Category: Windows Phone
Chinese tech giant Huawei has struggled of late thanks to bans from the USA government that have prevented them from working with US companies. Thes bans have had far-reaching consequences and directly impacted the most anticipated Matebook laptop sale this year. Huawei pulled their recent laptop release due …
Back in 2016 I stated that Windows Phone, or Windows Mobile, or whatever you wanted to call it, was dead. The article caused a bit of a stir, but hey – it was true. Still is. The short version was that, whilst the GUI and the experience was …
I’ll tell it like it is with the Windows Phone platform. It’s the same with any OS I write about. The moment that Microsoft effectively bribed developers to write apps for their handests and the huge difference in the choice of apps compared to Android and iOS meant …
Way back when this site first started, we had a monstrous downloads section where you could grab MP3 files to plonk onto your phone. In the early 2000’s (yes, we’ve been around a while), it was fairly unusual to have a phone which could get free ringtones. Most …
Each year at Mobile World Congress I tend to remember the big Windows Phone 7 launch. It was held in 2010 at the Catalonia Barcelona Plaza Hotel and they placed a large placard above the entrance with big sticker over the name “7 Series”. Yes, back in 2010 …
Some 18 months ago, I wrote about the death of Windows on a phone. I’d been there. I saw how Microsoft chief executive, Steve Ballmer, laughed off the iPhone. I saw how many loyal fans were kicked away by Microsoft as continual reboots of the platform killed upgrade …
So we all live in a socail media age, and one of the main protagonists of this age is Twitter. Since its inception many years ago, Twitter users have been restricted to getting their musings across in 140 characters. This was both a blessing and a curse. It …
Perhaps not the most obvious connection, but new phones are new phones right? It has been rumoured for a few weeks that a ‘mini’ LG G6 is in the works, I put this in inverted commas because the device is hardly ‘mini’: it is thought to have a …
This will probably only be affecting three or four people, but it’s yet another step in the road for the removal of Windows on a phone and Microsoft support for the Windows Phone operating system or MS-provided apps. Thurrott is reporting on this Skype support page which details …
Nokia may well be springing to life again with the announcement of new models at MWC, but according to most commentators Windows 10 Mobile is still manifestly kicking the bucket. Can’t you just hear that clanging sound? Much of the blame for Windows Mobile’s failure to take off …
A little update on the Orange SPV story we ran a short while ago. The SPV was from a different era – a phone with a numeric keypad, no touch screen and something called “Microsoft Smartphone” as an OS. John Brown got in touch with us because he’d …
Way back in 2002 this whole site was kick-started by one phone. It ran an operating system created by Microsoft and the handset was the result of a partnership with UK network, Orange. The network itself has since left the UK, but HTC – a relative unknown at …
In 2011, Nokia took the now-fateful decision to abandon the “burning platform” of Symbian and moved over to Windows Phone. This decision was close one; in those days the smartphone market was very different with multiple OS’s having a reasonable foothold (as opposed to the duopoly of today …
In my day job I have and still do work with Microsoft Operating Systems. It’s been a love / hate relationship over the years but now, when I get home, I don’t want anything more to do with it. Turning on a laptop, getting the endless updates and …
After being rumoured for a while, and then available through a beta build, WhatsApp continues on its quest for global domination of its messaging platform with video calling. Whilst it is arguably the biggest cross-platform messaging service, with a 1 billion users, WhatsApp has fallen behind competitors such …
Well, this is about all I need to hear to be honest. Microsoft are effectively washing their hands of remaining Lumia users. Today a customer care company called B2X has announced that they will be taking over customer care responsibilities for all Microsoft mobile devices. That’s all devices. …
Let’s face it, Microsoft have realigned their mobile efforts away from hardware. Not only that, but the traditional smartphone operating system doesn’t seem to be high on the priority list for the company. Their own Lumia handsets are being killed off and there’s not exactly a queue of …
When Microsoft splashed out millions for the Nokia phone building tech, it knew that the actual Nokia name couldn’t be used long-term. The result, in late 2014, was the end of Nokia branding and a switch to pure Lumia branding. Now things are on the move again, with …
Skype, which is a piece of software people used to use to communicate with each other before they found WhatsApp, is being ditched for Windows Phone. The product support page states that, if you’re still intent on using a video call, the native Skype client for Windows Phone …
Quite a few people I know used to use Skype. It’s a great app and you can do all that video calling business, but WhatsApp appears to have taken over the world. We’re organising the charity bike ride (please do donate, we could do with an extra push) …
