Androidifying

Nokia has been tooting its horn about the Lumia 1020′s camera for a while now, and it was recently put to the test by a National Geographic photographer on a 10-day assignment to the American West. Stephen Alvarez headed to  Arizona  and  Utah  with only a Nokia Lumia 1020 to take photos for an upcoming spread with will be featured in National Geographic’s 125th Anniversary Photographic Edition, and the results are incredibly impressive. Without a DSLR, Alvarez was still able to capture captivating shots of the Grand Canyon in very low light, along with several other locations in Utah and Arizona. The 41 megapixel PureView camera combined with a Xenon flash puts the  Lumia  1020  at the top when it comes to the smartphone world, with few rivals to offer such a robust camera experience. Take a look at the video below, which was also recorded using the Lumia 1020. For more information about the 10-day trip and to see all of the great photos, hit up the link below! [ National Geographi

We’re filing this one under unsubstantiated rumor, but forum member  qXerro  has posted a few more screenshots over the last twenty-four hours of Windows Phone 8.1. The problem with such stories of course is trying to verify the information and since screenshots can be very easily faked, it’s hard to justify. Still, qXerro has posted screenshots of features like app sorting before. That rings a bell because we know of that feature but never reported it publicly—so either he’s a good guesser or there is some truth to his leaks (Unfortunately, the last we heard is that app sorting was removed due to ongoing issues). What do the latest screenshots reveal? One is simply the Nokia Extras + Info, though the ‘Extras’ has been dropped. Instead we’re shown the Software Release as ‘Blue’ and something about ‘Accessories Attached’ and it’s allegedly running on a Lumia 820 (RM-826). (L) Alleged Windows Phone 8.1 layout scheme; (R) New Info screen for 'Blue' The Accessories Attached could b

T-Mobile really did shake up the entire U.S. wireless industry with its JUMP! early upgrade program. Verizon and AT&T followed pretty quickly with their own offerings that ended up being a total rip-off. According to a report from  CNET , Sprint is now preparing an early upgrade option of their own. Called One Up, Sprint has put together an early upgrade plan that is closer toT-Mobile’s JUMP! than Verizon’s Edge or AT&T’s NEXT options. We’ve confirmed through two sources that One Up is real. This may actually be a decent deal for Sprint customers that want a new phone every year. One Up is a payment plan that lets Sprint customers break up the cost of a new phone or tablet over 24 monthly installments, with the last installment being slightly higher or lower depending on the cost of the device. A new smartphone that sells for $649.99 at full retail price would end up being $27 a month, with the last payment being $28.99. Subscribers who sign up for One Up can then trade their d

The best Windows app to track the Barclays Premier League is the Official Barclays Premier League app . Here is the details of the App from the Official Windows Store   The official Fantasy Premier League app is now available. Managers of a team need only download the app before signing in. NB: Those without a team will need to register beforehand via fantasy.premierleague.com. Select your starting XI, nominate your captain and vice-captain. Review your team’s performance each Gameweek. Research player profiles and make transfers. View your position in each of the mini-leagues you’ve joined. Win great prizes. Hope you will find this App useful in tracking the league.

It’s been a rocky road for Microsoft and Digital Music. While they were once struggling with Apple and the iTunes store, it seems that now they’re struggling against everyone else and subscription music. Of course, this isn’t the first time that Microsoft find themselves late to the party. With Xbox Music, the company is trying once again to let their users know that they actually do provide music like everyone else. Tying in to Windows 8, Windows Phone and of course, the almighty Xbox, Xbox Music makes a lot of sense. However, even Microsoft cannot survive offering their services to just their own platform. With that said, Microsoft is finally launching Xbox Music on Android and iOS. The Android app is available to download from the Play Store right now. You’ll need an Xbox Music Pass to use the app however, web-based music streaming is completely free for the first 6 months. However, this does feature ads and once your first 6 months are up, you’ll be limited to the amount you can st

A product shot purporting to display the Nokia Lumia 1520 has been leaked online, making the launch of Nokia's 6-inch phablet look a little more likely. The leak, via Twitter, of the new Nokia device comes courtesy of  @evleaks , who has a strong record of reliable leaking. There are a few interesting details that can be picked out from the press shot. First of all, it very much reflects the design of other Nokia Lumia devices, matching the 1520 photo that was revealed at the end of August. It's rumoured to have a 6-inch 1080p display, which would certainly pack a punch; there's plenty of space for icons on the display, although at first glance, it seems a little cluttered. Hopefully Windows Phone will be able to have live tiles that make better use of the space on offer. The rear of the Nokia device shows the camera lens, which looks close in design to the Lumia 925. We wouldn't be surprised if it had the same camera array in place. Evleaks puts a 2013 date on it, s

Halo: Spartan Assault has been available on Windows Phone 8 for some time now, but there isn't a trial to take advantage of for a free go to see if the game is right for you. Now a lite version has been published that sports the first level to give you an insight into the gameplay and whether you feel it's worth the price tag. Perfect if you've never jumped into the Halo universe before or are hesitant at playing a Spartan on the small screen. The title is a superb download for anyone who's interested in pouring a number of hours into an immersive game. Utilising familiar tactics and weaponry featured in earlier Halo games, players are tasked with combating the Covenant through a variety of missions. Here's a quick look at the gameplay  You can  download Halo: Spartan Assault Lite  from the Windows Phone Store for free ( full version  costs $6.99).  Requires Windows Phone 8 and works on hardware with 512MB RAM. Thanks, everyone, for the tips!

