It's the end of an era as Microsoft closes down the 'Windows Marketplace for Mobile 6.x' today, leaving Windows Mobile 6.x owners unable to download or update their purchases.

The Samsung Focus 2 Windows Phone is now available to buy from AT&T. It has LTE, it's white and is only $49.99... what's not to like?

How do you fancy winning a ZTE Tania for you and a matching one for your 'mom'? Yes? I thought so. Well, now you have a chance of doing so courtesy of ZTE and their Pinterest based competition.

The official SmugMug application is now available for Windows Phone 7.5 devices. The app allows you to browse and view the most popular photos from the SmugMug community.

An interesting story of unfair play has arisen from SkatterTech. In the US, Microsoft is holding a “Smoked by Windows Phone” challenge: where a Microsoft store employee races your phone against a Windows Phone. If you beat the Windows Phone in accessing a function with your phone, you stand to win a $1000 laptop, and if you lose they give you a choice to trade in your phone for a WP7 device.

However, what happened to Sahas Katta, a writer for SkatterTech wasn’t quite as clear-cut as that. In a test to see who could bring up information about the weather in two cities would win. Katta with his Galaxy Nexus couldn’t believe his luck, as he had previously disabled the lockscreen and had a couple of weather widgets set up on the homescreen. Once the test started Katta unlocked his phone and proclaimed himself the victor.

Sadly the Windows store team took issue with his phone though, and when a manager was asked they made up a term about the Nexus not show the weather for two cities in different states.

It seems like Microsoft may have been a bit too confident about the speed of Windows Phone, but it is a bit of a slimy move to disallow a winner from claiming is prize. It will be interesting to see how this unfolds. Microsoft has offered a rematch and an apology, but I doubt they’d enter him into a contest where the Nexus could win quite as easily. The MoDaCo team think Microsoft should relent and give him his prize.

EDIT: Microsoft have issued an apology and given Katta both the laptop and a free phone. It's amazing what a bit of bad PR can do!

Read the whole story at SkatterTech

It's easy to assume that the key to stellar battery life lies in big fat batteries, but in the same way it's easy to forget that efficiency in software is also extremely important to longevity... something Nokia Lumia 800 users are now learning!

It's no secret that battery life on the Lumia 800 has been less than stellar since launch, however users are now reporting that the latest update deployed via the Zune software - version 12070 - marks a dramatic improvement, even TRIPLING battery life for some users as power drain when the device is in an idle state has more than halved. The update also brings tweaked white balance for the camera and improved bass response.

The software update is currently rolling out to users in Singapore but is expected to be available worldwide shortly.

Via: WPCentral

Vodafone UK have surprised us by offering the Lumia 710 for only £150 on Pay As You Go!!

We previously advised you that the Three UK were offering the Lumia 710 for £199... now Vodafone have beaten that price and are also offering a free 6-month Zune music pass if you purchase before the 31st March 2012.

A Zune music pass is worth £8.99 a month, and can also be used on your Xbox 360 and PC, if you deducted this £53.94 cost from the £150 outlay for the handset, then the Lumia 710 has only cost you £96.06!

That's an amazing price.

You can also get a further possible £5 cashback from QuidCo or £5.05 cashback from TopCashBack

Source: Vodafone

Nokia has presented to Mobile World Congress 2012 two new Lumia Devices, the Lumia 610 & the Lumia 900.

The Lumia 610 is a Windows Phone Tango (low cost) device. If you compare it to the Lumia 710 you will see a lot of similarities, they both have:

• 8GB Storage
  
• 480 x 800 pixels, 3.7 inches (~252 ppi pixel density)
  
• TFT capacitive touchscreen, 16M colors
  
• Corning Gorilla Glass
  
• 5 MP, 2592х1944 pixels, autofocus, LED flash
  
• Standard battery, Li-Ion 1300 mAh (BP-3L) user replaceable
  
• Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n
  
• Bluetooth v2.1 with A2DP, EDR

The above is a good set of quality components, I'm especially happy the 8GB Storage has been retained by Nokia, unlike a competitor who thinks 4GB Storage is enough for a "Windows Phone Experience". So, what has been cut from a product that should sell for €189 Euros (£160) SIM free before taxes and shipping?

Originally touted for around the time Mango release, Skype for Windows Phone finally sees a launch today, albeit in beta form.

The app supports video, audio and IM on a limited range of hardware, specifically:

• Lumia 800
  
• Lumia 710
  
• Samsung Focus S
  
• Samsung Focus Flash
  
• HTC Titan
  
• HTC Radar

As the screenshots show, Skype have stuck with the standard metro layouts and done little besides, makes you wonder what's been holding them up in getting a release out the door  

Source: Skype Blog, Marketplace

Two morsels of cheap Windows Phone goodness for you today.

First is news of a ZTE Tania price drop. As seen on Clove, the Tania will be launching at £199.99 unlocked on 16th February. £200 is a very decent price for a 4.3in smartphone, considering it also packs a 1GHz CPU and a sizeable chunk of that fee also goes towards licencing Windows Phone from Microsoft.

