MobilityMinded.com

Facebook 2.5 for Windows Phone now in the Marketplace

2012-05-24T14:44:32Z

Facebook for Windows Phone has been a great added app for the Windows Phone. The official Facebook app is a great app if you want another nice way, besides of the integrated Facebook functionality in the People Hub and Messaging. of reading and posting on your Facebook.

On the Facebook for Windows Phone Facebook page they just posted that the new 2.5 version is available. The update should show up on your marketplace live tile, but if you can wait just use the trick we posted earlier: How To Force An App Update On Your Windows Phone

New in Version 2.5 are:

Added ability to like comments
full-threaded Facebook messaging including group messaging
tagging friends using ‘with’ and ‘at’ formats
delete posts and comments via long press context menu
active links in posts
updates to photo comments and likes pages to match posts comments and likes page.

If you don’t have Facebook for Windows Phone yet you can get it here.

Windows Phone 7.5 Mango is New Minimum Requirement for Marketplace

2012-04-24T23:33:28Z

After the Zune Desktop Client losing the ability of browsing and installing Windows Phone apps, Microsoft is now bumping up the minimum required of firmware to be able to download and install apps on the Windows Phone. This however really only effects the first Generation Windows Phones like the HTC Trophy, HTC Surround, Samsung Focus, LG Quantum, Samsung Omnia 7. However all these are a free update available to Windows Phone 7.5 which is the new minimum requirement.

Users who won’t have the Windows Phone 7.5 (Mango) installed on their devices will get a warning message “You need to update your phone” when attempting to purchase, install, update or review apps from the marketplace on the phone.

Microsoft is making a series of infrastructure upgrades related to Windows Phone. Windows Phone devices must have the Windows Phone 7.5 release (operating system version Windows Phone OS 7.1) installed in order to purchase and download apps, as well as write reviews. The required update to Windows Phone 7.5 to install apps on Windows Phone will help Microsoft ensure a more consistent and higher quality Windows Phone user experience. Users that have not updated to Windows Phone 7.5 will no longer be able to download or update apps on their Windows Phone or from the Web Marketplace. Basic instructions on how to update the software on your phone is available on the Windows Phone Update Central page on WindowsPhone.com.

For more details go to the Windows Phone Blog.

Zune PC Client Will Lose the Windows Phone Apps Marketplace (Update)

2012-04-24T23:38:42Z

Microsoft is going to be making some changes in the Windows Phone eco system to improve the user experience with Windows Phone in its total eco system. Basically the Zune desktop client will lose its Windows Phone Marketplace functionality. However the Zune desktop client will still be needed to update your Windows Phone to new firmware.

The ability to download Windows Phone apps from the Zune software was removed as part of a series of planned infrastructure upgrades to help improve performance, scalability and security across Windows Phone-connected services, including Windows Phone Marketplace. The ability to browse, buy and reinstall Windows Phone apps on a PC is now only available in the Web Marketplace available on WindowsPhone.com.

The only two ways browsing, installing and re-installing an app on Windows Phone will be:

Using the Marketplace app on the Windows Phone using WiFi, Cellular Data and internet pass-through while connected to the desktop using the Zune client.
Using the Online Windows Phone Marketplace while connected over WiFi, Cellular Data and internet pass-through while connected to the desktop using the Zune client.

For all the details you can go to the Windows Phone Blog.

Quick update: The moment I posted this it already lost the Marketplace on your Zune Desktop client. Microsoft moves fast on this.

SkyDrive App for Windows and Mac are now Available with Free Upgrade to 25 GB Storage

2012-04-23T17:47:23Z

I just stumbled upon the download for the Skydrive app for Windows. And I have to say it is pretty awesome. SkyDrive allows you now to upgrade your Manage Storage from 7 GB to 25 GB for free and for some small other fees you can add more if you need to. The desktop apps for Windows and mac allows you now to stay in sync similar to Live Mesh used to be and as Dropbox is now. However you have whopping 25GB free Cloud storage.

