Windows 8. + Windows Phone

A California lawyer filed a lawsuit against Microsoft for allegedly misleading customers about the amount of available storage space on the Surface tablet.

It looks like at least one Microsoft customer isn’t too happy with his new Surface tablet.

Andrew Sokolowski, a lawyer based in Los Angeles, filed a lawsuit against Microsoft on Tuesday for allegedly misleading consumers about the amount of storage space on the Surface tablet after he ran out of space on his 32 GB tablet shortly after buying it.

The company markets its two Surface tablet models as having 32 GB and 64 GB of space, but the available space for customers to store photos, apps and more is actually 16 GB and 45 GB, respectively. The available storage space for tablets and smartphones is usually less than the advertised amount– the 16 GB iPad, for example, has a little more than 14 GB of available space — but Sokolowski contends Microsoft is misleading customers considering that the 32 GB tablet has just half that much space.

“Microsoft knows, but conceals and fails to disclose in its advertising, marketing or promotional materials, that the Windows RT operating system consumes approximately 16 GB of the represented storage capacity of the Surface RT tablets,” Sokolowski wrote in his complaint, via Courthousenews.com. ”Thus for a consumer who purchases the 32 GB Surface RT tablet, as plaintiff did, about 50% of the represented storage capacity is inaccessible and unusable.”

Microsoft, for its part, did update its website with information about the amount of available storage space in early November, a little more than a week after the Surface tablet went on sale. Moreover, the company contends that customers understand tablets come with less space than advertised.

“Customers understand the operating system and pre-installed applications reside on the device’s internal storage thereby reducing the total free space,” Microsoft said in a statement given to the Associated Press. The company also pointed out that customers can add more space through the microSD slot and USB Port.

Microsoft is syncing delivery of its mobile IE and PC Internet Explorer browsers. There's a lot the two have in common. But some things are still different.

Microsoft's Internet Explorer (IE) team is finally at the point where it is releasing new versions of its browser on Windows and Windows Phone roughly in tandem.

Given Windows Phone 8 now runs on a Windows NT kernel, are the two IE10 browsers (mobile and PC) identical, feature-wise? The answer is not 100 percent, according to a November 8 "Developing for Windows Phone" blog post.

IE10 for Windows Phone does not support the following, the post says:

Inline video
Some of the new manipulation views APIs (application programming interfaces) for touch panning and zooming, with the exception of –ms-touch-action
Multi-track HTML5 audio (simultaneous)
ActiveX and VBScript
Drag-and-drop APIs
File access APIs with the exception of blobs which are supported on Windows Phone 8
Windows 8 integration features: Link previews, pinned site icons & notifications and support for connecting sites to apps
Also in Internet Explorer 10 for Windows Phone, Window.open does not return a valid window object. This is because on the phone each “window” is isolated in its own sandbox.
Up until last week, when Microsoft finally rolled out the public version of the Windows 8 software development kit, Microsoft officials were advising Windows Phone developers to use IE10 to do early testing of their sites for compatibility. With the SDK, developers now can use the included emulator to test their sites directly on Windows Phone 8.

One of Microsoft's messages at its Build developer conference last week was that "HTML5 is coming to Windows Phone in a BIG way," as the blog post's author Program Manager Jorge Peraza concluded.

But the reality is a little more complicated, as Shawn Wildermuth, a Microsoft Most Valuable Professional, author of a number of development...

Wow, this makes absolutely no sense at all, but for whatever reason the WP developers have decided to remove the FM Radio feature from WP8, meaning that no WP8 devices support FM radio (or even have a FM radio chipset at all). Sure there are plenty of Internet Radio streaming apps, such as the promised Pandora radio, tune in radio, XboX music and of course the amazing Nokia mix Radio; but why on earth would you remove features in a platform upgrade? What is there to lose?

WP8 Compatibility list: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-US/library/windowsphone/develop/jj206947(v=vs.105).aspx

t is possible that Microsoft removed it to somehow increase traffic to the Xbox streaming service, but that seems highly unlikely; FM Radio isn’t a real threat to anyone (I’ve never used it on any of my phones but that’s mainly because all radio stations in Jordan suck).

So who said that Wp 7.X would be missing out on all the good stuff? Maybe MSFT did this to make early adopters feel better (that was sarcasm BTW).

