It has been a long time coming but the first cross platform messaging application is part of the first 25,000 applications in the Windows Phone 7 Marketplace. For those who are unfamiliar with Kik Messenger it is an application that allows for real time communication, giving the user the feel of a Blackberry Messenger application of sorts. In short: It’s pretty awesome. Hop on past the break for the full review…
First it was people complaining of slow update rollouts for Windows Phone 7. Then people took matters into their own hands only to have the unknown effects turn out to be less than pleasant. And now once again NoDo is back in the news. Apparently, the WP7 update is causing color depth to revert back to a lesser desirable 16-bit which results in unsightly color banding. The fix is isolated and relegated to developer devices mainly, preventing the general public from correcting the issue themselves. However, if you happen to be one of those lucky devs, the below registry tweaks are said to fix the issue “up to 95%”:
HKLM\Drivers\Display\Primary\PrimBPP dword 32
HKLM\Drivers\Display\Primary\bpp dword 32
HKLM\Drivers\Display\Primary\PanelBPP dword 24
Android users are all too familiar with grotesque color banding, as ever since Android 2.1 began rolling out the inevitable lines of 16-bit color have been popping up. If the fix is as simple as a few lines in the registry or device source code, what’s taking Google so long?
Meanwhile, Windows Phone 7 users (specifically devs) are urged to give the above a try. Let us know if your phone is affected and how the above “fix” goes for you.
Microsoft may have left a slew of important features out of Windows Phone 7 initially, though slowly but surely hackers and devs are adding them back in. First it was tethering. Now — USB Mass Storage Mode. The lack of said feature is pretty mind boggling. It’s an extremely basic feature that is immensely useful, and one that we’ve given plenty of other software and hardware developers/manufacturers flack for. With that said, how exactly can you turn your trusty WP7 device into the storage device of your dreams? Click on through to find out…
If you’re the type that quickly and easily gets tired of the at times boring, and “normal” drab that ships as the Windows 7 UI, Rainmeter has something for you — A Windows Phone 7 complete UI skin for Windows on the desktop. The skin is quite complete with over 30 different panels to interact with, giving the normal desktop Windows a complete overhaul. How well will a mostly finger-based UI handle your standard keyboard and mouse? That I will answer for you after a few days with this skin.
If Windows Phone 7 isn’t quite your cup of tea, the Rainmeter platform has a handful of other quality skins that are just as robust and stunning. For someone such as myself who constantly likes change and to keep things fresh, the level of detail and customization offered by Rainmeter is pretty sweet. Seeing as how Rainmeter isn’t particularly new, does anyone — new or old — have any insight/helpful hints regarding skinning with Rainmeter?
**Update: After a few minutes using Rainmeter, it’s evident that it’s not a “full” theming solution per say (WindowsBlinds), but none the less is still robust. And, if used in addition to a few other theming programs and widgets can offer that full UI overhaul you may be seeking. One negative in particular I’ve noticed is that my CPU is pegged at 50-60% while Rainmeter is running. Not quite sure why, but I’ll continue playing around with it. Share your experiences…
The hands down best WinMo phone out there is the HTC HD2. With it’s massive screen and blazing fast 1GHz Snapdragon processor means even lowly WinMo 6.x runs like a dream (most of the time). With Windows Phone 7 on the map now however, the HD2 has lost some luster, especially considering the hardware that’s in the pipeline that will showcase WinPhone 7. And then, rumors of a WinPhone 7 upgrade for the HD2 made it’s rounds to the relief of many HD2 owners, solidifying at least a few more months of relevance. New rumors however are stripping the good outlook for HD2 owners, with that claimed WinPhone 7 upgrade now on the chopping block due to a lack of correct hardware buttons.
You see, all new WinPhone 7 phones will feature at least these three hardware buttons: Home, Back and Search for fully make use of WinPhone 7. The HD2 meanwhile features Call, Home, Start, Back and End/Power buttons which obviously isn’t going to fly too well with the new requirements for WinPhone7. So is the HD2 now on the outs with Microsoft’s latest and greatest mobile OS? Looks like we’ll have to wait until Microsoft reveals more of the hardware requirements and actual hardware units before we can make a final call. For legions of HD2 fans however, I sure hope they can upgrade. The HD2 is a beautiful piece of gadgetry. Being stuck on WinMo 6.x when WinPhone 7 is leaps and bounds better is a huge slap in the face.
HD2 owners: If it comes to be that you have no future with WinPhone 7, will you upgrade or move to another platform?
Worried that Windows Phone 7 won’t let you play with multiple apps at once a la Apple? Well, if the leaked Windows Phone 7 development policies are anything to go by, there may be some hope. According to dev policies, “preemptive” backgrounding will be enabled. However, apps must pass through an app submission and provisioning process for further scrutiny — fruit anyone?
