All Things Windows Phone - Apps, Phones, and Discussion

Which handsets running Mango support tethering?
I've been reading a lot of conflicting reports about it an wondering if anyone has a straight answer.

Oh, and I mean properly - as in you take it out the box and it's already built in to the handset.

 

Probably the SIM unlocked/Network unlocked units, from what I can gather. The "no tethering" thing is a carrier restriction.

Then again... I'm not certain on that.

 

HTC Titan, Samsung Focus S, and Focus Flash all support tethering/mobile hotspot/internet sharing. The old Samsung Focus and LG Quantum can technically be enable to tether (usb only) without any modifications although the feature is supposed to be locked on a certain U.S. carrier. Don't know in other parts of the globe.

 

Ahh how quickly things change when you're away for a bit.

 

Wish I was away from this stuff actually. Heh... so far I haven't dealt with this once on any of the Windows devices so I can't vouch for how well it works vs. Android or the iPhone.

 

A bit more WP7-related news... ish:

Poor Lumia sales may have pushed Nokia back into acquisition talks with Microsoft - BGR​

 

Well that's..not surprising. How has advertising been for the Lumia/Windows Phone in the UK?

Here a Lumia's only on one carrier so far: the beleaguered T-Mobile USA. Hopefully they'll throw some ad dollars behind it.

I remember I was super into Windows Phone when it was announced, I hope it still does well.

 

Nokia have been running adverts but that's about it.

Sales are poor all over, as I touched upon before.

 

Ahh, gotta keep up, thanks!

Microsoft will no longer provide detailed Windows Phone update information | The Verge

I liked this bit of transparancy: I can only assume it was due to carrier pressures. Shame really. Let's hope the "if you don't update the phone, we push it (and the new update) out anyway" policy doesn't go away either.

 

You're welcome.

To be honest, given the tethering debacle, I'd say they'd already given up on it really.

 

I've not seen one ad for a Lumia other that posters in Radio Shack for a U.S. handset.

For what its worth I like Windows Phone 7. Its fast, easy enough grandma can pick it up and use it (people like that struggle with Android and iOS.), and thats one version of Windows Explorerer I like. I just don't like the phones that run it very much.

 

wow, how sweet are these phones with the latest windows os? i just tried one belonging to my friend. the ui is far better than iPhone's (though that's not saying much ). it's elegant and innovative! they just need quality apps and it'll be the best phone out there. iPhone, Windows Phone, and BlackBerry, which will be the number one in a year's time? i don't see any other os coming anywhere near them to be honest, each of them has a great selling point unique to them.

 

None of them.

 

Android has over 50% of the smartphone market...

 

Sorry, had to delete a few posts.

EricaL, don't be trollin' and lang filter bypassin', hun.

 

I must say, after watching the few bits of the MWC 2010 keynote that showcased WP7 to the world, I really want to try it. In retrospect I wish I found a way to save the entire thing when I watched it that Feburary.

While I ended up leaving Windows Phone Classic for Android instead of migrating to 7, I really was into it and initially planned to make the upgrade. If there's one thing you can't fault WP7 it's how fluid it is...even in the videos.

I'll have to see what used Trophy's are going for. Sadly that's the only Windows Phone device available on Verizon....I also wish I could use both it and my Android phone at the same time but that's unpossible.

 

I played with a Samsung Focus S today and have to say I was pretty disappointed with it. I don't know if there was something wrong with the particular unit but it felt a little laggy going through everything in the phone and webpages loaded a little funny in I.E. I've never played with a Windows Phone device that ran like this.

 

So anyone else catch the new WP8 rumours? Now that Thurrott has confirmed it I guess it's actually for real. At last, it appears WP7 isn't just a 'human interface is nicer' prospect but an actual toe to toe equivalent to the rest.

Sadly for Microsoft, it means I'll probably hold off a permanent upgrade for now in that case. With any luck my existing WP7 can stagger on for another year or so until the WP8 release. What I really wanted is a Lumia 800 with 910 internals (& 800 screen size - don't like hooooge smartphones) but by the time the 910 comes out here, I'm guessing it's going to be no more than 2-3 quarters until the WP8 release with new handsets.

