May 18, 2012

The Samsung Focus accounted for 90% of first generation Windows Phone sales

When Windows Phone first launched in the US in November 2010, customers had the option of choosing between one of three devices: the Samsung Focus, the HTC Surround, and the LG Quantum. The Focus was clearly the favorite, but just how popular was it?

In Episode 83 of the Platform Biased podcast, Microsoft Studios’ Dan Smith reveals the sales breakdown for the first generation Windows Phone handsets. Unsurprisingly, the Focus was the clear frontrunner. The device accounted for around 90% of Windows Phones sold, followed by the Quantum at about 8% and the Surround at approximately 2%.

The stats are revealed just after the 30 minute mark, but the rest of the discussion is fascinating as well, especially if you’re interested in how Windows Phone games are tested. Microsoft can take any phone off of the shelf, flash it with special firmware allowing it to access the internal Xbox LIVE service known as PartnerNet, and then side-load the game’s XAP. Smith also praised the Focus’ hardware, which can still run anything Microsoft’s testers throw at it.

[Platform Biased]

May 17, 2012

Could a Microsoft patent for migrating apps make switching OSes easier?

An 18-month-old Microsoft patent has come to light, revealing the software giant’s grand scheme for migrating apps from one platform to another. The Mobile Application Migration Service, as it is called, is an interesting solution to the biggest problem with switching smartphone operating systems: the need to re-download and, often times, re-buy a large number of apps.

The service, in essence, scans the apps installed on your old device and recommends replacement apps–or, failing that, alternative apps–on the new OS. Microsoft would, in theory, work with app developers to make similar apps from the same developer available for free or at a discounted rate on the new platform. This has the potential to become a complicated and convoluted process, so the entire end-to-end experience would be completed with a series of batch purchases or installations. The ideal implementation of this technology would also allow you to migrate actual application data between devices as well.

The Mobile Application Migration Service, if it ever comes to light, could be extremely beneficial for helping people make the jump from say, iOS or Android to Windows Phone. It would even be handy for those looking to upgrade or replace their existing Windows Phone handset. In fact, the whole thing almost sounds too good to be true. There’s a good chance that this might not ever make it to market, especially the more exciting aspects like free or discounted apps from developers and the technical nightmare of migrating app data between platforms. That being said, it’s not impossible. What will Microsoft’s engineers think of next?

[United States Trademark and Patent Office via Pocketables]

May 16, 2012

NTT DOCOMO announces LTE Galaxy S III among summer lineup

Anybody who tells you Japan doesn’t always get the good stuff is either lying or trying to sell you something. NTT DOCOMO has just revealed its summer lineup, and in its midst is the first LTE variant of the Samsung Galaxy S III. The Japanese version of Samsung’s superphone will be mostly identical to the version we already know, with a few killer differences. As you are probably aware, quad-core processors so far aren’t playing nice with LTE, so out is Samsung’s Exynos quad, and in is a 1.5GHz Snapdragon S4. Adding insult to injury for those of us outside the land of the Samurai, ol’ Sammy has bumped the S III’s RAM up to a whopping 2GB—now tied with LG for the most in any smartphone.

You’re undoubtedly familiar with the rest of the Galaxy S III’s specifications, so I won’t bore you with them again. But NTT announced 16 other smartphones, many of them superphones in their own right, so how about a quick tour? For the sake of time, I’m not giving every detail, but I’ve bulleted some highlights for you after the break. In summary, it’s a lot of waterproof, dustproof, 1.5GHz beasts with 5 and 8MP cameras, a few cheaper or more simple exceptions, and seven with LTE. Oh, and all of them run on Android 4.0 ICSs

Continue reading…

May 15, 2012

Samsung, T-Mobile have mercy on customers, announce four devices for ICS—but cut off free tethering

Samsung and T-Mobile have been raising the ire of their customers lately, due to a conspicuous lack of Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich (ICS) upgrade plans. This has finally been remedied. We now know that the Galaxy S II (model SGH-T989), Galaxy S Blaze 4G (model SGH-T769), Galaxy Tab 7.0 + (model SGH-T869), and Galaxy Tab 10.1 (model SGH-T859) have all been given tickets to attend Google’s ICS party.

Things aren’t all roses however, as no dates have been given—not even a “next quarter” or “second-half 2012”—though I think it safe to assume that we will be seeing the updates before the year is out, or more likely before mid-summer.

