Windows Phone may still be a long ways behind in market share, but their customer satisfaction rating is through the roof.  In fact they are the number one rated mobile platform on Amazon.  It seems those high marks haven’t gone unnoticed, even by Apple.  An iPhone screenshot recently surfaced showing that Siri now rates the Nokia Lumia 900 as “the best cell phone ever” – specifically, the cyan version is Siri’s favorite.

Answers given by Siri are not programmed by Apple, but are the results of the analytical search engine Wolfram Alpha.  In other words, the results are genuine.

The Lumia 900 is currently available only on AT&T in the U.S., and also on many other carriers around the world.  It’s currently the best value for a top-of-the-line smartphone on the market.  It’s available in black, white, and cyan.

Source: WMPoweruser

Alan

Alan is the owner and editor of Making Windows Easy. In addition to writing about technology he is also an avid distance runner and hiker. Read More

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Evernote, the popular note taking app for iOS, Android, Windows Phone, and the web, today announced the purchase of the Penultimate handwriting app for iPad.  Penultimate is the fourth most popular paid app for the iPad.  Penultimate is a handwriting app that allows the user to take notes using a stylus in the same way you would use a pen on a pad of paper.  Not only can you use it for notes, but you can make sketches as well, and also import images to add another element to your notes.

Penultimate, at least for now, won’t be folded into Evernote, but remain a separate app.  ”Penultimate will stay a separate, elegant application and will get many much-requested Evernote-y improvements including full search and synchronization.”  Penultimate CEO Ben Zotto will also be working with Evernote to bring handwriting to their app.

It’s likely that the two apps will eventually merge, but neither side is willing to say that at the moment.  Evernote is also compatible across multiple platforms so it’s possible that this deal will lead to Penultimate opening up to Android tablets.  For now you can get Penultimate from the iTunes App Store for $0.99.  You can check out a video from Evernote CEO Phil Libin and Ben Zotto posted below.

Alan

Alan is the owner and editor of Making Windows Easy. In addition to writing about technology he is also an avid distance runner and hiker. Read More

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Angry Birds Space, the latest iteration of the Rovio Angry Birds franchise, has been out just over a month and has become the fastest growing mobile game in history.  Angry Birds Space is available for both Android and iOS devices and is expected to also come to Windows Phone at some point in the future.  Today Rovio announced the “official” numbers – 50 million downloads over the first 35 days.

The game has proven so popular that the first updated levels were released less than a month after launch, which is considerably quicker than previous Angry Birds versions were updated.

“We extend our deepest gratitude to all fans of Angry Birds everywhere. While numbers like this certainly say something about the popularity of Angry Birds, for us the main goal is to keep creating fun new experiences that everybody can enjoy! We just launched the first free update for Angry Birds Space, with plenty more surprises in stock.”

Angry Birds can be installed from both the Google Play Store and iTunes App Store.  There is a free, ad-supported, version as well as a $0.99 ad-free version.  You can read the full Rovio announcement over at their blog and check out the trailer video posted below.

Alan

Alan is the owner and editor of Making Windows Easy. In addition to writing about technology he is also an avid distance runner and hiker. Read More

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With Windows 8 currently available in “Consumer Preview” form, developers are beginning to get serious about app development for the new Metro Start Screen.  Getting apps up and running now not only gets a foothold with early adopters, but also ensures inclusion in the Windows App Store upon consumer launch of the new OS in late 2012.

Metro Apps in Windows 8 need to be  designed with a touch interface in mind since the OS is built to be tablet friendly.  With that in mind, a company called Spashtop has released an iOS app called Win8 Metro Testbed that allows Windows 8 Metro apps to run on an iPad.  Users will need a computer running Windows 8 because a “streamer” program needs to be installed in order to make the app work.

The Streamer is free, while the iPad app is $24.99.  The app is geared towards app developers as opposed to users.  You can get the app from the iTunes Store and it’s available in multiple languages.

Alan

Alan is the owner and editor of Making Windows Easy. In addition to writing about technology he is also an avid distance runner and hiker. Read More

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Nokia has launched a new web site that takes on Apple and the iPhone by making fun of some of it’s past tribulations.  The site, titled “Smart Phone Beta Test“, pokes fun at things such as the antenna problems that iPhone encountered last year, along with the now famous “You’re holding it wrong” line from the late Steve Jobs.

Today Paul Thurrott, on WinSuperSite, posted the three videos titled “Death Grip”, “Outside”, and Fragile”.  This is more of the great advertising we have seen from Nokia, including the funny TV ads they have released in India, and the huge launch events in places like Chile and Australia.

You can check out the videos below.  Nokia is making a play to replace Samsung who previously were the company that took on Apple, quite successfully, with their “standing in line” ads, which culminated at this past Super Bowl.

Alan

Alan is the owner and editor of Making Windows Easy. In addition to writing about technology he is also an avid distance runner and hiker. Read More

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Microsoft has released an updated version of their My Xbox Live app for iOS especially designed for the new iPad.  The Xbox app for iOS has been available for a little while now and has been extremely popular from the day of it’s initial launch.  With the Xbox being the top selling game console in the world and the iPad 3 getting massive pre-orders, Microsoft was pressed to a get out a new version of their app that supports the higher resolution “Retina” display.

They answered with My Xbox Live version 1.3, which was released March 13th.  In addition to the Retina support, the new update also claims to bring “improved error handling” to the app.