 

there is no official statement about the ability to upgrade or not to wp 8
there is no way HTC and Nokia release TITAN II and Lumia 900 without a conformation from Microsoft about upgrading to windows phone 8

 

I read the leaks and I'm failing to see how the rumoured new kernel can run on a Snapdragon. So even the 900 would appear to be out of the equation in terms of upgradability.

Since Tango has no relevance for those of us in 'rich' (or I guess, those with credit cards ) countries, Apollo is going to be the next major update - and it pretty much has to come out late this year and not in 2013 if MS wants to keep any kind of momentum going.

So I'm very interested to see how they're going to handle it. The very oldest WP7's will be approximately 2 years at that stage - well within reason for people to still expect some sort of update, in the Apple vein.

 

If Windows Phone 8 won't be able to be applied to the original Windows Phone handsets, I suspect plenty will be annoyed.

 

I can't imagine microsoft doing that

 

Exactly what I'm thinking. The whole point of Windows Phone is a unified upgrade process.

 

Not only that, WP7 already has a pretty small, but dedicated fan base. Splintering it would just be retarded.

 

Seems Nokia is launching the Lumia 800 "package" at Microsoft Retail Stores for $899. Eight-hundred and ninety-nine DOLLARS. They're bat crap crazy.

Just offer the plain phone - NO BUNDLE - And you might have a customer or two, Nokia.

 

Available for $499 though some Amazon seller.

 

And that's the price it should be initially offered at, not $900.

IMO, it's worth about $399-$450 at most... off contract.

 

it comes with Nokia Play 360 Wireless Speakers, Purity HD Stereo Headset, and an in-ear Bluetooth headset. i think its fair amount of money

i would pay for it if i was in us
sadly im still waiting until the middle of 2012 to be able to buy nokia lumia 800 here

 

I put the 800 in the $530 range if we were to directly translate - minus sales tax unlike the dumb engadget conversions - what it's selling for on this side of the pond SIM-free. (An 16gb iPhone 4S would be ~$670)

So it's actually not a bad deal, but mobile phone economics being what they are - combined with the trouble of getting a fairly priced non-subsidised contract in the US - it does appear sky-high.

 

But that's just it. I would never use any of that, and they offer it no other way. Unless you buy it from some Amazon dealer that I wouldn't trust with warranty.

I have no doubt that the accessories are good accessories, I just don't want or need them. I'd rather just buy the phone itself.

 

Well, compared to Expansys (who I actually use for pretty much all my phones, these days I just have a SIM-only contract) it does look like a comparative bargain...

Nokia Unlocked Phones Listings - Expansys USA

 

Holy crud, the fact that I posted the last post a month ago really indicates how popular this OS is, huh?

So, I'm looking for a WP7 to replace my Zunes at home. j.River remote, Zune ad hoc listening, etc. i.e. it doesn't even actually need a cell radio but obviously there are no iPod Touches in the WP7 ecosystem.

The 'Jil Sander' phones seem to be going really cheap and I thought this might be the ticket, but my question is, what's wrong with them?

 

Most complain that the Jil Sander LG is cheap feeling and tacky looking. The internals should be pretty solid considering they're the same as in the other Windows Phones. Ditto the software.

 

Well if it's going to be a glorified remote & home audio player, I don't see that being a big issue. A lot of online reviews seem to have panned it for no particularly specific reason apart from stuff you say like "cheap" "tacky" "designer attaches herself to Microsoft, LOL" so I'm quite keen to know if there are definite functional dealbreakers.

 

Windows Phone Software Updates Revisited

*Sigh* And here I thought they had it all figured out but nope.

Apple's still the only phone maker/mobile OS maker that has the pull to get the carriers to bend to their will. :/

 

Blame Americans for buying based off how something looks and our carriers for being retards.

 

I'm sorry, you're blaming Americans for buying nice things?

I suppose we should have all just stuck with those awesome Nokia phones from the 90's then.

 

Would you buy something butt-ugly if it had the latest software? I think there's a trade off somewhere that says you wouldn't. I'd take the better looking one with a slightly older software version...