Lenovo isn't the only company kicking Microsoft in the shins with start menu add-ons. The world famous  virtual machine software, Parallels Desktop, allows users to add a start menu back to Windows 8 with the single click of a button in its latest iteration . Users who install Windows 8 onto a virtual machine can also install add-ons which emulate an "old Windows" style start menu by navigating to settings. The Windows 8 start menu, known as Start8, works in both Coherence and "Like A PC" modes. As companies try to bypass  Microsoft Windows 8's start screen with a more familiar interface they might just be tearing down Microsoft's bridge to the future. If experiences between various machines are different from company to company, we might begin to see an unorganized crumbling of different navigatio n - as seen with Google  Android 's various launcher skins (HTC Sense, Samsung  TouchWiz, etc.) . Do you think companies are going too far by implementi

Nokia Music for Lumia smartphones have been updated to bring many handy features to the mix. First of all, there’s the ability to “like” favorite artists to further personalize your music experience. The application will then also like artists based on your playing history and the contents of your music library. Then there are notifications, making sure you know when one of your favorite artists releases any new music. Moreover, this capability can also work with live gigs, alerting you as soon as any event of interest to you is announced, so you can pick up your ticket on time. Additionally, you can pin Nokia Music to your Home Screen to get those notifications without ever firing-up the application. Then, as well as showing you the beautiful artwork for your recently played tracks, you’ll also receive an alert whenever there’s news. Pretty cool I would say… Nokia Music (FREE) [ Windows Phone Marketplace ]

Nokia a new member of its feature phone family of devices – Nokia 515. It’s a fancy device made out of premium materials (like sandblasted aluminum and hardened polycarbonate), while offering quite a bang for the buck. Specs wise, the Nokia 515 comes with a Gorilla Glass 2-protected 2.4-inch QVGA screen, HSDPA connectivity, Bluetooth 3.0, USB tethering, and a battery that will keep the phone alive for up to 10.4 hours in talk and 38 days in standby mode. In addition, there’s also a 5-megapixel camera with LED flash on the back that sings along the Nokia camera software, allowing users to take voice-guided self-portraits, Panorama and group photos (sequential shots). Plus, let’s not forget the preloaded apps that include Facebook, Twitter and Nimbuzz (multi-network IM client), as well as Nokia Xpress Browser that uses compression to make web surfing faster. The Nokia 515 will be available in black and white in the third quarter of this year, costing 115 EUR before any local taxes or

Nokia is about to embrace the Windows RT platform with a new tablet  codenamed Sirius. We saw some spy shots of the device earlier this month, and now  The Verge  was able to get their hands on some of the details surrounding this mystery tablet. According to The Verge, the tablet will have the following specs: Quad-core Snapdragon 800 processor 10.1-inch display with 1920 x 1080 resolution 2GB of RAM 6-megapixel rear camera 2-megapixel front camera LTE connectivity Windows RT 8.1 According to The Verge’s sources, Nokia will unveil the tablet during its September 26th event. It allegedly will be priced competitively with the iPad. [Via  The Verge ]

Earlier today we shared a tweet through the  @wpcentral  account on Twitter. Basically the yellow wireless charging cover (CC-3066) for the Lumia 1020 came back to Amazon, but only had a 4 left in stock. You had to be quick to grab them. Now it looks like Amazon has a bigger supply up. In the Lumia 1020, wireless charging was omitted to keep the device as thin and light as possible. Or so we’ve been told by Nokia. Although a recent DIY hack with the Lumia 925 makes a few of us think otherwise. Either way, you’re going to need the wireless charging cover from Nokia to add the ability to your Lumia 1020. It’s been a hard piece to find over the past few weeks with limited stock wherever you went. However, if you go to Amazon you’ll find what looks like an ample supply for both the black and yellow versions. Both show as “in stock” and go for $39.99. If you’ve been meaning to grab one you might want to do so before we see another crazy fluctuation in availability. Have one already? What

