Skype 2.5 update for Windows Phone 8 sheds the preview label

Despite steadily advancing in version numbers, Skype for Windows Phone 8 has remained in a preview state for the past few months. It's time for the app to enter the big leagues with its 2.5 update. The release is the first to drop the preview tag, mostly by fixing notable bugs with both video geometry as well as crashes when signing in with a Microsoft account. Frequent chatters may like that message notifications for Messenger friends are now active by default. There is one word of warning for HTC 8X owners: they'll need the latest firmware to avoid a flaw that silences the microphone. Provided that's no obstacle, though, we'd suggest swinging by the Windows Phone Store if you're at all interested in Microsoft's official mobile VoIP suite.

[Source: Engadget]

Will Large Screen Smartphones Wipe Out Tablets?

We have been seeing a major push in smartphones lately, especially smartphones with a large screen. Large screen smartphones are nearly as big as a small tablets now. At the moment, there is a massive trend for companies to make and push out phablets (phablet = a screen size of 5 inches or more). We have been seeing a lot of these new devices being released at MCW 2013. Below, I have listed some of my favourite devices, that really do stand out. 

Mobile phones or phablets are all well and good but if your in an area with poor or no signal and are looking for a better solution then a set of Mototrbo radios would be advised.

• LG Optimus G Pro - This beast is a phablet that has a 5.5 inch full HD IPS screen with a 1920x1080 resoluto and 440ppi.

• Nokia Lumia 720 - This is one of the many new smartphones that Nokia have released at MWC. However, I really like this particular smartphone because it has a stunning unibidy type of design. You can wirelessly charge it, and it has 8GB of internal storage.

• ZTE Grand Memo - This is another very large screen phone. The screen size is 5.7 inches. It runs Android version 4.1.2. This phablet also has a 13-megapixel camera on the rear with a 1-megapixel on the front.

• Fujitsu Arrows X - This is a new flagship smartphone from Fujitsu. It's rocking a Tegra 3 CPU, with 2GB of RAM. It has a 5-inch 1080p screen with a finger print scanner!

Will a large screen smartphone eventually overtake a tablet? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below. 

Vodafone UK launches a full Windows Phone 8 roster on February 6th

Vodafone's British division has been shy to embrace Windows Phone much at all in recent months. There'll be no such reservation as of February 6th, when the carrier starts offering a wide array of Windows Phone 8 devices. HTC's Windows Phone 8X and 8S will ship in subdued colors, while the (partly expected) Lumia 620, 820 and 920 will be available in livelier hues. We've yet to hear about pricing -- and there's no mention of Samsung's ATIV S, for completists -- but the launch remains good news for UK residents who want to try Microsoft's approach to smartphones without leaving the Red Dot network.

[Source: Engadget]

Windows Phone web store opens in 37 new countries, adds universal search, and supports installing apps via SD card

If you had any doubts about Microsoft's efforts to actually make an impact with Windows Phone 8, let this address them. After announcing that it'd be maintaining a full staff to certify apps through the holiday period, the outfit has just revealed that its web store for apps / games is now open in 37 new locations around the globe. (You can find the full list after the break.) All told, that makes 112 supported nations, complementing the phone store that's available now in 191 markets.

[Source: Engadget]

Microsoft plans OTA update to keep Windows Phone 8 devices from randomly rebooting

Microsoft is prepping a remedy for Windows Phone 8 which will squash a bug that's caused some devices loaded with the OS to reboot without notice. According to a statement issued by Ballmer and Co., Redmond and its partners have identified the cause of the restart woes and are working on pushing out an over-the-air update in December. However, Microsoft is remaining coy regarding what's behind the mishap. Sure, a randomly restarting handset is cause for agitation, but remembering that the latest release of Windows Phone has accounted for the month of December might be a small consolation.

[Source: Engadget]

Bing Translator gets updated for Windows Phone 8, available now in the Store

The Bing Translator app has been helping Windows Phone users avoid cross-cultural mishaps since April of last year, adding augmented reality and offline capability along the way. Naturally, Microsoft has updated this utility forWindows Phone 8. The latest version of Translator supports six languages (Chinese, English, French, German, Italian and Spanish) and features a new "lens" for translating text via a smartphone's camera. The app is available as a free download in the Store. Head past the break to see it in action.