Although the Windows Phone OS remains a firm favourite amongst the highly paid staff at Coolsmartphone Towers, very few of us use the device regularly. Indeed, Leigh has written a number of articles recently on the death of Windows Phone. Microsoft seems to be prepared to have one …
Earlier this week Paypal announced on their site that they would be ending support for their app on Blackberrys, Windows Phone and Amazon Fire devices. The announcement states: For Windows Phone users, we will sunset the current version of the PayPal app on June 30. However, Windows Phone …
It’s a sad day for hard-working smartphone employees, especially in Finland. Microsoft has just announced that 1,850 jobs will go as they “restructure” their smartphone hardware business. 1,350 of the staff affected will be from the Microsoft Mobile division in Oy, Finland. The remaining 500 will be from …
Acer’s newest Windows phone is about to hit the prime time, and I have been able to have a bit of a play around with it. First off lets have a look at the unboxing video.. The phone feels good in the hand due to its slightly curved …
Looking from the outside in, the recent history of Nokia has been a bit rocky to say the least. There was the whole “burning platform” thing and then Microsoft grabbed hold of the phone business but failed to capitalise on the brand name. Microsoft/Nokia-made Lumia handsets were pushed …
I’ve called it the death of Windows Phone. We knew it was losing market share but then things started getting worse. In March it was all over for me. Yes, the OS is good. Yes, the phones are good, but there was a lack of love from Microsoft. …
It seems a bizarre and almost desperate pitch. Imagine a smartphone manufacturer offering up a £469.99 smartphone and then, if you buy it, giving you a phone worth £419.99 completely free. That’s be insane. You’d think that the manufacturer had totally lost the plot. You’d think that they …
Say what you like about my Windows Phone tirade, it’s all sadly true. Call it what you want – Windows 10 mobile, Windows Phone, I’m angry at how easily Microsoft let their lead slip. I’m annoyed at how slowly they realised. I’m frustrated at how they treated the …
The promised upgrade of all Lumia handsets to Windows 10 mobile hasn’t quite happened and Microsoft isn’t making a big song and dance about newly released handsets either. Things aren’t looking too great for the Microsoft mobile OS. However, Windows 10 mobile is available and, when these Kantar …
Today Huawei have just finished their press conference which we covered live with the help of Paul O’Brien from MoDoCo. The event was full of glitz and glamour as their events usually are, and if you wish to relive the blow-by-blow report from the event then take a look …
The response to this post will be predictable, but I’ve delayed this long enough and it’s time to put my feelings into words. This site was created off the back of my first Microsoft Smartphone some 14 years ago. That phone was the Orange SPV and it was …
Word on the street is that Windows 10 Mobile is arriving on handsets right now, with select Windows 8.1 devices getting the update. Mike Phillips has mailed in to tell us that he’s got it on his Lumia 1520 already. The supported devices for the upgrade are as …
Last year my son ended up in hospital with meningococcal septicaemia. It was a scary time, and I’ll admit that I completely lost my rag with the local GP surgery. Our town had seen the closure of a local surgery, and we’d been shipped across to another surgery …
Windows Phone and Windows phone users will, if we’re brutally honest, have got used to developers skipping their platform. Those cool but perhaps not “massively used” applications are nearly always available for Android and iPhone, but when it comes to the Microsoft mobile platform, you simply have to …
Amidst the news of Microsoft’s ailing mobile efforts comes a new approach. Last year Microsoft, in conjunction with OEM Xiaomi, released a version of its mobile OS for installation on the Mi 4 Android phone. News from China suggests that this approach is now going to be repeated, …
We took a chance to go out to see the Acer booth and whilst we were out there we came across the recently announced Jade Primo Windows 10 mobile. Now we have already covered this one during our IFA coverage from last year. Although we covered it there …
We posted the news yesterday that HP are re-entering the mobile market with a Windows 10 device. Now we’ve had some time to get hands on with one of the devices. I am very impressed with it but instead of reading my thoughts on it lets see what …
Long when we thought Windows 10 Mobile wasn’t going to see any support further than the Lumias and the Acer Jade Primo, HP has surprised quite a few people with the announcement of the Elite X3. Yes, that’s right – not only are HP going in on Windows …
Will this be the last Lumia? Well, it’s certainly what Microsoft have done well at recently. Cheaper Windows Phone devices seem to sell, even if it’s still not quite as many as they’d hoped. So step forward the Lumia 650, it runs Windows 10 Mobile and the specifications …
Despite the launch of two premium Lumia handsets and Windows 10 Mobile late last year, things are not going well for Microsoft’s mobile aspirations. Sales figures are down, and although the new phones received generally positive reviews, they hardly set the tech world alight with new features or …
