Category: Microsoft Windows

There has been a lot of press today regarding CircuitIQ, the application that runs in the background on Android and Blackberry devices that provides carriers (Verizon has been identified here in the US) information on how the phone in question is being used.  The principle, while benign enough, is to provide information to the carriers about phone and network performance.  The problem is that it captures a tremendous amount of information about how, were and what you do on your phone.  To say that it is a privacy issue is likely a big understatement.

The good news for Windows Phone users is that it isn’t there on these devices and it never has been.  Joe Belfiore, the Windows Phone Program Management Director stated on Twitter today that Windows Phone doesn’t have it.

That is about as direct an answer as you can get.

CircuitIQ represents the latest challenge of consumers versus carriers.  To be fair, carriers need to know how their networks are performing and the devices on them so they can make improvements.  But this type of thing should be an “opt-in” option and not on by default.

It also appears that the US Congress is going to investigate this which will really bring to light all that CircuitIQ does and what the carriers have been doing with this treasure trove of information on their users.

Stay tuned.  This story is just getting started.

Sprint has dropped the price of the HTC Arrive Windows Phone from $199.95 to $99.95 with a 2 year contract.  This drop in price comes just in time for the holiday season and is on one of the best Windows Phones available today.

Photo Courtesy of GSMArena.com

The HTC Arrive has a slide out QWERTY keyboard and tilting front screen so you can easily view the screen while you are typing.  It has a 3.6″ WVGA display, 1GHz processor and 16GB of storage.  The Arrive has also been recently updated with Windows Phone 7.5 (Mango) so you can take advantage of all of the new features that the latest OS brings.

To get more information and to check out the HTC Arrive, visit the Sprint site.

Amazon Wireless, the mobile phone and tablet selling sub-site of Amazon, has a great deal going on Windows Phones now through the end of this week.  You can pick up your choice between nine different phones on AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile or Verizon for the incredible price of $.01!  And these are all the popular models including the brand new HTC Radar (T-Mobile) and HTC Titan (AT&T).

All of the phones require a 2 year contract (either an extension of your current contract or a new one) and require a minimum data plan.

The Windows Phone models that are available include:

• HTC Titan
• HTC Radar
• HTC Arrive
• HTC HD7S
• HTC Trophy
• Samsung Focus
• Samsung Focus Flash
• Samsung Focus S
• LG Quantum

My good friend Chris Leckness over at Gottabemobile has posted a great article on the battery life of the new HTC Titan Windows Phone.  Chris actually covers two aspects of this latest offering from HTC and AT&T by covering the battery life in the real world and covering the impressive 8MP camera in the Titan.  The results?  Pretty darn impressive if you ask me.  50% battery life left after a 12 day of moderate use.  As I pointed out in my How To Save Your Windows Phone Battery Power article, Chris utilized the battery saving feature that is now included in Windows Phone 7.5 (Mango) OS.

Read the full article over at Gottabemobile and check out the great camera shots Chris has put in the article as well.  I think this will prove to be one of the best cameras built into a Windows Phone to date.

The new HTC Titan Windows Phone hit the AT&T online store yesterday and is expected to be in AT&T retail stores today.  If you are wanting to check it out in person though, call ahead.  All indications are that there will be a limited number of the phones available.  This is mainly due to the low production of the devices but also AT&T is likely hedging their bets a little so they do not end up with mass inventory in their stores.

I would also recommend that you call on AT&T owned stores, not authorized resellers.  The authorized stores likely will not have the phones at all unless that is your only option in your city.

To find the closest AT&T store to you, go to http://www.bing.com/local and search AT&T

If you want to order online, you can click the AT&T logo below.

AT&T is now officially offering the new HTC Titan on their website.  This has been a much anticipated offering from both HTC and AT&T as one of the top “2nd Generation” Windows Phones available on the market.  The Titan sports a massive 4.7″ display, 1.5GHz processor, 8MP Rear Camera and 1.3MP Front Camera, 16GB of storage (just over 12GB is user accessible) and is only 10mm thick.  It is impressive!

The Titan is $199.99 with a 2 year contract and requires a minimum data plan as well from AT&T.  If you want to buy the phone without a contract you can do so for $549.99.

Click the AT&T logo below to go to the AT&T Wireless Site to check out the Titan and other Windows Phone powered devices they offer.