Thanks for the tip @mobileyog Via

The Windows Phone developer ecosystem is enriched every day by companies, communities, and people who are creating offerings and resources to help developers quickly and easily build or port great apps for Windows Phone. Over the past year, we’ve started collecting these offerings, and we’ve created a list of Windows Phone Developer partner resources, in which we identify commercial and open-source resources in the following categories:

Tools: Development environments, utilities, frameworks, and libraries to help you build, generate, and debug apps during the development process.
UI components: UI elements like list controls, button, charting, and other visual components,
Web API: Cloud-based services like notification, mapping, back-end processing, ad networks, and leaderboard services that developers can consume through a web API.
We’ve seen strong response to these offers, so we’re focusing even more attention in this area for Windows Phone 8. We’re thrilled to highlight today more than 30 commercial and open-source offerings by companies and organizations that have jumped on board.
On the open-source front, we engaged with communities early in the process so they could add Windows Phone 8 support in popular tools and frameworks. Read the details.

Let’s take a closer look at the partners who are announcing today their support for Windows Phone 8 at the //BUILD conference.

Native gaming

One significant feature of the Windows Phone 8 development platform is support for the native C++ programming model. Native code offers a number of benefits related to code reuse, and it opens up opportunities for game engines, physics, animation, audio libraries, and more. The following organizations are announcing...

GroupMe, a service which enables the creation of chat groups via data connection (or SMS as a backup), has bumped all mobile apps available on multiple platforms to version 4, except Windows Phone. According to an email sent out today, the app on Microsoft's platform will be updated soon.

Currently on version 3.5, GroupMe was last updated back in August where a number of improvements were made, including a cleaner UI and much desired functionality. GroupMe is now owned by Skype (Microsoft) so we expect to see better platform support in the future.

You can download the current version from the...

It may be hard to find your files in Explorer on Windows 8. Due to the hidden functions, you are limited in your file searches and basically do not have full control of your own computer system. The limitations can be very frustrating. Wouldn’t it be great to have access to all settings in just one folder – like having divine overall access to your computer, to have the ability to do anything, with every single option available within reach?

In Windows, this is aptly termed ‘GodMode’. It is a hidden control option, which gives you access to all the options on your computer. In this tutorial, you will learn how to activate it. ...

Conclusion
GodMode has made it easy to access all options in one window, eliminating all the hassle of searching for files and options. GodMode is a trick that works on Windows Vista, 7 and 8. Alternatively, you can also download the MyGodMode app for Windows from Google.

Repeat after me: There are no ads in Windows 8. Yes, you can find ads if you look closely at a group of consumer apps from a separate Microsoft division. But you'll be surprised to learn the real reason why those apps are in every copy of Windows 8.

In case you didn’t get the memo, we’re all supposed to be outraged that a handful of the built-in Windows 8 apps are ad-supported.

The sponsors of this movement are bipartisan. From the Mac Party, John Gruber examines the very idea of this "built-in advertising" and calls it “gross.” (Hilariously, his link for the supporting story sent Daring Fireball readers to a site that uses obnoxious auto-playing video pop-up ads.)

And representing the Grand Old Windows Party, Paul Thurrott is outraged, I tell you, that any part of Windows 8 has ads. It “cheapens” the OS, he argues. He believes that those ads exist to allow Microsoft to sell Windows 8 upgrades for a mere $40, in the belief that those ad revenues go toward the Windows division’s bottom line.

Paul and John are both mistaken. Those apps aren’t part of Windows 8. They are part of a separate Microsoft project specifically designed to create showcase apps that will “inspire Windows 8 app developers.” (I’ll get to those details later in this post.) Although I'm sure the head of the Online Services Division would love it if I were wrong, I am willing to bet those apps will not be money-making machines in and of themselves.

So here’s the amusing thing. Most of my online work is paid for by ads. Paul Thurrott’s newly redesigned Windows SuperSite (looks great, by the way) is paid for by ads. Gruber’s site is paid for (handsomely, if rumors are to be believed) by a single ad placed discreetly alongside the content on his blog, and by ads in his RSS feed and podcasts.

But the Windows 8 apps are different, right? Well, no. I’ve gone methodically through the Windows 8 apps collection. Each app typically has one discreet ad situated to the side of all content. Just like Daring Fireball, except in color and with pictures.

The screen shots that Paul published (which were similar to those in the article Gruber linked to) are cropped to show a tiny portion of the actual app space. If you see the full app, you get a very different picture.

