WP7

Nokia readies major Windows Phone launch at CES

I've long suspected that Nokia had something big up its sleeve for CES; mainly the U.S. version of its Nokia Lumia 800 Windows Phone that CNET first saw in October. Thanks to an invitation to a CES press conference, Nokia has just confirmed it.

OK, OK, you got me. They've officially confirmed nothing, except the fact that there will be something to announce. However, I have some sound reasons to believe that the phone being announced at CES will undoubtedly be a version of the Lumia 800:… Read more

Samsung Focus S review: Best Windows Phone yet?

AT&T is carving out a niche for itself as a friend to Windows Phone.

In the last month, it's released the mammoth, terrific HTC Titan, the low-cost-but-high-value Samsung Focus Flash, and the sleek, premium Samsung Focus S--in my opinion the most appealing all-around Windows Phone to date.

There's good reason this Windows Phone 7.5 handset scores high marks. It's got nice internal specs, high-performing dual cameras (1.3-megapixel and 8-megapixel, respectively), and Samsung's brilliant 4.3-inch Super AMOLED Plus screen. The specs aren't surprising. After all, the Focus S is essentially … Read more

Nokia Lumia 800 review: Bold design, blah camera

It's been a couple of weeks now since we first glimpsed the Nokia Lumia 800, one of the first two of Nokia's brave new Windows Phone world, just after it was announced at Nokia World.

This phone had promise: a 3.7-inch WVGA AMOLED screen, a 1.4GHz processor, a singular design in crazy bright blue and magenta, and a fancy 8-megapixel camera with Carl Zeiss Tessar optics, dual-LED flash, and 1080p HD video capture.

Let me tell you, specs don't always pan out. I have few complaints with the phone's interesting, gutsy design, but the … Read more

Samsung Focus Flash review: A lot for a little

I must admit, I was pleasantly surprised by AT&T's Samsung Focus Flash.

The specs looked more than reasonable for a smartphone that costs a quarter of the price of most high-end smartphones out there. More than that, the features all came together to achieve a solid Windows Phone at a stellar value. While the Samsung Focus S may be a better choice for those interested in more onboard memory (16GB versus 8GB) and a potentially higher-end camera (8 mexapixels versus 5), this model has its own shot at mass appeal.… Read more

Imagining a Nokia Windows Phone

We've been wondering to ourselves what a Nokia-made Windows Phone would look like ever since Nokia shocked the mobile world by announcing a commitment to Microsoft's Windows Phone OS.

This week we'll finally get to find out when the company unveils its Windows Phone road map at Nokia World in London. CNET News' Maggie Reardon and Stephen Shankland will be there to report on all the news, but until then, we can always imagine what the devices will offer.

For a while, we weren't sure of the shape, since Nokia runs the design gamut from slates … Read more

Mango keeps Windows Phone moving (roundup)

With Windows Phone 7.5 Mango, Microsoft is sending a clear message that its mobile ambitions are moving full steam ahead, but can they hope for more than third place?

Windows Phone 7.5 Mango review: Up to speed Ambitious Microsoft heaped up 500 changes in the Windows Phone update, many of which give the underdog mobile OS a fighting chance against Android and iOS, at least when it comes to features. (Posted in Dialed In by Jessica Dolcourt) September 27, 2011 10:00 a.m. PT

Samsung unveils first Mango Windows Phone Omnia W The smartphone will hit stores … Read more

With Mango, can Windows Phone 7.5 compete?

As of this morning, Microsoft and its partner carriers have begun pushing the 7.5 Mango OS update (review) to the first wave of Windows Phones.

The question on everyone's lips isn't so much if the more than 500 changes to Windows Phone OS will satisfy current Mango users; they will. It's a good release, on one that proves Windows Phone is maturing, however gradually. With it, Microsoft will continue to keep its current customers. After all, that set is already committed to the platform, at least for another year or so until their contracts expire.

The more crucial point is whether Microsoft's new and improved OS has charm enough to draw new takers, especially those from the legions of Android who may be curiously casting sidelong looks at Windows Phone. In that we're much less certain.

Operating System We said it in our hands-on review: Mango is a good update. It adds many new, useful features and expands upon others that are already there. Besides that, Windows Phone itself has a certain elan. The Metro UI, as the brightly colored, pleasantly blocky interface is known, is clean and straightforward. The way information is organized liberates us from the clone-y sameness of tiny icons in grid formation.

Microsoft thought out of the box when creating a few new features and did a good job integrating others directly into the OS, like barcode scanning, song ID, and automated playlist creation in the music library. Not all of these are of Microsoft's own invention, but not all of them need to be. Most importantly, they need to make the Windows Phone experience satisfying and full.… Read more

Apps are crucial to Windows Phone success

This morning, Microsoft relaunched its online catalog for Windows Phone Marketplace, a move that gives Microsoft's nearly year-old OS a little more life, even as it turns our attention to the spotty state of Windows Phone apps.

Like it or not, the number and quality of apps in a platform's on-device marketplace can just as easily defend an operating system's existence or strike a lasting blow. (Just ask HP, and Palm before it, how the well-received WebOS withered, in part because of its anemic app catalog.)

Today, the Windows Phone Marketplace has around 30,000 titles, compared with more than 250,000 Android apps and iOS' more than 500,000 speculated programs. It's a paltry comparison, until you consider that in four months, Windows Phone Marketplace ballooned 12,000 apps, up from 18,000 apps last May. Even then, its app count was arguably ahead of RIM's BlackBerry App World.

Already behind In truth, Windows Phone's growth is commendable, at least by the numbers. The platform's debut immediately put Microsoft at a disadvantage. Based on an all-new software backbone, Redmond's new mobile OS wiped the app catalog clean. Programs that worked with Windows Mobile 6.5 and before were instantly part of Microsoft's embarrassing mobile past. Windows Phone 7 was a fresh start.… Read more

Windows Phone 7.5 Mango review: Up to speed

After a long wait, Windows Phone owners on all carriers will begin receiving the Mango OS update, or Windows Phone 7.5. The over-the-air roll-outs begin as soon as today. (Keep tabs with Microsoft's update schedule.)

Ever since we first heard about it in May, Microsoft's intention with Mango has been clear: polish three key areas--communications, apps, and Internet--until they shine. Of course, Microsoft didn't stop with just those three topics, and not every addition or correction offers something special. Even as Microsoft homed in on some parts, it missed a spot or two.

We won't … Read more

Web-based Windows Phone Marketplace opens

In advance of its anticipated "Mango" software update, Microsoft is throwing open the doors to its newly renovated online Windows Phone Marketplace.

The initial Marketplace was little more than a placeholder for things to come, a mostly static repository for maybe a thousand apps total. (Microsoft is now up to 30,000 titles compatible with Windows Phone.) In contrast, the new online Marketplace storefront is a sharper-looking app catalog complete with purchasing power and over-the-air downloads.… Read more