6Tag for Windows Phone has received another update today, the third in as many weeks, with several fixes and leveraging the new Instagram API. The update, version 4.0.5.0 for those keeping score at home, builds on the mega update to version 4.0 a few weeks ago. This update is a mix of technical updates to improve the app, a bug fix and some new features when it comes to Direct posts on Instagram.
Yesterday I posted that AT&T is now listing the Lumia 640XL on their website as a device that is “Coming Soon”. Now T-Mobile has gotten in on the act with the Lumia 640. When it was launched last week at Mobile World Congress, T-Mobile was one of the first to sign up to get the Lumia 640 along with AT&T and MetroPCS. While none of the carriers have them in stock yet, T-Mobile is now listing it as “Coming Soon” on their website.
If there is one app in my life that I truly miss since coming back to Windows Phone it is the Starbucks app. The company doesn’t make an official one for Windows Phone and I thought I had found the answer in MyBucks for Windows Phone but it has since been pulled from the Windows Phone Store as well. Imagine my surprise then when I saw the Starbucks Locator app in the Store and not only that, the developer (Lancelot Software) is doing an epic job of keeping it up to date with new features and fixes. Last week it receive a major update to version 2.0 with complete new UI and other updates. Today it has received another major update, this one brining more security, a reduced app size and several new fixes. The update, version 2.1 for those keeping score at home, is available now in the Windows Phone Store.
AT&T has updated their smartphone section of their website to show that the all new Lumia 640XL is “coming soon” to the carrier. While there is no date associated with the update on their page, it is generally believed that the Lumia 640XL and the Lumia 640 will both be available around mid-April with pre-orders possibly happening as soon as this week. You might remember that AT&T will have the exclusive on the Lumia 640XL in the United States – at least for now – with T-Mobile and MetroPCS picking up the Lumia 640 along with AT&T.
With Mobile World Congress wrapped up for 2015, Microsoft has created and shared a quick video highlighting the big announcements from the company this year. The video is just over a minute long and available on the Microsoft Lumia channel on YouTube. You can watch it here after the break.
The big highlights from MWC 2015 for Microsoft circled around the all new Lumia 640, Lumia 640XL, more information shared about Windows 10 for Phones and Windows 10 as a whole while even the Surface Hub got a bit of attention as did Universal apps. While Microsoft clearly didn’t have a huge presence at Mobile World Congress this year, the announcements were important and I think gave a good indication of where Redmond is going to be focused in 2015.
Every once in a while I see a beta version of an app that is so much better – so dramatically improved over the current production app – that I actually recommend it be installed. The new Audible for Windows Phone beta is one of those. If you have read this site any amount of time you know that I warn against installing beta software. It tends to be buggy, do strange and often unexplained things, and it often is just not ready for primetime. I’m not suggesting you won’t run into these issues with the new Audible beta. What I am suggesting however is that it is so much better and more stable than the production version, even if you see a bug pop up it’ll be less than what you get today.
Yes, it’s that much better.
Last month I posted that a new Movies and Trailers section in Cortana had been become available here in the United States. At the time it could be turned on but there was no content populated in that section of the Personal Assistant on Windows Phone 8.1 and Windows 10 Technical Preview. That seems to have changed today on both platforms.
Now if you open up Cortana and have the Movies and Trailers section enabled under Interests you will see movies that Cortana thinks you might be interested in along with show times of theaters near you for that movie.
The VLC for Windows Phone app has seen another update today, this one losing the beta tag that it has had since last year and also improving the HD video playback in the app. The update, version… wait for it… 2015.305.1538.3384 is now available in the Windows Phone Store. Remember that VLC is now a Universal app for both Windows and Windows Phone and in both case, they are free.