How did I find it ? It is actually listed under the apps for SkyDrive on your web interface of your http://skydrive.live.com. On the bottom of your most left column you will have two links:

Manage Storage (click here for the free 25 GB upgrade or add more GB for a small yearly fee)
Get SkyDrive Apps (click here to get the apps for Windows, Windows Phone, iPhone and Mac)

Go ahead and put your Dropbox folder in your SkyDrive.

Wordament on Windows Phone Goes Xbox Live – Screenshots

2012-04-23T14:07:38Z

Wordament a very popular free game developed by Microsoft employees. So popular, that Microsoft is upgrading this puzzle game to be an official Xbox Live game on Windows Phone. The intention is to create as many valid words by connecting the letters connected to each other horizontal, diagonal and vertical. Each letter can only be used once though. Each letter has a point value. The more points the higher your score will be.

Compete with the whole internet to be the best word searcher. Every player competes on the same board, in real-time, with over 100 word options to get the highest score. There’s even a Wordament dictionary tuned to help you find the most common words you missed. Themed games, like Digrams, introduces fun and easy ways to rack up the points.

You can download Wordament right now. It’s is free and will remain free after it will receive the Xbox Live title.

Come play the game that thousands are playing, earn achievements and compete on the Leaderboards against friends and frenemies alike.

Below are some advanced screenshots when Wordament receives it’s Xbox Live upgrade.

Restocked Updated Nokia Lumia 900 Windows Phone Still needs an Update

2012-04-19T22:03:26Z

Last week AT&T and Nokia pulled the Nokia Lumia 900 Windows Phone off the shelves because of a firmware issue that disconnected the data services for many users. Existing users were given an early update on Friday the 13th. For the inconvenience to the AT&T Nokia Lumia 900 buyers, which only cost $49 with an upgrade, they are given a $100 credit towards their account. This week the devices are back in stock, at least at my local AT&T store, and a green dot on the box indicated that these are the Nokia Lumia 900′s that had the upgrade. This way new Windows Phone consumers wouldn’t have any problems or are having to do the update by them selves. However……

My son’s Nokia Lumia 900 had some strange front facing camera issue where sometimes the picture would almost be like a purple radiant effect. I looked all over the web to see and read if others had these issues. I contacted my contacts at Nokia and Microsoft but it seems that it is really not a known problem and probably just a small flaw in this specific device. I even updated the firmware but the issue persisted.

Only other solution was to exchange the device once the updated Nokia Lumia 900′s were back in stock. Today I went back to my local AT&T store to exchange my son’s device for a new one. The sales rep did tell me about the green dot on the box and that it has the latest update. Awesome to know that the reps knew what was going on.

My son has been without a phone today, so I just played around with his and suddenly I got the message: ”An update is available”. I went back online to see what the firmware number was that was pushed out on Friday April 13th and compared it with the firmware number on the Nokia Lumia I just got. Yes, they are different, but the one I got had a lower number compared to the update from last week friday.

Last weeks Friday Update Firmware for Nokia Lumia 900: 2175.1002.8112.12084

Updated Nokia Lumia 900 after the restock: 2175.1002.8112.12082

I went ahead and updated the Nokia Lumia 900 I just got from the store which supposed to have the latest update. After the update I checked the firmware again and now it is the same 2175.1002.8112.12084 firmware as the one pushed out last week.

The question remains. Did AT&T, Microsoft and Nokia really updated the Nokia Lumia 900 or just pasted a green dot on the box. Because as a consumer I still had to do an update.

Nokia Lumia 900 Windows Phone Review

2012-04-04T22:22:41Z

The anticipated Nokia Lumia 900 will be the first Nokia Windows Phone on the AT&T network. The Nokia Lumia 900 will launched in other parts of the world as well but the only major difference is that the AT&T version will have the LTE bands build in as well. Nokia and AT&T provides us with a review sample and we will give you some details about this new Nokia Windows Phone. The Nokia Lumia 900.

