It's been a big day for Microsoft and its Windows Phone platform. With Nokia releasing a major new handset, and the pair having what can only be called a 'special relationship' at this point, both parties will have been at full tilt throughout the day.
Facebook 5.0 for Windows Phone has finally crawled out of beta, and is now ready for the consumption of WP users far and wide. The tiled interface, as many of you will probably know, has made way for a much more universal appearance, although the app in general still offers a look very much suited to the Windows Phone platform in general. All of the details, as well as that all-important download link, can be found after the leap!
Instagram just keeps on growing, especially since the buyout by Facebook. It seems everyone us using Instagram to post pictures of their kids, their cats and most importantly, their meals. We're not sure phenomenon really does Instagram justice at this point, but there's one string that is missing from their potent bow. One that just doesn't seem forthcoming.
With the introduction of the Hulu Plus for Windows Phone app on Monday allowing it to finally be scrubbed from the list of "apps Windows Phone needs but doesn't yet have," a couple more significant apps for the platform have today seen updates. The Foursquare app has finally been updated for Windows Phone 8, while Microsoft has made some novel alterations to its home-cooked YouTube app. Details and the download link, as ever, can be found after the break.
Facebook is something of a killer app on pretty much every platform, especially mobile, or otherwise known as ‘handheld devices’. That's why having a compelling Facebook app is a must for any mobile platform worth its salt, that's why Microsoft is working with Facebook itself in order to make sure that the social networking app is as awesome as possible on Windows Phone.
Whatever your thoughts on Windows Phone 8 might be, it's hard to argue that it doesn't hold a lot of potential. In a world where iOS and Android rule the roost, it's refreshing to see something like Windows Phone, whether it's your choice of mobile operating system or not. The undoubted problem with Windows Phone though, is its lack of quality apps.
The Windows Phone Store is missing quite a lot of apps just now, and although we're not all hipsters with a compulsion to take a square photo before filtering and sharing, Instagram has been mentioned ad nauseam as the sort of app Microsoft needs on board if its fledgling ecosystem is to go the distance. As Windows Phone users still continue to wait and hope for an Instagram app, and unofficial offering by the name of Instagraph is best attempt we've seen at emulating the experience, allowing for photos to be uploaded to the network right from within the app. It looks promising, and although we had better hold off the celebrations while the approval process runs its course, Windows Phone users could be just a short while away from being able to edit and upload their images straight from their handset.
Fans of VoIP app Viber will today have noticed that an update to their free calling and texting app of choice has popped up, assuming they’re using a Windows Phone 8 device that is.
Instagram is frequently mentioned as one of the many common apps yet to make its way to Microsoft's Windows Phone platform, but as users continue to wait for the Facebook-owned app to make its way to the Windows Phone Store, several competitors have emerged looking to offer snap happy WP users a way of sharing snaps with friends and family. Joining the likes of Eye 'Em in the ranks of so-called 'Instagram killers' comes Photoplay, a relatively new app was published to the Windows Phone Store little under a week ago. Compatible only with the newer breed of Windows Phone (8) at this point, a version for the older WP7.x is currently in the works, and with its clean, sleek interface fitting in rather nicely with the look and feel of the Redmond company's mobile OS, it certainly has great potential.
When we think of streaming music services, a few spring to mind. As well as the likes of Grooveshark and Spotify, Pandora is seen as one of the go-to services for personalized radio, and although popular apps are hard to come by on Windows Phone 8, the official Pandora app for Microsoft's recently-updated mobile platform is now upon us. Pandora for Windows Phone 8 has been a long time coming, but it would appear as though it has been worth the wait: it runs better than even the iOS and Android versions, and offers ad-free streaming until the end of the year.
