Microsoft’s Phone Storage vs Nokia’s Storage Check
Nokia has done a great job of adding custom applications to their Lumia line of Windows Phones. Sometimes the apps are developed by Nokia directly, and other times the apps are from third party vendors that have come to some agreement with Nokia so that their application shows in the "Nokia Collection" part of the Store. After the latest OS update that came down a few weeks ago, there's a new item called "Storage Check" under settings. As well, you will find the older "Phone Storage" item. Both apps let you see where the space on your device is being used. This can be extremely helpful with lower capacity devices, or for people that like to store a lot on their phones and have run low on available space. With Phone Storage, Microsoft's app you get a clear indication of total usage, and you can set where Windows Phone should store and new Music and Video's, and of course Pictures. When you tap on the line showing total usage, a new screen will pop up that breaks down the … [--Read More--]
IllumiRoom – Can Microsoft Change the World of Gaming, Again?
The next great thing from Microsoft Research will change your world. Kinect changed the world of gaming, and has now gone beyond the console to impact other markets. The latest creation from Microsoft Research will start by changing the world of gaming, but it will quickly change a lot more than that. IllumiRoom takes a massive step towards immersion into your Xbox games. It transforms your room to be a much bigger part of the game you are playing. By using a Kinect sensor and a projector sitting on a coffee table and aimed at your TV, IllumiRoom can extend what you see on the screen to bring the game to life. The rumors are swirling that IllumiRoom will be included in the next generation of the Xbox console, due to be announced later this month. Watch the video and share your thoughts with us - Will IllumiRoom change the world? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L2w-XqW7bF4" … [--Read More--]
Nokia Lumia 520 is Now Available in Canada
Nokia has announced the availability of their new Lumia 520 Smartphone. The is an affordable device and will be available on 3 carriers in Canada. You can pick it up from Rogers today, Koodo starting on May 9th, and Telus starting on May 17th. What makes the 520 special? Well, it offers a 5 mega-pixel camera, a 1GHz Dual core SnapDragon processor, 8GB of internal storage, MicroSD slot for expandable memory up to 64GB of storage, a 4 inch screen that works even if you're wearing gloves, access to all the amazing and exclusive Nokia applications, and it can be yours for $150 or less if you want to sign a contract. All that, and it's powered by Windows Phone 8 - so you get kids corner, and all the other awesome new features in WP8. Impressed yet? Check out the full press release over here. Or simply head down to your local Rogers, Koodo, or Telus store to see what it's like for real. The device will only ship with a black back cover, but you can pick up red, yellow, or white … [--Read More--]
Microsoft’s Newest Windows Phone Ad – Don’t Fight. Switch
Microsoft has turned over a new leaf for their Windows Phone ads. The latest ad takes a wedding theme where half of the attendees are using Apple devices, and the other half are using Android. In quick order things escalate beyond hurling insults back and forth, and a full on fight ensues. Through all of the fighting, the camera focuses in on 2 staff using their red and yellow Lumia 920's to capture the mayhem. As the commercial fades out you see the tag line "Don't fight. Switch" followed by the a picture of the Nokia Lumia 920's and a reminder that it was voted as "Reader choice: Smartphone of the year" by Engadget. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z19vR1GldRI The video premiered on YouTube on April 29th, and at the time of this post, it has just under 3 million views. Pretty impressive for just a few days old. It's a very entertaining ad, and a refreshing change from Microsoft. If you liked it, there's even a quick little behind the scenes video that's worth checking … [--Read More--]
DIY: Wireless Charging Nightstand Mod
Have a device that supports wireless charging? If so, you're already enjoying the wonders of cableless charging. But what if you could get rid of that charging pad too? What if, you just placed your phone on the table and it would start charging? Well, here's a cool Do-It-Yourself mod that can hide that unsightly charge pad under the table top. I don't really feel that the charge pad is unsightly, but you have to admit, it looks way cooler when you can't even see it! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xZo2pA0Qc9U Check out this video and let us know your thoughts. Personally, I would have used a Dremel or a router to carve out the bottom side of the table as it would be much easier and faster. Of course, if you don't have either of those tools it would make for a pretty expensive addition to the cost of this project. I'm not sure my boss would like me doing this to my desk at work. So I guess that means buying a nightstand and doing this at home. … [--Read More--]
Nokia Brings their Music Service to Windows 8