The Nokia Lumia 900 really looks like the bigger brother of the Nokia Lumia 800 which in the US is only available through the Microsoft Store on the AT&T frequency in a bundle with the Nokia Purity HD Stereo headset by Monster, the Nokia Play 360 degrees wireless Bluetooth speaker and the Nokia Luna Bluetooth headset for $899 without a contract. Rest assure these added Nokia accessories will be available as well for the Nokia Lumia 900 in AT&T sores and online. You can read a great review on the Nokia Lumia 800 on our sister site WP7.nl (translated version here)

Specifications

Ok, let get back to the Nokia Lumia 900. Lets list for you the main specifications:

Large 4.3″ ClearBlack AMOLED display WVGA 800×480 resolution
1.4 GHz Snapdragon processor
4G LTE, HSDPA+
IE9 with HTML 5
Nokia Polycarbonate unibody design (Black, Cyan Blue and White)
1830 mAh battery
Windows Phone 7.5 – Mango Commercial Release 2
Weight: 5.6 ounces
Dimensions: 5 x 2.7 x 0.45 Inches
512 MB Memory
16 GB internal memory
8 MP canera with Carl Zeiss optics. (f/2.2 aperture with a 28mm wide angle lens and Dual LED Flash
720 P video capabilities @ 30 fps
Front facing camera 1MP with f/2.4 aperture and 30fps video capture (VGA resolution)
A-GPS
Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n
Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR
Headphone jack (3.5 mm)
Accelerometer, Gyroscope.
Full specification on Nokia site.

Out of the box impression.

Right out of the box the polycarbonate unibody feel very comfortable in the hands. The fact that the power button, camera button and the volume button are all on the right side make this Windows Phone very easy to operate with one hand, namely your right hand.

The bottom of the Nokia Lumia 900 has a build in speaker, but since that the device has a 1830 mAh non-replaceable battery all the legal CE and FCC ratings have to be displayed on the device. Nokia decided to place this on the bottom of the device similar to its smaller brother the Lumia 800. However in the cyan version of the Lumia 800 they give this lettering an off set blue color to blend it better, but on our black version of the Lumia 900 the give the lettering a white color. This give it somewhat a strange look. But the sound of the speaker is very clear crisp and has good volume. A microphone is positioned on the bottom as well.

The top of the device has the micro usb port for a connection with your charger or the Zune desktop client. You can also sync your media wireless by checking those settings in your Zune desktop application during the first cabled connection. Each time your Nokia Lumia 900 get’s charged and is connected by Wi-Fi over the same network as your computer it will initiate the wireless sync. Your headphone jack is positioned on the top as well as your micro-sim slot which you can access with a small pin tool provided in the box. A microphone is positioned there as well.

The left side of the device has no buttons at all and just has the matt black finish of the polycarbonate unibody material.

The front of the device has the beautiful 4.3 ” ClearBlack AMOLED WVGA 800×480 resolution. On the bottom of the Corning Gorilla Glass screen you have your Windows Phone home button, the Bing search and the back soft touch buttons. On the right top of the screen you have your AT&T logo. On the left top you have your Nokia logo with the 1MP Camera right above it. On the middle top of the glass display you have your speaker for when you are making phone calls. Behind the Corning Gorilla Glass you have the ambient light sensor and your proximity sensor. The outside trim of the screen is slightly elevated where it will protect the screen if you turn the Lumia 9oo upside down on a flat surface.

The back of the device has the 8 MP Camera with the Carl Zeiss optics lens and the dual LED flash. The chrome plated strip on the back branding the Carl Zeiss lens however scratches very easily. I wish there was some thought on that similar to the front side of the device.

The camera takes excellent outdoors picture but indoors, just like any mobile camera, you have to use the right lighting, positioning and dual LED flash.

A sample picture of a dark sky with sun beams coming from the back

Dark room with one small table light, LED flash has been used

With the built in social media networks like Facebook, Live and Twitter you can share these images instantly with your friends. Not a social media person, don’t worry share with email or MMS.

