Acer Liquid M220 is a €79 entry-level Windows Phone

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BY Unknown 17:30 0

Acer Liquid M220 is a €79 entry-level Windows Phone

Acer announced three Android smartphones and one Windows Phone device at a pre-MWC event today in Barcelona. The Windows Phone 8.1-powred Liquid M220 is an entry-level device with a 4" display and a dual-core processor.

Acer Liquid M220 features a 4" WVGA screen, runs on a 1.2GHz dual-core processor with 512MB RAM, and offers 5MP rear camera, 4GB expandable storage and dual-SIM functionality. It also sports a 2MP front snapper and a 1,300 mAh battery.

  Acer Liquid M220

The Liquid M220 runs on Windows Phone 8.1 by default, but it will be updated to Windows 10 once the new OS kicks off later this year.

Acer Liquid M220 will become available in the EMEA markets starting this April at €79. It will come in two flavors - Mystic Black and Pure White

Microsoft working on People Sense app friend tracking capability for Windows Phone

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BY Unknown 02:05 0

Microsoft working on People Sense app friend tracking capability for Windows Phone

Microsoft is working on a new friend tracking feature in an upcoming app – People Sense for the Windows Phone devices and is internally referred as Buddy Aware.

With this app, Windows Phone owners will be able to share their location in real time with their friends and family. The location sharing will also offer step-by-step navigation to the contacts. Quick shortcut for instant messaging, voice calls, and support integration with other third party apps will be anchored inside it. In a way, calling and messaging would be possible right inside, without having to switch between apps.

People Sense app is quite similar to Find My Friends app for iPhone and many others on the Android platform. In fact, Google had a similar implementation named as Google Latitude which was discontinued in August 2013

Microsoft confirms Windows 10 for phones will support both the new Start background and the old Tiles wallpaper

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BY Unknown 02:33 0

Microsoft confirms Windows 10 for phones will support both the new Start background and the old Tiles wallpaper

Microsoft introduced a new type of desktop background in Windows 10 for phones – the wallpaper now spreads over the background space, while the tiles become transparent so you can enjoy the picture behind them.

While this new options was welcomed by lots of people, some of the users still preferred the Windows Phone 8.1 way where the image you’ve selected was displayed on the tiles instead of behind. It was quite a cool and unique feature.

Windows 10 Technical Preview for phones kicked off yesterday and the promised full blown background is indeed available. When asked on the previous version of this features, Joe Belfiore responded over Twitter that Microsoft will be offering both options in the upcoming Windows 10 releases. This means you will be able to choose between no background, “full background” and “in tiles wallpaper”.

It’s nice to see Microsoft listening to the user requests and building the next Windows with all the insiders’ feedback in mind. We’ve already installed the Technical Preview and we’ll keep you in the loop as new features are added in.

#TileArt by Microsoft will help you customize your Windows Phone homescreen

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BY Unknown 03:00 0

#TileArt by Microsoft will help you customize your Windows Phone homescreen

Microsoft launched a dedicated app to help Windows Phone 8.1 users customize their device’s homescreen. Dubbed #TileArt, the free app is currently available in the Windows Phone marketplace.

#TileArt will allow users to pin any image or photo to the homescreen of their smartphone. Support for transparent PNG files will also be on board, as well as access to a free #TileArt gallery.

The app will allow users to share their creations on a number of social networks. You can take a look at the application’s official promo video.

To mark the launch of #TileArt, Microsoft is launching a competition for talented designers and animators. Winners will receive cash, Microsoft hardware, and will have their work featured in the #TileArt gallery.

Windows-powered One (M9) rumored, to be US exclusive

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BY Unknown 02:08 0

Windows-powered One (M9) rumored, to be US exclusive

HTC Hima has been in the rumorland for quite a while, leaking with pictures, specs, camera samples and everything. It should be announced at the MWC in March in Barcelona as the HTC One (M9) and will be coming with a 5" 1080p display, Snapdragon 810 chipset 20MP dual camera setup at the back and an 4MP UltraPixel sensor for selfies at front.

The upcoming Hima has already been tipped to come running on Windows as well. Today @upleaks confirmed the HimaW is the codename for the Windows 10 model of One (M9) and it won't be announced at the upcoming MWC but on a later date.

The popular tipster also mentions the HimaW will be sold exclusively in the USA. That's certainly heart-breaking news for WP and HTC fans elsewhere.

Microsoft and Qualcomm have already announced we can expect Snapdragon 810-powered Windows devices in 2015, plus HTC has already released a Windows version of its One (M8) flagship.

Snapdragon 810 Windows Phone devices coming in 2015

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BY Unknown 01:59 0

Snapdragon 810 Windows Phone devices coming in 2015

Whether or not Qualcomm is having troubles with the Snapdragon 810 chip, there is no denying it is one of the powerhouses of the season and people are looking forward to devices utilizing it. LG kicked off first with the S810-running LG Flex, but we expect many more flagships with the same hardware to premiere on the MWC in a few weeks.

Meanwhile Microsoft and Qualcomm will continuing their partnership and they confirmed we can expect Windows Phone devices to run on Snapdragon 810 later this year. The Snapdragon 810 chip offers an octa-core 64-bit processor (4x Cortex-A57 and 4x Cortex-A53), console-like graphics and full 4K support thanks to Adreno 430 GPU, plus LTE Cat.9 support for up to 450 Mbps downlink.

