The original Halo title really help to put the original Xbox firmly on the map, and with Windows Phone 8 having really struggled to establish itself in its first seven or eight months in circulation, a new Halo title would certainly help to boost approval ratings. Microsoft, in collaboration with 343 Studios, has done exactly that in announcing Halo: Spartan Assault, which will not only be available for the fledgling mobile ecosystem, but also the main versions of Windows 8. More details after the break.
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.
Windows Phone is currently in the midst of one of its stickiest patches, even though it finally got its own YouTube app just recently. As the saying goes though, one YouTube app does not make a platform successful. Or something like that.
Everybody knew it was there, and many seemed sure of its main specs, but finally, Nokia has come through with an official announcement of the forthcoming Lumia 928. Although the device itself remains largely unchanged from the Lumia 920, this one will be arriving to the United States as an exclusive to Verizon - finally allowing those on the nation's most subscribed-to network a chance of trying out a decent Windows Phone 8 handset.
Nokia has sought to address the shortcomings and limitations of the Windows Phone platform by packing immensely good cameras into its high-end devices, and the fact that the Lumia 920's snapper is still widely considered the best in the business is a testament to that fact. Nokia's so-called 'PureView' technology with OIS is back for another round in the upcoming Lumia 928 handset, which looks a modest refresh on the current flagship, and to show you just how good the 928's shooter is, Nokia has put together a little comparison video pitting the camera against that of the Samsung Galaxy S III and Apple's iPhone 5 in low lighting conditions.
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.
Having established that a significant portion of those adopting the Windows Phone platform will be doing so from Google's Android, Microsoft has created a ‘Switch to Windows Phone’ app which aims to make the process as painless as possible. I must admit, when I first saw it, I thought it was shameless plugging bordering on propaganda, but having delved beneath the surface, it does appear that the Redmond's main objective here is to lay the foundations for a smooth migration over to the tiled realms of Windows Phone 8.
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.
Windows Phone is still not quite gaining the traction it needs to worry the likes of Apple and Google, but few can argue that Microsoft hasn't made some important improvements to the platform since its introduction. Things like copy and paste are now part of Windows Phone, when they were once just a pipe dream. With Microsoft already working to bring a new version of Windows to the desktop, the speculation is now all about where the Redmond firm will take Windows Phone when it receives its next update.
The last couple of months have been dominated by talk of upcoming iOS and Android devices, namely the Samsung Galaxy S4, HTC's One, as well as the as-yet unconfirmed successor to the iPhone 5. Amid all of this speculation, it's easy to forget that there's a third horse vying for relevance in the busy smartphone arena, and Finnish outfit Nokia is looking to remind the smartphone industry that its range of Windows Phone 8 devices can mix it with the best of them by holding a special press event on May 14th, which will allow the tech world to "see what's next" from the Lumia brand.