Battery

That is always a big question for many of us. Current smartphones are able to act besides like a phone as your: Pocket Camera, Gaming device, Office Mobile computing, Social Media, etc. Since that the battery is non-replaceable the design allowed for a larger battery capacity. The 1830 mAh is sufficient enough to get you through the day using all these functionalities on the LTE network. I feel like that it uses somewhat more battery power compared to the earlier Windows Phone devices on the market.

Video

The video below will give you a good impression of the Nokia Lumia 900. It will show you the device in detail and the included item from the retail box.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2q_aCIHjWq4

Watch this directly on our Youtube Channel

Conclusion

If you are in the market for something new and exited. The Nokia Lumia 900 Windows Phone on the AT&T network is a great beautiful quality build device that will give you a smoking experience using the fast, clean innovative Windows Phone platform from Microsoft. And that for just $99.

Where to Purchase

Pre-order the black or cyan Nokia Lumia 900 Windows Phone now on the AT&T website with a 2 year contact for $99. Or pick one up in the AT&T stores on April 8th. The White version will available starting April 22nd.

Walmart runs a special as well for just $49.99 with a 2 year contract.

Amazon has the Nokia Lumia 900 Available for just $0.01 if you are a new AT&T subscriber. (update no longer available).

Check out another great Nokia Lumia 900 review on ChipChick.

Gallery

LastPass is the Tool for Password Management and More

2012-03-31T01:25:31Z

If you’ve ever lost your password to any given website, it can be extremely frustrating. I know I’ve had this happen to me many times. If you’re anyone like me, and think one password would suffice for everything, then this post is for you.

Many websites have certain criteria as far as passwords go, and you may be forced to use a different password then you are used to, or your usual username might have already been taken, and you may have to resort to a totally unfamiliar and hard to remember username. It’s a pain in the neck to remember all of these.

Wouldn’t it be nice to just have to remember one password. Well, now you can, and this one will truly be the last password you will ever have to remember.

A friend of mine recently introduced LastPass to me, and it is truly one of the best websites and browser add-ons you will ever use.

LastPass is basically an online vault for all of your log-in information for any given website. There are two ways you can store passwords:

Go to the LastPass website, and make a free account.

You will then be able to add, and remove websites manually from your vault on the website itself, and from any given computer, you will be able to click on any link there, and it will log you in with the log-in information you provided for that specific website entry

If you carry around a mobile computer with you, or like to use your mobile phone to access your password protected sites, then this might be the best method for you. LastPass is available for basically all platforms including the mobile OS’s. Check it out over here

You can install the browser plugin for LastPass, which is virtually compatible with any standard browser such as Chrome, Internet Explorer 9, Safari, and many more
Then, upon opening up your internet browser, you can click on the plugin widget, and then you will be prompted to sign in with your LastPass account
Once you log in, any website you type into your address bar that is in your LastPass vault, LastPass will auto-fill all of your log-in information for you!

You do, of course, have the option to only auto-fill username, password, auto-login, etc.

If you have a smartphone, then there is a mobile app which you can download

On most, if not all mobile platforms, you will have a 14 day trial of the app, and then, if you will want to continue using it on your smartphone, you will have to pay about $12.00 a year, which is about a dollar a month for this premium service

From experience, I prefer the browser plugin. I have found it really useful though, to just go to the online vault, and look-up my log-in information at school, or somewhere else where I might not have my personal computer. You can view all of your log-in information with mobile apps for Android, Windows Phone, and Apple’s iOS, and you can use this as you would use the plugin on any given internet browser. For the mobile platforms I have seen over 3 updates for LastPass just this month, and the improvements are really paying off.

You may be asking yourself, what happens if I forget this password? If you forget your LastPass password, it is very easy to create a new one. On the main website, you can click, Forgot Your Password?, and they will send an email to you with a link to create a new password. It is literally that easy!! No more worries about lost, or forgotten passwords anymore. They are all stored in one of the most secure databases. Every profile is encrypted multiple times in unique ways, so all of the information you entrust with LastPass is extremely secure.

