Category: Windows Phone 8.1

Windows Phone market share increased in some markets globally in Q4 of 2014 according to the research firm Kantar.  The numbers, which make up the last three months of 2014 and are based on phone activations, saw the share go up France, Germany and Australia while the United States, United Kingdom, Italy and Spain all saw Windows Phone share drop.  Overall, the global market share of Windows Phone is at about 2.28% globally according to Net Market Share, which is pretty dismal no matter how you try to spin it.

Windows 10 can’t come fast enough.

The long rollout of Lumia Denim on Windows Phone continues but is finally starting to gain some carrier steam.  UK provider O2 has released the latest update for the Lumia 635, Lumia 930 and Lumia 1520 on their network.  For those of you who are on O2 and have these devices, you can go to Settings>phone update on your device to check for the update if it has not already been pushed down to you.

The news of O2 rolling out Lumia Denim is welcome as more carriers globally are starting to roll it out after it was released in December.  Just last week UK’s EE network released the update for their customers using the Lumia 930 as did Brazil’s TIM network.  As for North American carriers, the wait continues.

As a reminder, you can read my Guide to Lumia Denim and my Lumia Denim Rollout Guide for more detailed information on the release and the rollout process.

The Lumia Storyteller app for Windows Phone has received a minor update overnight, bringing expanded stories in your timeline among other small updates.  The new build, version 4.1.0.19 for those keeping score at home, builds on the major 4.0 update that came out in December and is more-or-less a tweaking of some of the features that that releases brought to the exclusively Lumia only app.

Lumia Storyteller – Free (Lumia Devices Only) – Download Now

Dear Windows Phone Developers,

I’m writing you today in an open forum to ask for one thing.  It is something that I know is a difficult ask.  Your livelihoods are at stake in some cases.  Your company’s growth is at stake.  I know what I’m asking for has big impact but it something that I must ask for in light of recent events.

That ask is patience.  I know when it comes to Windows Phone development that patience has often lead to frustration.  Frustration from a lack of support.  Frustration with mixed messages from Microsoft.  Frustration from a community that was equally frustrated and left.  I know, I was one of them for a while wandering the iOS wilderness.

But brighter days are ahead.

Those brighter days come with Windows 10, the next version of Windows that will be on every device that runs Windows today.  But more importantly, it brings universal apps to the market.  That means you as a developer, with a few tweaks for UIs and other device specific elements, can have your apps on everything from a Xbox One to a tablet to a Windows powered phone.  Code once, it is everywhere.  This, undoubtedly, will make your lives easier from both a coding perspective and a support perspective.

The recent announcements by Chase and Bank of America to discontinue their Windows Phone app support was frustrating to see.  It was another blow to the platform.  But it was short sighted.  They gave up when brighter days are ahead.  They gave up because of too few users.  Windows 10 will change this.  I predict this time next year there will be a new and improved Chase and BofA app in the Windows universal Store.  That is because Windows 10 is a game changer for developers.  Even Microsoft, who is throwing out updates and new apps for iOS and Android on a seemingly weekly basis, know that brighter days are ahead.  They are already showing off new universal apps for Windows 10 in the Windows Insider preview.  This is the future of Windows and it is as bright as it has ever been.

But it will require patience.  It is my ask of you as a former MVP, as one who is passionate about this platform and one who writes about it every day on this site.

Keep the Faith.  In the end, it will pay.

Regards,

Clinton

One of my personal favorite features of Windows Phone is Live Tiles.  App that take advantage of Live Tiles allow you to quickly get information on news, sports, weather and whatever else that app provides.  Take the Kindle app as an example.  It shows me on the Live Tile the book I’m reading and how far along I am in it.  Some Live tiles can be setup as transparent meaning that you can “see” through them to a wallpaper or a photo in the background.  It’s a whole new level of personalization as the Live tiles become a part of the background image.  In this How To I’m going to show you how easy it is to setup transparent Live tiles on your Windows Phone so you can enjoy your favorite photo or background each time you look at your device.

Before I start, there is one thing to keep in mind about transparent Live tiles:  Not every app uses them.  There are some apps like Swarm, Kindle and MSN apps that do not use this feature and will be displayed in the traditional metro-style blocks.  You will need to check with each app to see if it supports it.  The vast majority of apps will now simply turn on transparent Live tiles by default once you setup the background wallpaper so you may not need to do anything additional.

For the first time you can now get a Lumia 830 unlocked from the Microsoft Store for only $499.  The “Affordable Flagship” phone has to this point only been available either on or off contract from AT&T but today it because truly unlocked for anyone user on any network.  The $499 price is only $50 more than what you can get it off-contract from AT&T at the Microsoft store.