After going AWOL from the Microsoft Windows Phone Marketplace for a short while, instant messaging app WhatsApp has now reappeared, allowing users to download it once again. Importantly, the app is still free, just as it was before it went missing.
WhatsApp is undoubtedly the most popular cross-platform instant messaging service for smartphones. It works on all major mobile platforms – iOS, Android, Blackberry OS and Symbian - over Wi-Fi / cellular data and allows you send and receive text messages, photos, videos for free. With so many smartphones in the hands of teenagers and young adults, it’s no surprise that many of them prefer using WhatsApp over services like Blackberry Messenger and iMessage.
Of all the features that arrived when iOS 5 reached the end-user back in October of last year, iMessage has been arguably the most significant, and by now allowing messages to be sent and received in a faster, more secure manner across a variety of platforms, it has to go down as one of the best in the business. Granted, it has its occasional downtime, but it's not bad as is, and with the service also arriving to the Mac with OS X Mountain Lion, it will almost certainly become the sole mode of quick communication to many Apple enthusiasts.
As primarily an iOS user (with quite a bit of time for Android, mind), I have had very little experience with Microsoft's Windows Phone platform. In fact, apart from toying around with a Lumia 800 (which, by the way, I did rather enjoy), I have to confess to being a bit of a noob when it comes to the platform, but nevertheless, I am as excited as any with the prospect of Windows Phone 8.
Three months after the phone's debut as the device to end the "smartphone beta test", Nokia has just sliced the price of the Lumia 900 in half on AT&T in the United States. Now, you can pick it up at the low cost of $49.99 when paired with a two year contract with the carrier. The announcement of this pricing change coincides with the announcement of a pink Lumia 900, which joins the existing white, black, and cyan color schemes that the device also comes in.
Windows Phone 7.x users were somewhat disappointed to learn that Windows Phone 8 would not be coming to the current batch of WP devices. Instead, Microsoft has laid out a somewhat watered-down iteration in Windows Phone 7.8, so naturally, anybody looking to jump on the Windows Phone 8 background will need to grab themselves a new device, which while a little bit gutting, is still rather exciting at the same time.
The always popular Encyclopedia Britannica is now available to keep in the palm of your hand, with the news that a Windows Phone version of the app is available for download and fully updated for the year 2012. Primarily living online so as to avoid filling your phone's internal storage, the app also features an offline viewing mode for those occasions when Wi-Fi or a 3G data connection just isn't as forthcoming as we would like.
Plugging a hole that has been around since its release in 2010, Twitter's Windows Phone app now sports push notifications, bringing it in-line with the iOS and Android versions of the app.
Microsoft surprised some and impressed many with details of its Surface earlier this week, which does look much like the first lovechild of the tablet and the ultrabook. The device, which is reckoned to be releasing this Fall, has divided opinions to a degree, mainly because the Redmond company neglected to disclose some of the key details such as price and availability. Nevertheless, the fuss it has managed to cause in a few short days bodes well for a more competitive tablet market moving forward.
Microsoft has had a pretty good week with all said and done. The Microsoft Surface, although managing to yield its fair share of critics, was relatively well-received by those in the tech world, and the grand unveiling of Windows Phone 8 suggests the Redmond-residing company is heading in the right direction.
