Analyst: Lack of Distribution Is “Killing” Surface
No-one except Microsoft really knows how well the Surface is selling, but speculation is rife. Detwiler Fenton, a Boston-based brokerage firm, said in a research note today that Microsoft is likely to sell just 500,000 to 600,000 Surface RTs in the December quarter…
Read more at Microsoft News
1.26 million Xbox 360’s sold in the US in November 2012
Microsoft has released the NPD figures for Xbox 360 sales this past November in USA, and once again the Xbox 360 ruled the roost as the most popular console, selling 1.26 million devices. Major Nelson reports: Xbox 360 sold 1.26 million units in November, maintaining the number-one console spot in the U.S. for the 23rd consecutive month…
Read more at Microsoft News
Huawei Ascend W1 coming to Italy early next year
WindowsPhoneItaly reports that the Huawei Ascend W1 will be coming to Windows Phone stronghold Italy in Q1 2013.
The information was revealed at a presentation by Huawei Device Italy in an interview with Windows Phone Italy.
The device should be officially unveiled at CES 2013 early in January. The handset will reportedly be made available via the main telecom operators in Italy and should be available for less than 300 Euro off contract.
Read more at WindowsPhoneItaly here.
Microsoft reveals the secrets of the Windows Phone 8 keyboard
The Windows Phone 7 keyboard received much praise, and Microsoft intended to improve on this in Windows Phone 8.
They introduced Wordflow, which looks not just at a single word, but at a series of words to provide more accurate word prediction. Microsoft says they surveyed a dictionary of 2.5 billion words built from Wikipedia and Twitter scraping, and selected 600,000 for the on-device dictionary, resulting in word correction which was 94% accurate, and always learning to get even better over time.
Of course the dictionary will still not help you swear, but then you cant have everything 
Read more about the keyboard technology at Microsoft here.
Microsoft releases new Scroogle attack ad
Microsoft has continued its offensive on Google Shopping over the Christmas season. The charge centres around Google Shopping being based solely around paid placements, while Bing is based on natural search, meaning consumers can never be clear if there are not cheaper deals available which were simply not included …
Read more at Microsoft News
Digitimes Research: 52.5 million Windows Phones to be sold next year
Digitimes Research posted some market share predictions for next year.
Their projections are about what one would expect – that things will continue much as they have this year, only more.
This means they expect Android to continue to dominate with 70% of the market and 600 million devices, iOS to remain stagnant at around 20% share while the other 10% will be shared by the other, smaller platforms.
Of those, Windows Phone will take the third post with 52.5 million handsets sold, for 6.1% market share, while RIM will be 4th with 3.7% share.
Tizen and Firefox will take up a portion lower than 1%.
While a 6% market share is still far from ideal, a cumulative installed base of 70+ million handset is nothing to sneeze at.
Do our readers find the projections credible, or do you think the market will be disrupted next year? Let us know below.
Via BGR.com
Facebook looking to buy Microsoft’s ad platform?
AllThingsDigital reports that Facebook is in negotiations with Microsoft about acquiring advertising technology that could allow Facebook to displays ads on other websites, much like Google does now. The product in question is called Atlas Solutions…
Read more at Microsoft News
Another Nokia Lumia 620 hands-on (video)
Engadget posted this brief hands-on video with the Nokia Lumia 620.
The 3.8 inched handset will just cost $249 contract-free and will likely revolutionize the Windows Phone 8 market.
They note of the 7 colours the the lime green and orange were the most dazzling, but that matte backs were also available. There was however no wireless charging option.
They also report, despite the price, the handsets are not underspecced, with a dual-core 1GHz Snapdragon S4 Plus offering more than enough power for Windows Phone 8, and with no discernable difference between that handset and the Nokia Lumia 820.
They expect the handset to do very well on entry-level contracts after it hits Europe in Q1 2013. I also expect more than a few of us will be picking up this handset completely off contract to pass on to relatives who are ready to make the jump to real smartphone.
HTC 8S comes with WIFI under lock screen available out of the box
First spotted on a handset in China, WPCentral was able to confirm the HTC 8S will indeed come with the option to “Keep WiFI on when screen times out”.