On a harsher note, T-Mobile recently made it known that it will start blocking tethering users who aren’t ponying up. With Gingerbread—according to T-Mobile—T-Mobile’s monitoring software wasn’t up to snuff, so it let the occasional tethering freeloader get away with it. This will no longer be the case, at least for ICS users. The first users set to feel this pain are those of the HTC Sensation 4G, which is slated for its own upgrade to ICS this week.

Anybody caught using tethering—at least anybody caught using it to any serious degree—will be required to cough up an extra $14.95 a month, or risk losing tethering and hotspot abilities until they do. Still, this is a better deal than AT&T, who so kindly auto-enrolls you in a tethering plan if it detects you using the feature. Fortunately, this has only been announced for the built-in tethering feature, “undetectable” 3rd-party apps may very well still work and root-only apps are almost certain to do so.

[Samsung via Slash Gear | Android Community]

May 14, 2012

Microsoft flips the switch, now supports Facebook messages in Windows Phone Messaging hub

Microsoft flipped a switch over the weekend, enabling support for offline Facebook messages in Windows Phone’s Messaging hub. Messaging has supported instant messaging via Windows Live Messenger and Facebook Chat since last fall’s Mango update (OS v7.5), but traditional Facebook messages still required the use of the official Facebook app. The social networking giant has slowly blurred the line between traditional messages and chat, so supporting this feature in the Messaging hub is both logical and crucial.

The above video shows how it works for those who are curious, and we were very pleased with the results in our own tests. Offline contacts will now receive any messages you send them over Facebook, even if you switch your presence to offline as well. This is exactly how it should work. And, as you might expect, the reverse is also true. Simply switch your presence to online, busy, away, or appear offline to receive any messages sent to you over Facebook since the last time you logged on.

Enabling offline Facebook messages is a small change, to be sure, but it’s one we’re very thankful for.

[LiveSide via Mi Movil Windows]

May 11, 2012

Samsung Omnia M announced for Europe

Having started off the week by announcing the Samsung Focus 2, Samsung is bringing it to a close with the reveal of yet another new Windows Phone: the Samsung Omnia M. Initially destined for Europe, the Omnia M is being billed as “ideal for social and entertainment multi-taskers.”

The Samsung Omnia M (model GT-I8350) features a 4-inch Super AMOLED display, 1GHz processor, and a “minimalist, compact design.” As LiveSide notes, the “M” stands for “Magical,” which, according to Samsung, translates to “high-performance models at an economic price-point.” As a result, the Omnia M comes with a mere 4GB of internal memory and 384MB of RAM, perfectly suited for the Tango update. Other specs include a 5MP back facing camera, a VGA front facing camera, a 1500mAh battery, and HSDPA 7.2Mbps.

The device also includes a number of Samsung-exclusive apps, such as Family Story–which allows families to share messages, photos, and videos with other Samsung devices–a cross-platform messing service known as ChatON, AllShare for DLNA media playback, Photo Studio, and an integrated video-call feature.

[Samsung Tomorrow]

May 10, 2012

Samsung finally giving the Galaxy Note a 5.3-inch helping of Ice Cream Sandwich

The wait for Android 4.0 “Ice Cream Sandwich” on the Samsung Galaxy Note appears to be finally over. Samsung has yet to officially announce the release of Ice Cream Sandwich on the Galaxy Note, but a handful of users have already begun receiving update notifications.

In addition to the actual ICS bits, the 318.89MB update tacks on Touchwiz and a collection of apps contained in Samsung’s “Premium Suite,” such as S Note–which includes Shape Match and Formula Match–My Story, and much more.

The release–or, at least, the impending release–of Android 4.0 “Ice Cream Sandwich” on the 5.3-inch Samsung Galaxy Note marks the end of a long, painful wait for users. Google released Android 4.0 six months ago, but carriers and manufacturers have been slow to deploy the update. Samsung had hoped to update the Galaxy Note during the first quarter of 2012, but the company was forced to delay the update near the end of March.

[Twitter via Engadget]

May 9, 2012

Smoked by the numbers: 50,000 Windows Phone challenges, 98% of them victories

Microsoft’s Ben Rudolph has revealed some staggering statistics from the “Smoked by Windows Phone” challenge. Over the course of the last four months–since CES 2012, specifically–Windows Phone has gone up against more than 50,000 smartphones of every sort, coming away the victor 98% of the time.

The challenge, along with the related online ad campaign, has done a great job showcasing the strengths of Windows Phone, even in the face of some controversy. Skeptics might doubt these statistics, claiming that Microsoft cheated or gamed the system, but that is most certainly not the case. We’ve watched many of the challenges, and even participated on occasion. While Microsoft’s representatives certainly had more practice than the “average” challenger, the whole process was as fair as possible.

