Category: Windows Phone

Gartner has released their estimates of smartphone sales for 2014 and reveals, like IDC, that market share for Windows Phone is anemic when compared to iOS and Android.  The report, which can be found here, estimates that 35.133 million Windows Phones were sold in 2014.  That means it garnered 2.8% of the 1.245 billion smartphones solid in the year.  When compared to 2013, that represents a drop of market share by .4% despite the improvement in unit sales.

The Flipboard for Windows Phone app has been updated today, bringing with it a new Topics feature that allows you to find new content in the news-meets-magazine app based on your interests.  The update, version 2.6.0.0 for those keeping score at home, allows you to define tags of subjects that you are interested in within the app.  You can then quickly and easily find new content based on those tags, i.e. topics.  There are over 34,000 topics within Flipboard so you shouldn’t have any problem finding that item of interest.

Flipboard for Windows Phone – Free – Download Now

The Netflix apps for both Windows and Windows Phone received a minor update yesterday that all users should update to if you haven’t done so already.  The update, version 4.1.0.16 for those keeping score at home, does not have any detailed release notes with it but it is widely suspected that this addresses a bug that was causing crashes on the streaming movie and television app.

Netflix for Windows Phone – Free – Download Now

Netflix for Windows – Free – Download Now

This week or next it is expect that we will see the next Windows 10 Preview build for PCs and Tablets drop to Windows Insiders.  While the release date is not exactly known, there are indications of what can be expected in the build.  While no major changes are coming to the Preview, you can expect to see the new Project Spartan web browser experience come to it in this release.

For those of you who haven’t heard, Project Spartan is a new universal app browser that is coming to all platforms in Windows 10.  That new browser, which was demonstrated yesterday at MWC in Barcelona, is significantly faster than the current Internet Explorer and brings other improvements like Cortana integration.  Everything I’ve seen and from those on the inside at Microsoft are saying it is impressive.  Personally, I cannot wait to see it.

The even better thing about Project Spartan is that it is a true Universal App based on the methodology and framework Microsoft laid out yesterday.  That means that we will see this new browser experience not only on PCs and Tablets, we will see it on Windows 10 for Phones.  That will also be in the next Preview build for Phones but don’t expect the next build for phones next week.  All indications are we have a mid-to-late March to wait for that release.

In addition to the Lumia 640 announced today at Mobile World Congress, Microsoft also announced their new Phablet device, the Lumia 640XL.  The 5.7″ device is a replacement for the now quite dated Lumia 1320 (my personal phone of choice) and it is a significant bump up in specifications over the 1320.  Like the Lumia 640, there will be multiple variants of the Lumia 640XL:  Single and Dual SIM 3G models as well as Single and Dual SIM LTE Models.  It is expected to retail for around $245 for the Dual SIM LTE model which is a very attractive price point for what this device has to offer.

The Lumia 640XL will be powered by the Snapdragon 400 Quad-Core processor running at 1.2GHz and will sport 1GB of RAM.  It will have 8GB of internal storage with expansion up to an additional 128GB with a MicroSD card.  It has a 5.7″ IPS display running at 1280×720 with Glance screen and sunlight readability enhancements for when you are outside.  The rear camera is probably the single biggest improvement over the Lumia 1320.  The 1320 has a 5MP camera while the 640XL will have a 13MP camera.  That rear camera can also shoot 1080p video and has a flash.  The front facing camera is a 5MP wide angle fixed focus.  It will also have SensorCore which is something the Lumia 1320 does not have either.

Another interesting change is that the Lumia 640XL will have a user replaceable 3000 mAh battery, something you cannot do on the Lumia 1320.

At Mobile World Congress today, Microsoft announced the new Lumia 640, a mid-range Windows Phone that is a step up from the popular Lumia 635.  The Lumia 640 comes in three variants, the 3G Dual SIM, LTE Dual SIM and an LTE Single SIM and it is expected to sell for less than $200 when it reaches the US.  Yes, the Lumia 640 is coming to the United States!  It is expected to be with AT&T, T-Mobile and MetroPCS but what is unclear is which variant will be with which carrier.  While I’ve voice my opinion on the need for a flagship Windows Phone from Microsoft, it is good to see this Lumia 640 as it is, specification wise, not bad at all for a sub-$200 device.

The Lumia 640 will run on the Snapdragon 400 quad-core processor at 1.2GHz and will sport a 8GB of storage on board.  That can be augmented with up to 128GB on a MicroSD card.  The rear camera is a 8MP autofocus capable of shooting 1080p video while the front facing camera is a HD 1MP wide angle. The display is a 5″ HD 1280×720 IPS that does support Glance which if you don’t have, once you do, will love.  It is expected to launch this month in various markets globally.