The Tania’s direct competition is from the Nokia Lumia 710 here in the UK, which is £250 unlocked, but £200 PAYG. However, what if you want to go even lower in price?

A report from TechRadar suggests that we will be seeing a lower specced Lumia appearing at MWC. The device, the Lumia 610, will apparently feature Windows Phone Tango, an interim version that will increase hardware support, presumably to allow for lower end devices. Hence we may see the 610 with a smaller, low res screen, or maybe a slower, cheaper CPU. Either way, it seems we may know by the end of the month.

Tania: Clove
Lumia 610: TechRadar

The Nokia Lumia 710 is now available from Three UK for £199 on Pay As You Go.

Nokia's affordable Windows Phone 7 device is also available on a Pay Monthly basis starting from £22 per month over 24 months.

The LCD screen touting WP7 device runs version 7.5 of the OS (Mango) and offers free turn by turn sat-nav with spoken directions through Nokia Drive.

Will this be the beginning of Nokia's big turnaround thanks to Windows Phone 7?

Source: Three UK

After a leaked video from Microsoft that was intended for Nokia, we now have an idea of some of the new features of Windows Phone 8. The video, viewed by PocketNow, shows Microsoft's Windows Phone Chief explaining what can be expected from the next release, codenamed 'Apollo'.

Windows Phone 8 will now be using the same kernel as the full version of Windows 8, as well as the same security, video and graphics models. WP8 will also see expanded support for different screen resolutions - 4 in total. NFC, Skydrive, and BitLocker technologies will be a part of the standard build as will app-app communication capabilities.

The DataSmart feature is designed to reduce data usage by automating switching between mobile data and wifi hotspots, as well as providing a tiled view of your current data usage. Additionally the WP8 browser will work in a similar way to Amazon's Silk browser, or Opera Mini. Your browsing sessions will be routed through proxies which will be able to compress the pages on the server side, reducing your data usage.

It's still early days but we expect WP8 to be launching at the same time as Windows 8 itself which is scheduled for the end of 2012.

Source: Pocketnow, Paul Thurrott

There's not been a whole lot to report on with regards to new Windows Phone devices of late, with the possible exception of Carphone Warehouse Nokia Lumia 900 publishing their pre-registration page then prompty denying it's existence... but thankfully one Windows Phone device we DO know is imminent is the new Nokia Lumia 710.

The pricing for the new device has just been leaked for Orange France, which has been set at 229 Euros for the handset (these equates to around £199, cheaper than has been seen previously).

The Nokia Lumia 710 is Nokia's budget Windows Phone, with only a 5MP camera, but... It has the same 1.4GHz CPU and Adreno 205 GPU as the Nokia Lumia 800.

This could make it ideal for new Windows Phone MarketPlace Application Developers... our review will follow soon!

Source: SmartphoneFrance.info

On the 18th of January 2012 in a not-so-secret location in West London, ZTE announced the Tania - it's first Windows Phone 7 device - with a lavish and loud event headlined by Professor Green, who has recently completely a UK tour sponsored by ZTE.

The device itself is powered by a 1GHz Snapdragon S2 CPU (MSM8255) with 512MB RAM and a 5MP camera. Screen resolution is the standard 480x800 but sadly it's a TFT and not an OLED screen, to keep costs down. Storage though is a small 4GB with 2GB usable. With no expandable storage on the device this could be a downside to many potential buyers, however it is clear that ZTE fully intend for this to be a budget first time device and could very way pave the way for more powerful higher end ZTE WP7 devices in the future.

Expansys have started their Winter Sale, however I saw nothing really of interest until I spotted the Jil Sander Mobile LG-E906.

Released in October 2011, it is one of the newer Windows Phone Mango devices, sporting an 800x480 WVGA resolution 3.8 inch TFT screen and a 5 Megapixel auto focus camera with LED Flash that is capable of 720p video at 24 frames per second.

So, who is Jil Sander?

Jil Sander is a minimalist German fashion designer and the founder of the Jil Sander fashion house. Sander's trademark look is that of a precisely cut trouser suit, a slim blouse and a form-fitting coat made of luxurious fabrics in plain grey, beige, blue, black or white.

The E906 contains an exclusive Jil Sander application where you can browse the latest catalogues, shop, find your closest store or enjoy ‘vivid interaction with the brand’ as the press release puts it. There is also an exclusive electric blue ‘Jil Sander’ user interface theme to match the electric blue frame of the phone, plus a shockingly bright electric-blue leather Jil Sander case and some matching blue and black headphones.

The phone itself is an update of the LG Optimus 7 E900 from last year and it shares the same CPU, GPU and RAM - the main hardware differences are that the handset now has a textured shell compared to the smooth shell of the E900, and new buttons.

The E906 was £299, but within 8 weeks of being available at Expansys, it is now priced at less than the E900 from last year!

To buy, head on over to the product page at Expansys. Quidco offer 5% possible cashback for SIM free purchases from Expansys, and TopCashBack offer 6.18% possible cashback

A YouTube video of the device is available after the jump for new page readers.