But then again, it's not written in stone that something that looks good has to function bad or be 3 OS versions behind.

About the US carriers, I'll most certainly give you that one... they're a bunch of idiots.

 

ignore this thread. see my PM if you want fast response from windows phone users

 

LOL...

All bow to emperor Cassar of the Windows Phone empire

 

this is what i was talking about you are perfect example of why i said ignore this thread to Vogelbung
now you need to find another topic to troll you troll enjoy your laggy os with quad core rofl

 

This is kind of why I don't post opinions on anything usually. Just attracts the trolls.

 

You know, posting something hateful in return doesn't make you much better. Personally I think WP7 is a great OS but that option you just bashed, the ability to pick a modern processor, is why I had to look elsewhere. Sure, WP7 runs beautifully on a single core processor, but it does limit what your apps can pull off (graphics, video playback etc.).

 

Funny thing is, I am the one who started this thread, and still do use my Omnia 7. I love WP7, and android as well.

 

Just got an HTC Trophy running Mango. Looooooooooove it. Windows Phone 7 is the best-kept secret on the cell phone market; I didn't even really realize it existed as an alternative to iOS and Android until recently.

I wrote a lengthy review of the Trophy and Mango over at Brighthand (NBR's partner). There's a link in my signature.

 

Sigh

See, this is the problem. However recently I'm seeing a surprising number (and by that, I mean like 1 in every ten bazillion iPhones But hey, I was thinking I was the only idiot who bought WP7 in 2010 - early 2011) of new and old WP7 handsets over here - especially the Lumias.

 

One question so far:

On my computer, I use Windows Live Mail to check my mail, and access my Windows Live calendar through that program. When I log onto Windows Live through its web interface (my username is my gmail address), whatever I've put on my calendar shows up there too.

But no matter what I do, I'm not getting those calendar entries to show up on my Windows Phone. Every other aspect of integration seems to work well--I can check my gmail, my facebook, etc...but it's not linking the calendars.

Any ideas?

EDIT: In emails+accounts in settings, it's giving me a warning "attention required" for Windows Live. When I click on it, it says my password is wrong. But the same password works just fine with Windows Live's webpage, and even when I changed my Windows Live password, I'm still getting the same error from the phone. The Calendar is the only thing that doesn't seem to work. Ideas?

 

Problem solved with the calendars and logging in; ignore the previous post.

And can I just add that "live tiles" are fantastic? I can tell from my Zune tile what music is currently playing (whether it's actively playing or paused), without opening Zune. I can tell from my calendar tile what my next appointment is, without opening the calendar. I can tell from my "people" and "me" tiles what's been going on on facebook recently, without opening them. I can tell from my alarm clock tile whether it's on or off, and when it's set to ring, without opening it. I can see the most recently-take pictures cycling on my "pictures" tile without launching that app. Fantastic.

Plus, to be shallow, the effect is quite pretty. You're looking at a bunch of boxes of info, some of which (particularly the People tile) are animated and have pictures. It's divided into nine sub-tiles and it flips through FB profile pics in each sub-tile, or sometimes a box of four sub-tiles. The entire effect is just very refined and attractive, and it's a lot more appealing to me than looking at just a bunch of icons to launch apps.

 

It gets better if you subscribe to Zune (assuming you haven't), apart from obviously being able to download whatever you want via the desktop. e.g. Install Shazam and you can let Shazam ID a track, then go directly to Zune on the handset to download / listen to the album.

Giving your avatar the stupidest clothing combo is also a small way to amuse yourself as you see him pop up on your XBox tile.

 

Nice! Yeah, WP7 is sadly not on a lot of people's radars. It's a shame because they do a lot of things right.

I'll mosy on over to brighthand and look at your review of the Trophy.

Verizon picked the most lackluster handset in terms of styling, likely because they even admitted that they were signing onto windows phone halfheartedly.
It's attractive, but doesn't make you go wow like some other Windows Phone handsets.

With Mango you can use Bing to identify songs directly. I wonder how good it is compared to Shazam?