Here is the official quote from Qualcomm's press release:

"Microsoft and Qualcomm’s long standing collaboration has allowed the two companies to offer compelling business, imaging, and entertainment experiences with Lumia smartphones running on Windows Phone," said Juha Kokkonen, general manager for portfolio and product management at Microsoft. "We look forward to continuing this relationship to deliver best in class Lumia smartphones, powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 810 processors, and offer an unprecedented combination of processing power, rich multimedia, high-performance graphics and wireless connectivity for our customers."

Microsoft has announced a unified Windows 10 platform across all of its devices and deep Xbox One integration, including game streaming to other devices (such as Sony's Remote Play). The latter would definitely require powerful hardware and stable internet connection, so the Snapdragon 810 look like a logical choice choice.

Anyway, the MWC 2015 is upon us and we should be seeing a plethora of top-notch gadgets premiering there. Hopefully Microsoft shows us something interesting as well.

Nokia Conference app now to be called Join Conference for Windows Phone, gains Cortana support

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BY Unknown 00:07 0

Nokia Conference app now to be called Join Conference for Windows Phone, gains Cortana support

The latest Nokia product for Windows Phone to lose the Nokia branding is the app formerly known as Nokia Conference. From now on, it will live on as Join Conference. The name change has been made official through its latest update, which is now up for grabs in the Windows Phone app store.

The new name isn’t the only change, however. Join Conference has received support for Cortana, which means you can now simply say “join conference” and Cortana will do its magic for you.

Cortana will automatically figure out which conference is currently ongoing or about to start, speak it back to you for confirmation, then connect you. As you may have guessed, Join Conference is all about making it easy to dial into conference calls. The app promises that if you use it you’ll no longer need to switch to the Calendar app, remember ID/PIN codes, get the right access number, switch to the phone app, make the call, and then enter all those codes. Instead you either tap one button or use Cortana as described above.

Join Conference is still in Beta, yet according to Microsoft it should work with all conference systems, since the settings for many companies’ setups are stored on on its servers and recognized automatically. If you use a system that isn’t recognized, you can define its settings yourself, after which you can share them with Microsoft so your coworkers won’t have to manually add them too.

MINIX NEO Z64 Mini PC , available for Android and Windows phones

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BY Unknown 04:42 0

MINIX NEO Z64 Mini PC , available for Android and Windows phones

MINIX, a reputable media center hardware manufacturer, has announced the latest addition to its device lineup. It comes in the form of the Minix Neo Z64 Mini PC. The name is more than fitting, as the device is truly small and will fit nicely in front of any TV and also packs quite a punch offering PC-grade performance.

It is powered by an Intel Z3735F 64-bit processor with 2MB of cache and a Turbo clock of 1.83GHz. Tech-savy readers are sure to recognize the chip, as it is the same silicon that powers most of today’s Windows-based tablets. That being said, the device will more than readily run Android as well, making it as universal as it gets in terms of media PCs.

Also under the hood of the Minix NEO Z64, there’s 2GB DDR3L memory and 32GB of eMMC storage. This should be plenty for most multimedia purposes, but MINIX has also thrown in an SD card slot and two USB 2.0 for further extendability. Going around the small computer we also see a HDMI 1.4 for video output, 10/100 Mbits LAN, a headphone jack and a power DC IN on the rear. It supports Full HD output and playback and is also equipped with a 802.11n wireless card, hence the protruding antenna and Bluetooth 4.0.

Geekbuying currently sells the MINIX NEO Z64 in two variants one with Android 4.4.4 preinstalled, while the other with Windows 8.1 for $144.90 and $174.90, respectively. Bear in mind that the latter does include an OEM license for Windows, which is exceptional at that price tag and both even include a remote control.

The MINIX NEO Z64 is a solid choice and will definitely handle most multimedia tasks you throw at it. While the hardware is nothing spectacular, the level of freedom in OS choice is impressive and the built-in Intel HD graphics chip is more than enough to power Android gaming and possibly even some casual PC titles. Whether it be next to a TV or as a bare-bone work PC solution the MINIX NEO Z64 is definitely worth checking out.

More countries to be greeted by the Denim update for Lumia 1520 and Lumia 930 devices

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BY Unknown 21:21 0

More countries to be greeted by the Denim update for Lumia 1520 and Lumia 930 devices

Microsoft has unleashed another wave of Denim updates and this time its for the Lumia 1520 and Lumia 930 in a plethora of countries. The update for the Lumia 1520 is unleashed in the UK for Vodafone, Germany, France, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania etc and check now and you can see Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Poland

As for the Lumia 930, the Denim update is now available for residents in Australia and parts of the UK. Last week, Microsoft made the phone's firmware update available in the Middle East, parts of Asia and Latin America.

Many WP8.1 Lumia devices have already received the Lumia Denim update in Europe and India, China while the Lumia 822, Lumia 928 and Lumia Icon (internationally known as 930) have gotten the update on Verizon in the US.

For more information on how Microsoft is moving with the updates, you can check out the Asia Pacific and Europe trackers.