It came as a little bit of shock when Nokia and Microsoft announced a partnership in 2011 that would see the ailing Finnish mobile device maker implement the Windows Phone OS in its next-generation of smartphone releases. The plan was for Nokia to see out their commitment to the Symbian software before ultimately designing and rolling out a range of smartphones powered completely by the Microsoft mobile OS.
If you are the type of person who listens to the age old 'size does matter' saying, then chances are that you spend most of your life walking around feeling inferior to those around you. General society has this belief that bigger is always better, in every situation, all of the time which in most circumstances I would strongly disagree with. However, if you are to believe the research carried out by Strategy Analytics then it would appear that bigger is indeed better when it comes to mobile devices.
Speaking to enthusiast blog Windows Phone Italy, Duico Stefania, chief of the Windows Phone division in Microsoft Italy, mentioned that Tango, the upcoming Windows Phone update will be officially referred to as the Windows Phone 7.5 Refresh. While there isn't anything spectacularly new feature-wise, it is through the 7.5 Refresh update that Windows Phone will be able to penetrate the entry-level market.
Security, or the lack of it, is very much a hot button topic these days, and nowhere more so than in the mobile space. It seems things may be getting worse before they get any better.
It has been just over twelve months since Finnish communications company, Nokia, joined forces with the might of Microsoft in an attempt to boost their falling worldwide mobile phone sales by manufacturing devices featuring the Windows Phone 7 operating system. The move represented a somewhat bumpy journey into the unknown for Nokia but was seen as an attempt to try and break the stranglehold that Android and iOS powered devices have over the industry.
Now, this is a fairly spontaneous rumor with little proof, so this one must be taken with a grain of salt: Microsoft is reportedly in talks with record labels on creating a new music service that caters to the Xbox and "an upcoming Windows-based phone".
With Microsoft desperately trying to make Windows Phone into a real competitor for Apple's iOS and Google's Android, the platform finds itself suffering the same issues that Android was lamented for during its infancy - a severe lack of quality apps.
Remember when the original iPhone was launched in 2007 and you were blown away by the fact that it was an advanced mobile phone, a media player and an iPod all mashed together into one beautiful device? Remember when you were listening to music and you turned the device into landscape orientation for the first time and the UI morphed into a beautiful Cover Flow of the available album artwork? Even if that wasn't enough to make your jaw hit the floor, when I saw a friend’s iPhone do that, it was enough to make me rush out and buy one right away.
For any consumer who may be taking the time to consider purchasing a new mobile phone, or a tablet computer, they will more than likely begin by considering either an Apple iPhone or iPad as their purchase of choice. With over a quarter of a billion iOS devices sold around the world, the iPhone and iPad are insanely popular, and considered by many to be the leading products in the mobile computing sector.
Whilst iOS and Android dominate much of the mobile software headlines, Microsoft has been steadily building a stable legion of support from consumers and developers alike.