Use LastPass as your favorites or bookmarks, and access them from any other computer or mobile device! It makes syncing your bookmarks across multiple platforms really simple, and reliable. Never leave anywhere without your favorite bookmarks anymore.

If you have any questions, or would like to offer your own experiences with LastPass, please write in the comment section below.

What Happened to Our Site over the Last Three Months

2012-03-29T13:39:01Z

Well, that is a long story. And I want to spare you the nitty gritty details. But in short we had some major attacks on our site over the last three months. Somehow these hackers like our site. These hacks resulted us to do the following things without compromising our current data and keeping up with our sister site WP7.nl.

We have cleaned house (removed malicious files)
We are back in search results (Thanks Google, Bing never left us)
We moved our hosting from a shared server to a self managed cloud server. (Wow ! that is a learning curve.)
We are rebuilding our site from scratch. (Fresh Install of WordPress)

As you can see we still have some layout issues and we are missing some great plug-ins for you to share, like and comment on our articles. But these will be up soon . As well as our contact, about and team pages.

Luckily I have a great team here and we are working hard to get up the standard you have been used from us. Some great new device launches are planned in next couple of weeks on our favorite platform Windows Phone. The Nokia Lumia 900 and HTC Titan II on the AT&T network are just around the corner and we will be publishing articles of our experiences with these devices.

A special thanks I have to shout out to our team:

Mark Briggeman (twitter)
Paul Willen (twitter)
Remo Knops (twitter)
Me, Johan van Mierlo (twitter)

I want to thank Jaap van Ekris as well from ModernNomads with his help in our security settings to bounce those we love our site for the wrong reasons.

Windows Mobile 6.x Marketplace will be Discontinued May 9 2012

2012-03-29T18:29:52Z

We kind of knew that this was coming, but with many enterprise Windows Phone running the Windows Mobile 6.x operating system out there I think it is a little too soon. A better timing of closing the Marketplace for Windows Mobile 6.x platform would be if the now popular Windows Phone 7 and 8 in the future would be very enterprise compatible.

But here is the email I just got:

Windows Marketplace for Mobile 6.x Discontinuation Notice

March 8, 2012

Dear Windows Mobile 6.x customer:

Microsoft is discontinuing the Windows Marketplace for Mobile service for Windows Mobile 6.x. Please review the details below to familiarize yourself with the changes:

Windows Mobile 6.x Marketplace Service To Be Discontinued

Beginning May 9, 2012, the Windows Mobile 6.x Marketplace service will no longer be available. Starting on this date, you will no longer be able to browse, buy or download applications directly on your Windows Mobile 6.x phone using the Windows Mobile 6.x Marketplace application and service.

Applications and games acquired from the Windows Mobile 6.x Marketplace service installed on your Windows Mobile 6.x phone will continue to work after the service is discontinued on May 9, 2012. However, additional downloads of these applications and games from the Windows Mobile 6.x Marketplace service will no longer be available.

Take Action

Microsoft recommends you review the applications or games installed on your Windows Mobile 6.x phone and install any available updates in advance of the Windows Mobile 6.x Marketplace service shut-down on May 9, 2012.

Please note: All phone data, including applications acquired through the Windows Mobile 6.x Marketplace service, data and user-specific settings, will be deleted from your Windows Mobile 6.x phone in the event that your phone is wiped or “hard reset.” Any data on a removable storage card, if present, will also be deleted if your phone is wiped or “hard reset”.

Windows Mobile applications and games that are compatible with Windows Mobile 6.x may still be available directly from their developers or via third-party marketplaces.

Thank you for your continued support of Windows Phone.

-The Windows Phone Team

Ready for a new phone? Explore the latest Windows Phones – now with over 60,000 applications and games available!

If you haven’t moved over yet to Windows Phone 7 this would be a good moment. Check it out here.