Do you like listening to music? If so, there's a new kid on the block when it comes to streaming music. Nokia has brought their Music+ service from the Windows Phone platform to the Windows 8 and Windows RT world. This is the same app that users have grown to love on the Windows Phone platform. In fact, all you need to do is connect the app with your Nokia Account and you're ready to start enjoying music. If you haven't already used Nokia Music, you can quickly sign up and get listening in no time. Nokia Music offers a free 7 day trial, recommendations for other songs based on the currently playing song, Offline mode allowing you to save your mix to the device for later, streaming music to other devices using DLNA and the Play To feature, along with hundreds of pre-selected mix's like "Grammys 2013", "Spring Break 2013", and "March Madness" to name a few. The only downside is that the service is being launched in just a few locations, including US, UK, Ireland, and … [--Read More--]
Microsoft Demo’s Powerful Improvements to the Bing Speech Engine
In the past I've talked about the awesome speech engine in Windows Phone. Not only does it read out your text messages, but it even allows you to create or reply to text messages without touching your phone. Beyond that, you can also use speech on various apps and on search. I use this feature every single day, and it's a big part of what I like about the platform. Recently, Microsoft showed off some enhancements that they've been working on. First, they reduced the latency in processing speech, which I always found to be fast anyway but who doesn't like faster. Second, they showed a decrease in the word error rate. And finally, they showed off some much improved accuracy of speech recognition in noisy environments. This last one is pretty impressive, and something I've been burned on more than a couple times. So I'm looking forward to seeing this in action. Unfortunately, there's no mention of when we will see this feature on our devices. Hopefully it's a backend change, so … [--Read More--]
Protect your Nokia Lumia 620 from Dust and Water
The Nokia Lumia 620 is an affordable smartphone, but that doesn't mean it's not a quality device. The phone can be purchased for just $250 without a contract. And coming at the end of March, Nokia will have a more protective shell that you can purchase for about $25 Euros. The 620 has a removable back - well, it's more than just the back, it actually covers the sides as well. This new shell offers IP54 protection. For those unaware, IP54 means that certified to protect against dust and splashing water. While dust protection is nice and all, it's the water rating that I'm really interested in. This new 620 shell is rated for splashing water in any direction at a flow rate of 10 liters per minute for 5 minutes at 80-100 kPa. That's pretty impressive for an affordable smartphone. Basically, they have better sealed the gaps around the camera window and around the screen. As well, the mesh covering the speaker is more dense. You won't be able to bring your phone into the pool, but … [--Read More--]
A Look at Twitter’s Official Metro-Styled Client for Windows 8
It's been about almost 5 months since Microsoft released Windows 8 to the world. And that's doesn't include the pre-release / beta availability that developers and MSDN subscribers had access to for months and months before general release. Regardless, Twitter has finally managed to release a native Metro-styled app for Windows 8 users. With Twitter's recent "Token Fiasco", it has been hard to find a decent Twitter client. As soon as a client starts to gain any traction, they reach their limit and there's no way for the developer to get past the limit. Because of this, there is more attention put on Twitter's own clients. Thankfully, they finally managed to release a client - too bad it's one of the worst clients I've used in my 5 years on Twitter. With spell check built into Windows 8, almost every application should have this enabled. I can excuse new developers, especially if they are individuals or small companies. If Twitter had their client in the Store on launch day, I … [--Read More--]
How-To: Taking Screen Shots on the Surface Pro & RT
With regular old Windows, there are plenty of ways to do screen captures. From the simple Print Screen key for the whole screen, other key combinations for windows and applications in focus, or the use of any of the great 3rd party applications. But with the new Metro applications? If you're running Windows 8/RT Metro styled app, how can you do a screen capture? Typically with mobile devices there is some sort of key combo that allows this to happen, and the Surface is no exception. If you have a Surface Pro, or Surface RT, this method will allow you to capture the entire screen regardless if it's a Metro-styled app, or a regular desktop app. Simply press the Windows 8 button on the bottom center of the screen and hold this. Then press and release the volume down button. You will notice the screen get a little darker for a second and then return to normal. This means the capture has completed. Tap over to Photo's, then Pictures Library and then you should see a new group called … [--Read More--]
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