ORB. We ourselves have yet to see a non-Xbox Live game as wonderfully designed or as graphically beautiful as this title. You're not only getting a looker, the game has plenty of brains too thanks to its engaging gameplay and support for local and online leaderboards. The big thing really holding back this slick action game is the weak replay value, but luckily it should be an area that can be improved upon with future updates. Plus for the low price of $1.29, we really can't find much to complain about. So do yourself a favor and swipe those tiles over to the Marketplace and check out the game.

ORB Palladium Power FREE (Sale) $1.29 + Trial (Regular) Version 2.0

Apple Launching Thunderbolt Cable Ahead of Mac Refresh

A tipster has revealed that Apple plans to release its own accessory for data transfers and display connections between Thunderbolt Macs and other devices set to support the standard.

Originally codenamed Light Peak, Thunderbolt is an interface for connecting peripheral devices to a computer via an expansion bus.

Intel is the company behind this technology that saw its first commercial introduction in Apple’s current-generation of MacBook Pros.

Since then, the iMac line of desktop computers also received the enhancement, alongside Sandy Bridge processors, also from Intel.

On Macs, Thunderbolt uses the same port and connector as Mini DisplayPort, Apple’s own standard for connectivity between computers and external displays, or TVs.

In essence, Thunderbolt combines PCI Express and DisplayPort into a new serial data interface that can be carried over longer and less costly cables.

Apple reportedly plans to introduce its own branded cord for data transfers and display connections between Thunderbolt-enabled systems.

According to a Mr. X, who generally leaks accurate information to the blokes at 9to5mac, the cable’s both ends feature connectors for the Thunderbolt I/O port.

These cables are said to be the perfect accessory for data migration between Thunderbolt Macs, but also for display connections.

9to5 appropriately points out that the cable may well stand as a hint that Apple plans to introduce new Cinema Displays with Thunderbolt ports on them. They also seem to have obtained a rendering of the cable in question (displayed above).

Finally, the tipster claimed this new cable will arrive ahead of refreshed MacBook Airs, Mac minis, and Mac Pros with Thunderbolt I/O and Sandy Bridge CPUs. These are also expected to launch relatively soon.

Perhaps not coincidentally, Apple recently released its first Thunderbolt Firmware Update.

Aimed at systems running the latest version of Snow Leopard (Mac OS X 10.6.8), “This update provides Thunderbolt performance and stability fixes,” according to the Cupertino tech giant.