Microsft Rolling Out New Windows Phone Update
Last Updated on Saturday, 4 February 2012 10:16 Written by Alan Saturday, 4 February 2012 10:16
Microsoft has been rolling along quickly with their mobile operating system, Windows Phone. They are, of course, in catch-up mode because they started with a serious deficit to iPhone and Android, but they are consistently winning rave reviews and slowly gaining market share. While everyone is talking about, and waiting for, the next big Windows Phone update, known as Tango, to come along in the next few months, Microsoft is quietly rolling out smaller updates that are mostly just bug fixes.
The latest of those updates is known by the less than user friendly name of 7.10.8107.79. No fancy code names like Mango or Tango here. That doesn’t make this update any less important though. Microsoft lists the following improvements included in this update:
- On-screen keyboard. Fixes an issue to prevent the keyboard from disappearing during typing.
- Email. Fixes a Google mail syncing issue.
- Location. Fixes a location access issue. With this fix, the Me feature in the People Hub sends anonymous information about nearby Wi-Fi access points and cell towers to Microsoft only if you agree to allow the Check In function to access and use location information.
- Security. Revokes digital certificates from DigiCert Sdn Bhd to address an encryption issue.
- Email threads. Fixes an email issue related to Microsoft Exchange Server 2003. With this fix, when you reply to or forward a message, the original message is now included in your response.
- Voicemail. Fixes a voicemail notification display issue that occurs on some European and Asian networks under certain conditions
If you are new to Windows Phone and not familiar with how to update your device then Microsoft has Phone updates FAQ to help you out.
Microsoft Kicks Off Advertising Story Awards with Felicia Day
Last Updated on Thursday, 2 February 2012 08:50 Written by Alan Thursday, 2 February 2012 08:50
The Microsoft Advertising Story Awards kicked off today. The contest is looking for the world’s most innovative digital marketer, but of course, that means using Microsoft Advertising solutions. In fact, the contest flat out specifies that “entries will be judged on how effectively your campaign plan uses Microsoft Advertising solutions”. So yes, it’s designed to introduce people to Microsoft’s advertising properties, which include such things as MSN, mobile, Skype, and the Xbox, to name a few.
None of that is a bad thing, though. Microsoft is giving away a trip to the world-wide advertising awards, Cannes Lions 2012. It’s also a good chance to get yourself familiar with with other avenues of advertising, some of which are really quite good and profitable.
What may be more important to geeks is that Microsoft landed super geek girl Felicia Day of Eureka and The Guild to kick off their big advertising contest. Microsoft, coincidentally, owns exclusive distribution rites to The Guild for their Xbox Live, MSN, and Zune video programs. Felicia recorded a four minutes video to get potential entrants started, which you can view below. If you want more information on the contest, you can visit The Microsoft Advertising Story Awards.
Windows Phone 8 Details Leaked
Last Updated on Thursday, 2 February 2012 04:24 Written by Alan Thursday, 2 February 2012 04:24
While Windows 8 may be the next big thing for computers and tablets, mobile users are starting to anticipate the next Windows Phone update, which should be coming this spring. The update is code named “Tango” and doesn’t seem to have any version number attached to it like the last update, version 7.5 “Mango”, did. However, now some people may begin to look even further ahead to the Window Phone update that is currently scheduled, according to a leaked roadmap, for Q4 of 2012. That update, code named “Apollo”, will signify the move into Windows Phone 8.
Today the mobile web site PocketNow reported that they obtained access to a video from Microsoft Windows Phone Manager Joe Belfiore which had been intended for their Windows Phone partner, Nokia. According to what they saw in the video, Windows Phone 8 will support four different screen resolutions, multi-core processors, and removable microSD cards.
There is apparently also talk of NFC support, an improved syncing interface, DataSmart data management, BitLocker, and integrated Skype. Microsoft, aaccording to PocketNow, also hope to have 100,000 apps in their Marketplace by the time Windows Phone Apollo launches. There was a lot more included in the original article, so if you want details then head over to PocketNow.