The option essentially allows phones to remain connected to your WIFI connection when your phone is suspended, allowing activities such as downloading email to occur over your free WIFI connection rather than your billed 3G connection. The option does not just save money but also battery life, as an active WIFI connection sips less power than connecting to a 3G tower which may be several miles away.
It is not know if this feature is an HTC or Microsoft addition, but it is widely expected that the ability to constantly keep WIFI connections alive will come to all Windows Phone 8 handsets with the next big Windows Phone 8 update in Q1 2013.
Xyo Launches App #Switch Section For Lumia Windows Phone Devices
When a consumer now looks for a smartphone choice to choose from, availability of apps on a platform plays a significant role. Apple iOS and Google Android platforms are the leaders in apps availability and Windows Phone platform is growing in a rapid way. In partnership with Xyo.net, Nokia has launched a website where one can find an app or its alternative in Windows Phone Store which is already available in iOS or Android.
Find Your Favorite Apps On Nokia Lumia Windows Phone
Your favorite apps for your Nokia Lumia Windows Phone are just a download away. Windows Phone already has 46 of the top 50 most popular apps from both iOS and Android. With over 115,000 apps now available on the Windows Phone Marketplace you can find just about anything. Just let XYO know what you were using on your old device and we will look it up for you.
Check out the website here.
Did the HTC 8X help turn around HTC’s revenue nose dive?
HTC has finally reported a financial result which did not make analysts cry. For November they reported a boost in their monthly sales from $NT 17.21B in October to $NT 21.2 billion in November, up 23%.
The sales generated $NT 4 billion (US $ 137M) in profit. The only significant product launch in this period was HTC 8X and 8S, suggesting to unwiredview.com that Windows Phone may be responsible for the turn around.
Of course HTC is still down Year On Year, but if Windows Phone is indeed responsible for their improved sales numbers (rather than their new 1080p Android phone) we can only hope this will stimulate a greater commitment to the OS by the Taiwanese company.
Read more at Unwiredview.com.
Thanks Arun for the tip.
Humour: Amazon Nokia Lumia 920 review compares Nokia Pureview camera to Apple’s Purpleview camera
An amusing review of the Nokia Lumia 920 on Amazon.com has compared the device’s many features with some of the more disappointing aspects of the new iPhone 5, with the buyer pointing out the issues with Apple Maps, purple pictures, extremely scratch-prone finish, small screen and new proprietary plug.
The funny part of the post above was just a preamble for a much longer and detailed review of the handset in which he concludes:
Anyway, despite some wanting, I am in love with my Lumia. I hesitated when Lumia 800 came out, knowing that it would be incompatible with WP8. Now Lumia 920 is such an attractive package. I don’t think I’ll change my phone anytime soon, although I do hope that there would be some nice updates from both Microsoft and Nokia to make this phone even better.
See the review (both the funny and serious part) at Amazon here.
VPAR Golf App Now Available For Free From Windows Phone Store
VPAR Golf App is now available for free from Windows Phone Store. If you don’t own a Lumia device which has access to the Caddie+, a golf companion app developed by Executive Caddie, you can try this app.
App Description:
Welcome to the Ultimate Golf Experience. Used at 1000s of golf tournaments annually, VPAR is the world’s most powerful live golf scoring system and is now available to every golfer directly on their phone.
VPAR’s interactive, game-changing technology provides you with a real time leaderboard as you are playing. Capturing all the excitement and adrenaline of the game, you track your progress, check out the competition, and see what’s happening live on the course as the game unfolds.
VPAR is more than just playing – it’s competing, turning golf into a thrilling contest with your friends. VPAR is packed with essential features including GPS tracking, performance stats and analysis. VPAR: the most exciting way to get inside the game.
Features:
o Live Golf Scoring: Matchplay, Strokeplay and Stableford
o GPS
o Performance Stats
o Scorecard History
o Friends Messaging
o Group Messaging
o Games history
o Venue Search; info, weather, contacts, reviews
o Sharing on Facebook and Twitter
Download it here from Windows Phone Store.
via: AAWP
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