Rudolph’s post also details some of Smoked by Windows Phone’s “awesomest” results, based on data from CES, Mobile World Congress, Microsoft Stores, the recent Behind the Tiles events, and a whole host of related challenges in 36 countries. More than 100 million people have “seen, participated in, or read about” the challenge. Eight million people, meanwhile, have watched the videos online, propelling two of the spots onto YouTube’s “Most Popular” and “Science & Technology” categories.

In response to this success, Microsoft is launching a new series of videos about the challenge. The Windows Phone team, and Ben Rudolph in particular, also made sure to extend their gratitute to everyone who has supported Smoked by Windows Phone since the beginning of the year. Somehow, we have a feeling that the challenges will continue to run for some time to come.

[Windows Phone Blog]

May 8, 2012

Kyocera announces waterproof Rise and Hydro for second-half 2012

 

Ultra-everything phones such as the new Galaxy S III and the LG Optimus LTE 2 sure are nice—apart from the second mortgage you end up taking out—but for many people, an “average” smartphone will git ‘er done nicely. Budget rugged-handset maker Kyocera knows this well, and has announced two new entry-level Android ICS handsets at CTIA Wireless 2012, both of which include water-proofing and respectable spec sheets.

The Kyocera Rise features a four-row QWERTY physical keyboard in a slide-out format a ‘la DROID 4. The Kyocera Hydro is your standard candybar smartphone, sans keyboard, bells, and whistles. Both phones share a 3.5-inch HVGA screen, a 1GHz Snapdragon processor, 2GB of internal storage, and 512MB of RAM. If next-to-nothing isn’t your storage style, you are welcome to add a microSD card good for up to 32GB. Both phones feature a 3.2MP camera, and your basic ho-hum assortment of wireless technologies—no NFC or LTE will be found here.

“Wireless devices have become so crucial to our everyday lives; their durability must support our lifestyles. Kyocera Hydro combines a sleek, touchscreen design with water resistance to ensure it can withstand the spills and drops of everyday life.” –Eric Anderson, Kyocera senior VP of global sales and marekting.

Both phones will launch in the US in the second half of this year on undisclosed carriers for an equally unknown price. DROID 4 or Casio G-Shock these phones are not but, assuming the price point is something close to free on-contract, I think there is a market for them. Most of the time when I’m asked for phone recommendations, people don’t want to know the fastest phone on the market, they’re simply looking for a good basic phone, one that is as durable as possible, and one that won’t break the bank. Both of these will likely fit that bill.

[Kyocera via TechnologyTell]

May 7, 2012

Samsung Focus 2 announced, brings white stylings and 4G LTE for $50

We all knew it was coming… we just didn’t know when. Samsung has finally announced its first 4G LTE-equipped Windows Phone, which we’ve been hearing rumors about for some time. Dubbed the Samsung Focus 2, the phone’s white and silver body takes Samsung’s traditionally black-only Focus line in a new direction.

The look of the device isn’t the only difference. Specs-wise, Samsung appears to be bridging the gap between the well-loved original Focus and 2010′s slightly less powerful but no less popular Focus Flash. Expect hardware very similar to the original Focus when the Focus 2 launches, including a 4-inch Super AMOLED display, a 5MP camera (which Microsoft promises is better than its predecessor), and the addition of a front-facing VGA camera. Sadly, the Focus 2 will not allow owners to expand the device’s 8GB of memory via microSD, as the manufacturer dropped this unsupported feature after the first Focus hit the market.

The Samsung Focus 2 isn’t as high-end as some had hoped, and it could very well prompt some customers to lean toward the Nokia Lumia 900 or the HTC Titan II. Samsung does offer a better Focus–albeit sans 4G LTE–but the Focus S has been all but removed from AT&T’s shelves to make way for other devices. The Focus Flash, however, has remained quite popular, thanks to its front-facing camera and low price. Hopefully, the Samsung Focus 2 will be able to merge the classic and well-loved Focus with the Focus Flash’s great pricing and front-facing camera. Right now, it looks like it’ll do just that.

Samsung’s latest Windows Phone is, as before, exclusive to AT&T’s 4G LTE network. The curved silvery-white device will run customers a very affordable $49.99 with a two-year contract, and it will be available online and in stores on Sunday, May 20th.

[Windows Team Blog]