Final Fantasy Hits Windows Phone Devices

Square Enix’s Final Fantasy makes it way to Windows Phone devices.

Coming Soon: Angry Birds Space for Windows Phone 7

Rovio Chief Executive Mikael Hed mentioned in an interview with Reuters, that they are working on Angry Birds Space for Windows Phone 7. This announcement just comes after a recent indication that they may not work on a version for WP7.

Leaked Photos Revealed HTC’s Rumored Omega Handset

Together with earlier rumors, leaked photos shows HTC’s unconfirmed Omega handset. The press renderings, which were posted by Pocketnow, suggests that the Windows Phone 7 device will be built with a white and silver color scheme — providing a similar appearance to the company’s Android based Flyer tablet.

The said device is said to pack 1.5GHz Snapdragon processor, paired with a 3.8 inch SLCD display. Other features of the device are rumored to include 512MB of RAM, an eight megapixel primary camera, and a front facing camera that will be used for video calling.

HTC has yet to confirm details regarding the rumored device. However, it is viewed as a likely handset to arrive at a September 1 press event. Rumors also suggest “Radar” may be the handset’s official name rather than “Omega”.

3G Hotspot, Windows Phone 7 Mango’s Hidden Feature

Microsoft might have more hidden plans for their Windows Phone 7 Mango with a discovery of a mobile hotspot feature on Wedneday. While still not announced for public, and might have no one officially, an Internet sharing section enable users to share a 3G or 4G link over Wi-Fi for up to five people — much like Android, iPhones and BlackBerry 7 devices. The code is in at least the gold master build (7720.68), and could exist on all Windows phones.

Rafael Rivera, a well-known ChevronWP7 contributor, confirmed the said code and speculated that – like Apple – the feature depended on a carrier profile that enables it. Almost all carriers who object to letting customers tether or use a hotspot out of the box often want to test the feature first before they enable it and begin to charge subscribers.

A lot of Mango features are announced to the public, such as multitasking, the IE9-based browser and deeper voice control. Whether or not all of those are revealed to the public isn’t evident yet. Even the currently shipping IS12T, which is the world’s first Mango phone, doesn’t have all its features readily available.

Microsoft, Accepting Apps for Windows Phone 7

Microsoft is now setting its plan to accept apps from developers of their upcoming Windows Phone 7 Mango release. The firm has let developers know through an update on its developer blog that the system for submitting their apps is now ready and running. Appropriately, a release candidate SDK download is now available so that programmers or developers can now compile their apps to adapt to the final version of Mango and test it.

Microsoft officially released Mango to manufacturers in late July, but it takes manufacturers’ time to integrate the software into phones. The first gadget, Toshiba-Fujitsu IS12T, will arrive on Thursday.

This much anticipated OS release should help bring Microsoft closer to par with their rivals with multitasking, HTML 5 support, Twitter integration, and other features that iOS and Android based devices already have. However, to be really successful, Windows Phone devices should be able to match or surpass the extensive library of apps already available for these OS environments. Ror this, Microsoft must rely on apps from third party developers.

Windows Phone 7 Mango Firmware Leaks on Weekends

A downloadable stock version of the RTM (release to manufacturing) build of Windows Phone 7 Mango has been successfully posted by Hobbyists this weekend. XDA-Developers forum member said that the leaked 7720 build is the reference version and isn’t optimized specifically for any device. As such, some special features may be missing. The OS will work on a core level on most, if not all, Windows Phone 7 hardware. Microsoft’s chassis guidelines had led every phone to run the same Snapdragon processor families, or having much of the same part mix inside so far.

Upgrading through the leaked stock version is considered to be a risky move for almost all owners, since it don’t have the Microsoft’s approval and this might break the warranty. As such, owners who want to patch to a newer version of Mango likely won’t have an option except for getting a separate version of the generic updated build. Otherwise, they will need to revert back to the original firmware and do the usual upgrade method.

First WP 7 Mango Handsets, to Compete Against iPhone 5

Sources told DigiTimes that handset sellers are planning to release their Windows Phone 7 Mango devices in September. This launch is presumably set to challenge Apple’s iPhone 5, which is rumored for a second week of September release. ACER, ZTE, and Fujitsu-Toshiba also announced their WP7 Mango handsets that are expected to arrive this fall. Moreover, HTC is also reported to roll out “a number of Mango phones, powered by Qualcomm 1.5GHz single-core CPUs with display sizes ranging from 3.8- to 4.7-inch.”
Meanwhile, Nokia is said to unveil their first set of Windows Phone 7 Mango devices at the Nokia World 2011 in October. Sources implied that the Finnish mobile phone maker plans to release their devices “at a time when fellow vendors have already heated up the market for Mango phones.”

Toshiba-Fujitsu, to Have the First Mango Phone

A special event in Tokyo, that was held by Toshiba-Fujitsu, gave it the distinction of being the first company that will have the Windows Phone 7 Mango device. The IS12T, the first Mango phone, is a close cousin of the Regza phone. However, it has the unique touch of being waterproof and dust resistant to IPX5 and IPX8 levels. It also have one of the greatest camera, which sports a 13.2 megapixel sensor.

The design of the said device goes above official Mango chassis specs. It utilizes the soon-to-be ubiquitous second generation.

Microsoft, Taking Windows Phone 7 Mango Apps in Just a Month

Microsoft announced on Wednesday that it will start accepting developer app submissions for Windows Phone 7 Mango in about a month’s time. This enables developers to submit their Mango apps to the App Hub, in order to reach Windows Phone Marketplace in time for the launch. Those developers are required to use the Windows Phone Release Candidate tools that are expected to be released before the end of August.

Before that said release, developers are encouraged to use the free Windows Phone SDK 7.1 Beta 2. Developers can also report and discuss any issues regarding the beta tools or emulator, and production phones on a dedicated forum.

The end of submission, which is the end of August, lines up with the report that Microsoft will be releasing Mango this upcoming September. Microsoft also noted WP7 developers have created 23,000 apps in eight months.

Nokia, to Mingle with Android OS

Leaked images of a Nokia handset running an Android OS sparked flurry of rumors. Does this mean that the Finnish company will tie up with the search engine giant?

With the first Nokia Windows Phone 7 and Microsoft’s Mango software update set to roll out in UK sometime in October, there were also reports that Nokia CEO – Stephen Elop – admitted that the company plans to join force with Google. That is, to save the Finnish company’s dwindling smartphone sales.

However, no specs or further hardware details were announced. Will a Nokia Android device becomes a reality? Share your insights by leaving a comment below.