[Source: Engadget]

Windows Phone 8 not working with Xbox Video purchases

If you just bought a Windows Phone 8 device like the Nokia Lumia 920 or the HTC 8x and were hoping to load it with Xbox content for the holidays -- after all, they're both from Microsoft, right? -- it seems that you may be in for some disappointment. As of right now, purchases or rentals from the newly-branded Xbox Video will not sync to Windows Phone 8. Microsoft has even officially acknowledged the issue in its support page, stating: "Windows Phone 8 does not currently support playback of rented or purchased content from the Xbox Video Store." The article goes on to say that you can go to the Windows Phone Feature Suggestions page to recommend it for future releases. Gee, thanks, Microsoft; that's so helpful. Now we'll actually have to talk to our families. The horror.

[Soruce: Engadget]

Nokia leak suggests there's something between Windows Phone 7.8 and 8

Owners of older Windows Phones who expect to run out of railroad after 7.8 could actually have some cause for hope -- meager though it may be. A leaked slide, said to originate from a 25-page Nokia roadmap sent to WParea by an anonymous tipster, points toward at least one more update after Windows Phone 7.8 lands. However, it's clear that whoever drew up the slide isn't fully in the know, since the mystery version is simply described as "7.x.". Meanwhile, the official Russian Windows Phone Twitter account has also kept the wheels rolling by promising 18 months of support for 7.8. We can't exactly vouch for this either, since the tweet appears to have been deleted, but it does suggest that those last-year Lumias will keep chugging on for a good while longer.

[Source: Engadget]

Microsoft announces SkyDrive SDKs for .NET and Windows Phone 8, highlights web integration

After the introduction of new APIs last year, Microsoft has released SkyDrive SDKs for almost every major platform including Windows 8, JavaScript Web library, Android and iOS. Now the cloud service has opened its doors to more of Microsoft's own with new SDKs for .NET and of course, Windows Phone 8. To entice even more developers to its side, the team at SkyDrive also integrated with services like IFTTT (If This Then That), which lets you customize action triggers between different web services, DocuSign, an electronic signature site and SoundGecko, a text-to-audio transcription service. It'll likely take a lot of work for SkyDrive to win over fans of Dropbox and Box.net, but opening up its doors to developers is a step in the right direction.

[Source: Engadget]

Microsoft and Nokia use celebrities to promote Windows Phone 8

After an on stage appearance by Jessica Alba at Microsoft's Windows Phone 8 launchrecently, the company and its partners are starting to use even more celebrities to promote Redmond's latest mobile OS. In a similar move to Apple's celebrity Siri ads, AT&T and Nokia are using Will Arnett to promote the Lumia 920 in the US.

Over in the UK, Microsoft has hired popular TV presenter Holly Willoughby to star in an advert promoting Windows Phone 8 and Kid's Corner. Digital Spy reports that the ad will run across primetime TV shows in the UK. Aside from Arnett's debut in the US, Nokia has also used Ke$ha's latest music video to promote the Lumia 920. A yellow handset was originally spotted in the video, but has since been replaced by a deck of cards.

Microsoft is set to kick start its worldwide Windows Phone 8 advertising campaign during NFL games on Sunday. WPCentral reports that the company will air a one minute slot dedicated to the personalization aspects of Windows Phone 8.

[Source: The Verge]

Microsoft outlines Internet Explorer 10 differences between Windows 8 and Windows Phone 8

Windows 8 and Windows Phone 8 together mark a rare confluence for Microsoft: they represent the first instance of the company's desktop and phone platforms sharing the same browser base, and that has wide-reaching implications for what developers can do. The Redmond team doesn't want anyone plunging headlong into web apps without knowing what to expect, however, and it just reminded us in a blog post that there are still a few off-limits areas for Internet Explorer 10 on the mobile side. Not surprisingly, elements that demand a truly big screen or a windowed interface won't fly -- there's nowhere to drag-and-drop from or open a new window to. A few other aspects are more likely to catch web developers off-guard, such as the lack of in-line video, a handful of touch inputs, ActiveX and the level of file access. The most important common ground stems from simply having a modern rendering engine whose HTML5 and CSS3 support will prevent any rude shocks. There's much more at the source link, although Microsoft and designers may just be happy that any Windows Phone web development is a question of finding those few things that won't work, rather than reinventing the wheel.

[Source: Engadget]

SkyDrive app gains Windows Phone 8 support in version 3.0

After just a few short months at v2.0, Microsoft's own SkyDrive app is now sitting pretty at 3.0. What's an extra point get you? For starters, it'll support all incoming Windows Phone 8 products, and it'll also allow users to search their SkyDrive files / folders. Moreover, you'll find new settings for photo upload and download size, as well as updated app icons and visuals. Microsoft has also improved performance when it comes to loading one's content, but as of now, the 3.0 update won't play nice with WP7 handsets. Hit up the source link if you're hungry for more.

[Source: Engadget]