You wouldn’t think one Microsoft press release that is supposed to be about developers participating in their new app store would be so full of other news…
Microsoft Gains Support for Next Generation of Windows® Phones
But, it is… The same press release also mentioned that the beta version of the Windows Live Hotmail web site (note the return of the Hotmail branding!) is up and running at…
You can see a screenshot of my boring Hotmail inbox above.
It was interesting to read about the return of the theme generator for Windows Mobile buried near the end of the press release about developers involved with the launch of the new Windows Marketplace for Mobile…
Microsoft Gains Support for Next Generation of Windows® Phones
In addition, the new Theme Generator will provide people with yet another way to personalize their Windows® phone. The Theme Generator, available at http://www.windowsmobile.com later this year, will enable Windows® phone users to select pictures from their PC to set as background images, as well as choose colors to personalize their navigation bar, scroll bar and highlighted text. Once finished, their personal theme will be sent to their phone.
Themes were one of the hot items when it first appeared for the Pocket PC years ago. In fact, I found it so much fun, I wrote a little Windows Mobile app to help people calculate how to properly crop or shrink a photo to fit in the Today screen and Start Menu drop-down.
It’s good to see a lot of familiar high quality Windows Mobile app developers signed up for the upcoming Windows Marketplace for Mobile (say that 5 times fast!). The press release…
Microsoft Gains Support for Next Generation of Windows® Phones
…is kind of hard on the eyes (at least mine). So, here’s an easier to read version of the list of initial developers signed up:
AccuWeather.com
The Associated Press
CNBC
Developer One Mobile Software
EA Mobile
Facebook
Gameloft
Glu Mobile
Handmark
Ilium Software Inc.
Jeyo Inc.
Kinoma
LiteScape
Magmic Games
Melodis Corp.
MySpace
Namco Networks
Netflix
Pandora
PhatWare Corp.
Resco s.r.o.
ShoZu Inc.
Sling Media Inc.
SBSH Mobile Software
Spb Software
Web Information Solutions Inc. (aka WebIS)
Zagat Survey
The recently updated free USA TODAY 1.1 for iPhone app has a neat new feature. You can post a news link directly from the app to your Facebook or Twitter account.
You can see the result of posting an item to Twitter in the screenshot above. I have my Facebook account set to automatically read and post my tweets. So, everything I post to Twitter eventually gets posted to my Facebook account too. Now, if USA Today and other news apps would app the ability to save to Delicious, I would be very very happy.
Skype finally released their iPhone app…
The free app allows free Skype-to-Skype calls like other clients. Note that you can only make voice calls when using it over a WiFi network connection. However, you can use it to IM when on an EDGE or 3G wireless data connection.
I was a little surprised by the sound quality. It seemed to lose almost all the mid and high frequency leaving a very bass heavy sound. I also noted drops in the beginning of the call (right after answering the call).
OK, I actually don’t know if the Windows Mobile Marketplace (or Windows Phone Marketplace or whatever it will be called) will actually be announced at CTIA this week. However, this blog post by Microsoft’s Loke Uei Tan…
Oh and about the Marketplace thing…
…which simply says…
Good news coming soon. 🙂
follow @wmdev for updates.
…seems to indicate this is the case.