Here, for example, is the Windows 8 News app, as viewed on a typical 1366x768 screen. The total width is 8,967 pixels, or seven full screens in landscape mode. Imagine swiping or scrolling through all these stories before you see the single ad at the far right:...

The Lumia 820 has been tucked away behind the shadow of its bigger brother ever since it was revealed, but if any phone represents the Windows Phone 8 vision -- different phones for different people -- it's this next-generation Lumia. Avoiding the unibody build of the rest of the family, this phone has an outer shell that's removable and can work with a range of cases: glossy, not-glossy, ruggedized and capable of wireless charging. It's a nice option, one that offers a taste of hardware customization before you've even started swiping around the Live Tiles and customizing the color schemes.

Under the lid, there's a removable 1,650mAh battery, with access to expandable microSD storage. Other specs include 1GB of RAM, the same 1.5GHz Snapdragon S4 processor used in the Lumia 920 and a 4.3-inch OLED 800 x 480 display, albeit with the same glove-courting super-sensitivity found on that other new Lumia. On AT&T, it'll be $50 upfront, half the outlay for the 920, while in the UK, it's priced SIM-free at £360 in the UK, again compared to £445 for the bigger model. At this reduced price, you won't get to sample Nokia's optical image stabilization, but you'll still get a Carl Zeiss lens paired with an 8-megapixel sensor. So there's some understandable drawbacks compared to Nokia's statement phone and its two greatest strengths, but how does Windows Phone 8 fare on a cheaper handset? Join us after the break as we see what 50 bucks less gets you. ...

Plug everything in and prepare the systems: Patch Tuesday is coming. Microsoft will release six security patches, four of them considered 'critical' for Windows 8, and Surface-ready Windows RT operating systems. ...

What are two of the most-checked items on your Lumia after your email (…and maybe Twitter..and Facebook)? That’s right, the weather and news apps. We all want to know what’s happening in the world, and whether to pack an umbrella when we get there. This week’s app selection looks at a couple of the best in each area:...

In this first part of our in-depth review coverage of the Nokia Lumia 920, Rafe Blandford looks at every aspect of the 920's hardware, from screen technology to camera to materials and dimensions.  He looks inside the Lumia 920 too, covering processor and other electronics. In future review parts, coming soon, Rafe and other All About Windows Phone writers will tackle the Windows Phone 8 operating system, the specific Nokia additions and we'll feature and deliver verdicts on the 920's unique selling points, including the ground breaking OIS camera.

Introduction

The Nokia Lumia 920 arrives at a critical time for Nokia. Since announcing the shift to Microsoft's Windows Phone as its primary smartphone platform twenty-one months ago, Nokia has endured a brutal transition. While the abyss isn't at close as some people seem to think, it's quite clear that the new Lumia devices will dictate the future trajectory of the company. And, as the flagship device, the spotlight will shine brightest on the Lumia 920.

Nokia's first generation of Windows Phone devices arrived twelve months ago, but, hampered by a development timeline measured in months and an immature software platform, they were always going to be something of an intermediate stepping stone to the next generation.

One year on and Nokia has now had almost a full product development cycle (around two years) to work on the hardware. Moreover, in Windows Phone 8, with its deep integration into the wider Microsoft ecosystem and modern user experience, it has the fullest expression yet of the ecosystem definition cited by Nokia's CEO, Stephen Elop, as the primary reason for Nokia's strategy shift.

So does the Lumia 920 deliver? Let's find out. ....

It has been a few months since we last heard anything about Microsoft making its own Windows Phone again, so it looks like we’re about due.

A new “report” from the not so trusty China Times straightforwardly states that Microsoft will have its own Windows Phone launch sometime in early 2013 and that they’ve been working on it with a hardware partner for the last four months.

Evidence? Sources? Who needs those things on the internet!

However, some of our readers have asked to weigh in on the matter so instead of just ignoring this story (what we would prefer to do) we’ll give our thoughts on it. Obviously, with our snarky “who needs...

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The official arrival of Windows Phone 8 brings with it some great new upgrades to the Windows Phone Store, including new ways for finding and buying apps, and new options for managing what apps or games your kids can get their hands on.

Introducing Collections

The Windows Phone Store is now available in 50 languages, 191 countries or regions around the world, and stocks 120,000 apps and games. One of the biggest challenges for any app store of this size is not just helping people find great apps, but finding ones that are timely and matter where they live.

So we’re introducing a new feature called Collections, which you’ll find in the web Store and on Windows Phone 8 handsets. ...