“Track and compare your achievements, connect with your Xbox LIVE friends, and change up your 3D Avatar. Review all your recent great games you and your friends love to play and compare achievements with them. Jump into our games hub to learn about the latest LIVE games and apps. Access Xbox Spotlight feeds, get breaking news from Xbox LIVE, game tips and tricks, gamer spotlight and much more.”

My Xbox Live is free to download from the iTunes App Store.

Alan

Alan is the owner and editor of Making Windows Easy. In addition to writing about technology he is also an avid distance runner and hiker. Read More

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The Photosynth app was released by Microsoft about a year ago and has proven very popular with both professional and amateur photographers.  Photosynth allows users to submit a series of photos and have them stitched together into panoramas, even up to a full 360 degrees.  Today, Microsoft finally announced the availability of a new version of Photosynth for iOS users.

“With the Photosynth app, you can easily capture 360 degree views of Hawaiian skies and watch Photosynth do its job of stitching together the clouds of different shades and hues. Imagine how difficult it would be on a DSLR to line up the right edges of clouds and matching their exposure levels.”

Features in the latest version of Photosynth include:

• Capture Full-Sphere Panoramas: Look and capture in all directions more easily than what most of us can do with DSLRs and point-and-shoot cameras.
• View immediately: With fast On-Device Processing, you can see the final panorama in a few minutes, without requiring an internet connection or data plan.  Very handy for those impromptu panoramas and immediate gratification that you captured the perfect shot.
• Save locally and on the cloud:  Your panoramas saved on your phone can also be saved and viewed online at http://photosynth.net.
• Share immediately:  Share your panorama immediately via Twitter, Facebook or Bing Maps.
• View in browser or app: Zoom, pan, and rotate your panorama in any direction through the Photosynth app or through the mobile browser.

You can get the new iOS version from the Apple App store.  You can find out more about the app by visiting photosynth.net.  The app, in all versions, is completely free.

Alan

Alan is the owner and editor of Making Windows Easy. In addition to writing about technology he is also an avid distance runner and hiker. Read More

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If you haven’t heard yet, it was recently revealed that Google has been tracking users through cookies placed into Apple’s Safari web browser which runs, not only on PC’s and Mac’s, but also on all iOS devices.  Microsoft is taking advantage of this unfortunate news to both strike out at Apple and Google, as well as push their own web browser, Internet Explorer.

In an overnight blog post, Microsoft’s Ryan Gavin, General Manager of Internet Explorer Business and Marketing, laid out the recent news and called it “alarming”.  He also pointed out other instances of Google’s misbehavior, such as the recent Privacy Policy changes.  He then goes on to let everyone know that if you “want to protect your confidential information and privacy while you’re online, there are alternatives for you.  Windows Internet Explorer is the browser that respects your privacy.”

This game has become a favorite tactic of Microsoft recently as they have learned to point out, and take advantage of, their rival’s missteps.  We saw it recently when Microsoft offered free Windows Phone handsets to Android user’s worried about malware on their devices.  Now they are using it push Internet Explorer on users worried about Safari privacy problems.  Microsoft is playing tough these days.

Alan

Alan is the owner and editor of Making Windows Easy. In addition to writing about technology he is also an avid distance runner and hiker. Read More

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With the introduction of Windows Phone 8 later this year there’s a lot of speculation that it will be based on the Windows 8 kernel.  It’s unlikely that it will look much like the Windows 8 desktop, but then again the the look of Windows Phone and Windows 8 aren’t that far off from one another now. The next update  to the Microsoft mobile operating system, known as “Tango”, is expected this spring and Windows Phone 8, known by the code name “Apollo”, is scheduled to roll out in the fourth quarter of this year according to a roadmap that was leaked back in December.

Now a video has surfaced online showing a Windows 8 theme running on, of all things, an iPhone.  The theme is called “Metro 8″ and it’s complete in it’s transformation of the iOS handset, right down to the Windows 8 Lock Screen.  The desktop OS looks surprisingly good running on a phone.  You can check out the video below to see a full demo of it.

Alan

Alan is the owner and editor of Making Windows Easy. In addition to writing about technology he is also an avid distance runner and hiker. Read More

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It’s been rumored for a while now that Microsoft would finally end the Xbox Live exclusivity to Windows Phone and bring their gaming technology to iOS and Android, but now it looks like that day is finally in sight.  Although Microsoft would love to use Xbox Live as one of the big selling points for their own mobile operating system, making it available for the other major mobile platforms will greatly expand both their user base and their revenue.

While it’s been all rumors and speculation up until now that Microsoft would really make Xbox Live available on any platform besides their own, that has finally changed today as a Microsoft spokesman told the website Inside Mobile Apps that,

“While the Xbox Live experiences and games always work best on the Windows platform, we understand that some Xbox fans may be using other types of devices. To satisfy that need, we are working to extend a few of our Xbox experiences and titles to other platforms.”

As I previously stated, this move makes sense for Microsoft for a couple of reasons.  It’s also entirely likely that the Xbox Live maker will keep some juice for Windows Phone by making certain functions and games exclusive, permanently or for for a period of time, to Windows Phone.  Once both of these models – Xbox Live on Android and iOS, and Windows Phone exclusives – are in place then Microsoft will have the best of both worlds.

Alan

Alan is the owner and editor of Making Windows Easy. In addition to writing about technology he is also an avid distance runner and hiker. Read More

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