Our Windows Phones are great tools to keep up with life while on the go.  Be it checking your email, making calls, surfing the internet or checking in on your favorite social network.  With football season being right around the corner, many will be turning to their Windows Phones to keep tabs with all the scores, standings and stats from their favorite College or Professional football team. To help you get ready for some football, this week's app roundup, we take a peak at four football oriented apps for our Windows Phone.  Football Pro '14  (free): Billed as the ultimate football app for our Windows Phone, Football Pro has been around for a few seasons and the 2014 version landed in the Windows Phone Store just the other day.  Football Pro '14 is nicely laid out to help you keep track of all the scores, stats and standings from the National Football League. Key features for Football Pro '14 include live streaming radio broadcasts of games, the latest news from every t

Time for a public service announcement. We’ve reported on the demise of Microsoft Points on the Xbox platform in the past. The community has been divided on whether they like or dislike the point system. Well it doesn’t matter anymore how you feel, because Microsoft is moving away from points to local currencies. And it’s starting today. A few readers have tipped us this morning about an update for the Xbox 360. What’s new in the update? We’re hearing that MS Points have been retired alongside some aesthetic changes. Sure enough, Major Nelson and Xbox have confirmed that the 2013 Xbox Live update is slowly rolling out to users. This update does include a conversion of MS Points to local currency. After you receive and install the update you’ll walk through a guide detailing the change. Your current MS Point balance will be converted to your local currency. It will round up, not down, in situations where you don’t get a nice number. The amount will be applied to your Microsoft accoun

And yet again we’re hearing that Nokia will be launching its very first phablet in September. According to WPcentral, the Finns will do that in an event taking place in New York City on September 26th and 27th. From what we’ve heard, this device will pack a 6-inch full HD screen, quad-core processor (most likely made by Qualcomm), and a 20-megapixel camera on the back. Moreover, it will run an updated version of  Windows  Phone 8 that makes all this possible — like support for full HD displays and quad-core CPUs, while also packing some other enhancements. Alongside the phablet, Nokia may also launch its very first tablet, which will reportedly run Windows RT. Yeah, we’ve seen this coming as well and are still holding our breath that the Finnish company opts for the full-blown  Windows  8  rather than Microsoft’s tablet-only platform. And we’re sure more information we’ll be leaked prior to the official announcement. Stay tuned in the meantime…

The latest update to Pouch brings a brand new look alongside performance increases. After logging in with your Pocket account you’ll be looking at all the various articles you’ve linked up to read later. It’s a beautiful interface that makes reading those articles pretty enjoyable. Curious what the app looked like before?  Know why else this app rocks? Find an article that looks really interesting but you want to read later? Just swipe to the right and click on save to Pouch. Boom. You've got the article in Pouch for later. The beauty in Pouch is that you can access the articles you save from a variety of Pocket apps - like the browser, or other apps across a variety of devices.  If you have any feedback for the developer, Joshua Gryzbowski, be sure to reach him via the about page.  He’s super responsive and always open to ideas, suggestions, and quick to fix any bugs you find. In the meantime, Pouch is available for Windows Phone 8 devices. There’s a trial that allows you to us

Developers! Developers! Developers! Live it up, folks. Get as much Ballmer as you can because the Microsoft CEO is stepping down and retiring in the next 12 months. The company fired out a press release today detailing the news that while Steve Ballmer will continue on as CEO and lead Microsoft through the next steps of the transition to a devices and services company, a successor will be selected as a replacement. The board of directors has appointed a committee to direct the process and is working closely with executive recruiting firm Heidrick & Struggles International. Both external and internal candidates will be considered. As well as firing out an internal email to colleagues, here's what Ballmer had to say on the news: "There is never a perfect time for this type of transition, but now is the right time. We have embarked on a new strategy with a new organization and we have an amazing Senior Leadership Team. My original thoughts on timing would have had my retireme

Yesterday we showed you guys a pretty creative video from YouTube superstar MysteryGuitarMan showing off the Lumia 1020 . You know, Joe Penna who gets super creative on YouTube. Now we have another video showing off the Lumia 1020 from YouTube comedian WheezyWaiter. Let’s check it out.

Back in early May we told you guys to join a beta for an app called Sleeve Music . A sleeve note (also known as a linear note or album note) are those pieces of paper you found with your vinyl records and CD cases back in the day. On them you’d find things like biographies, info about the album in your hand, and much more. These days we don’t really have an equivalent. Sure iTunes offers a “digital booklet” with some albums, but you’re probably not on iTunes and Sleeve Music for Windows Phone is so much more than that. Let’s check it out.

Earlier this week we saw the release of the highly anticipated Instagram client for Windows Phone called 6tag . Developed by Rudy Huyn in just a few weeks’ time, the app has skyrocketed to the top of the Windows Phone Store. While the app is not official or endorsed by Instagram, the company signed off on the name as not conflicting with their brand, in addition to looking the other way on the usage of their API. Now, version 1.0.1.0 has landed in the Store and while it doesn’t bring any new features per se , it does address some security concerns that were raised in an overly alarmist article . Plus, we can share with you a new trick that will allow you to open 6tag from Internet Explorer 10. So what are those changes?