Much like the Zune environment which the Windows Phone 7 OS pulls from, Silverlight, XNA, and .NET Compact Frameworks comprise the bulk of the underlying structure. For Windows Mobile developers, it won’t take long to realize that this is a clean break from the past and holds up to Microsoft’s statements that Windows Mobile applications will need to be totally re-written.
The leaked documents do shed quite a bit of light onto how Microsoft is going to handle this new shindig, although, there’s still plenty to know. Looks like we’ll still have to wait until MIX 2010 to really feed our hungry heads. All I can say is, I hope Microsoft doesn’t get overly restrictive like Apple has. If so, it will choke the life out of Windows Phone 7 for sure.
Anyone who spends even a smidgen of time in the mobile world knows that over the last couple of years, a lot has changed. As little as three years ago, Android, webOS, and the iPhone didn’t exist. In the here and now, trying to imagine such a world is almost impossible. With each successive newcomer, Windows Mobile, the once defacto smartphone standard and mobile giant, has continued to slowly lose market share and relevance.
Windows Mobile hasn’t exactly been one of my favorite mobile OS’s. It’s just not for me for a number of reasons. But after Microsoft started mentioning blurbs of Windows Mobile 7, my interest finally started getting piqued. Windows Mobile 7 could be big. Actually, it needs to be big. If Microsoft were to drop the ball with another major mobile release, the platform’s days could very well be numbered. Thankfully for us, claimed specs and details of Windows Mobile 7 have started trickling out in advance of MWC. Now keep in mind that these aren’t confirmed specs as of yet. But it should be a good indicator of where the platform will move to with the launch of Windows Mobile 7.
The *Good* leaked specs:
The bad, worse, and terrible:
As far as legacy support, with such a major shift in the underlying core of the OS, the loss of support for older applications was a given. Frankly, with the quality and appearance of most of the legacy apps, this isn’t a bad thing. It gives users a fresh start. However, if the rumors of no multi-tasking/background support and no SD card app installs holds true, Microsoft might as well close the doors now.
With as much flack as Apple has received over the last couple of years for the iPhone’s lack of background app support/multi-tasking, one would think Microsoft would play on this weakness. Instead, it appears they are following down the same path — a big, big mistake. Seriously, why would they do this? Microsoft used to talk up Windows Mobile multi-tasking when the iPhone first launched. Now they’re joining the team.
Finally, the inability to install apps via SD cards is a huge disappointment. Just look at xda-forums — they’re a huge community built on HTC devices mostly running Windows Mobile. The path Microsoft looks to be taking is a massive deviation from the old user base and one that could anger a lot of users.
After all is said and done, could one argue Microsoft really doesn’t know what the hell they’re doing in the mobile sphere? I mean, taking away multi-tasking and SD card installs are two things the geek crowd/power users (Windows Mobile main user base) live on. If WinMo 7 does in fact remove multi-tasking and apps installed via SD cards or other means, will you look to another platform for future purchases?
Windows Mobile diehards, all 13 of you gather ’round. Microsoft’s CFO Peter Klein has given us all a grand display of his loose lips by sharing that Mobile World Congress in Barcelona will in fact be the home of the world’s first WinMo 7 unveiling. Can anyone say saweet?!
For a quick refresher, WinMo 7 will bring with it legitimate support for capacitive screens, a heavily *fingers crossed* reworked Windows Mobile UI, and speed/navigation improvements across the board. All-in-all, for someone such as myself who has never liked Windows Mobile, this one actually has me pretty excited.
Anyone else out there experiencing a quickening heart rate?
WinMo isn’t doing so hot right now but Microsoft hopes to remedy that with WinMo 7 which we may or may not be seeing in a few short weeks at MWC. Android on the other hand is enjoying a massive growth in popularity. Both OS’s do share a common trait however — they’re easily tweakable and available on a variety of hardware. If you are having a hard time choosing between one or the other, take comfort in knowing that the answer to “Which OS?” will soon be easy — Both!
The ever talented folks at XDA-Forums have crafted a nifty way to dual boot — yes, dual booting OS’s on a phone — Windows Mobile and Android program called “Gen. Y DualBOOT. Gen. Y is merely a simple boot launcher with a rather beautiful UI for such a utilitarian program allowing easy switching between OS’s at launch along with a few booting options. For now, only VGA devices are supported though higher res options are in the works. Also, WinMo 6.1 was the main test bed but WinMo 6.5.x is said to function just as well.
If you are running out of time and need the short elementary version: Android is simply installed on the root of your SD card instead of on the phone’s memory. If you’ve got a few more minutes to spare, head on over to the Gen. Y thread at xda-forums.
Geeked?
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