LG also pushes out firmware 7.10.7740.16 to fix email issue with Exchange 2003 and voicemail notification problem. It has been sometime LG has an update available for the Optimus 7. The new firmware will include the Internet Sharing tethering feature on previous firmware (which was not pushed out) as the firmware will include all the previous incremental updates.

Update : Internet Sharing feature is still unavailable on the Optimus 7.

HTC pushes out firmware 7.10.7740.16 to fix email issue with Exchange 2003 and voicemail notification problem. If you own a HTC trophy 7, you should have received the notification to update to the latest edition of firmware.

Discuss

The long awaited Internet sharing function is now available on the HTC Trophy 7. An update is available when the phone is connected to Zune.

You can setup the Broadcast Name, Security type (open, WPA2) and a password of 8 minimum characters.

The OS version is 7.10.7720.68 and firmware revision number is 2250.12.51001.707

Our results using speed test shows that it our M1 HSPA network when share is capable to reach this speed of 3.26Mbps downlink and 640Kb/s uplink.

Update yours and comment below on your experience

Although Microsoft has acquired Skype, this popular voip application is not the first to be ported over to it’s own Windows Phone 7 platform. Instead, Tango, a new kid on the block is now available on WP7.

You can now make free video calls to your friends on WP7, iPhone, iPad, Android. You can download it at the link below or at the marketplace on your mobile handset.

http://www.tango.me/get-tango/

London, UK – At Nokia World, the company’s annual event for customers, partners and developers, Nokia demonstrated clear progress on its strategy by unveiling a bold portfolio of innovative phones, services and accessories, including the first smartphones in its Windows Phone-based Nokia Lumia range. The stunningly social Nokia Lumia 800 brings content to life with head-turning design, Nokia’s best social and Internet experience, familiar Nokia elements, such as leading imaging capabilities and new signature experiences. The colorful and affordable Nokia Lumia 710 is a no-nonsense smartphone that brings the Lumia experience to more people around the world.

Nokia also launched four new mobile phones which feature stylish design, a rich social experience and location-aware technology. The Nokia Asha 300, Nokia Asha 303, Nokia Asha 200 and Nokia Asha 201 blur the line between smartphones and feature phones, offering QWERTY and touch screen experiences, combined with fast and easy access to the Internet, integrated social networking, messaging and world-class applications from the Nokia Store.

“Eight months ago, we shared our new strategy and today we are demonstrating clear progress of this strategy in action. We’re driving innovation throughout our entire portfolio, from new smartphone experiences to ever smarter mobile phones,” said Stephen Elop, Nokia President and CEO. “From the Nokia Lumia 800 to the Nokia Asha 201, we are bringing compelling new products to the market faster than ever before. I’m incredibly proud of these new devices – and the people of Nokia who have made this happen.”

“Since Nokia’s major strategic shift only eight months ago, the company has found a new energy. It has provided substantial improvements to Symbian, managed to differentiate on Windows Phone and it continues to build on its strong portfolio in mobile phones,” says Pete Cunningham, Principal Analyst, Canalys. “Nokia is delivering on its pledges, and is clearly demonstrating its path to future success.”

The first Nokia Lumia smartphones
First two smartphones based on Windows Phone introduce a range of new experiences designed to make everyday moments more amazing.

Nokia Lumia 800 The stunningly social Nokia Lumia 800 features head-turning design, vivid colors (cyan, magenta and black) and the best social and Internet performance, with one-touch social network access, easy grouping of contacts, integrated communication threads and Internet Explorer 9. It features a 3.7 inch AMOLED ClearBlack curved display blending seamlessly into the reduced body design, and a 1.4 GHz processor with hardware acceleration and a graphics processor. The Nokia Lumia 800 contains an instant-share camera experience based on leading Carl Zeiss optics, HD video playback, 16GB of internal user memory and 25GB of free SkyDrive storage for storing images and music. The estimated retail price for the Nokia Lumia 800 will be approximately 420 EUR, excluding taxes and subsidies.		Image: Nokia Lumia 800
Image: Nokia Lumia 710	Nokia Lumia 710 The purposely built, no-nonsense Nokia Lumia 710 can be personalized with exchangeable back covers and thousands of apps to bring the Lumia experience to more people around the world. The Nokia Lumia 710 is designed for instant social & image sharing, and the best browsing experience with IE9. It is available in black and white with black, white, cyan, fuchsia and yellow back covers. With the same 1.4 GHz processor, hardware acceleration and graphics processor as the Nokia Lumia 800, the Nokia Lumia 710 delivers high performance at an affordable price. The estimated retail price for the Nokia Lumia 710 will be approximately 270 EUR, excluding taxes and subsidies.

Both smartphones include signature Nokia experiences optimized for Windows Phone, including Nokia Drive, which delivers a full-fledged personal navigation device (PND) with free, turn-by-turn navigation and dedicated in-car-user-interface; and Nokia Music introducing MixRadio, a free, global, mobile music-streaming application that delivers hundreds of channels of locally-relevant music. In an update delivered later this year, Nokia Lumia users will also gain the ability to create personalized channels from a global catalogue of millions of tracks. Also integrated in Nokia Music is Gigfinder, providing the ability to search for live local music for a complete end-to-end music experience, as well as the ability to share discoveries on social networks and buy concert tickets also coming in the Nokia Music software update delivered later this year.

Completing the ultimate mobile audio offering, Nokia also introduced the on-ear Nokia Purity HD Stereo Headset by Monster and the in-ear Nokia Purity Stereo Headset by Monster, co-designed and co-developed by Monster, a recognized leader in high performance audio. Both products provide a fresh listening experience and are the first output of the exclusive long-term partnership between Nokia and Monster, intended to introduce a range of premium audio accessories to reflect the outstanding quality and bold style of the Lumia range.

The new Nokia Lumia 800 is now available in select countries for pre-order on www.nokia.com and is scheduled to roll-out across France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain and the UK in November, with 31 leading operators and retailers providing unprecedented marketing support in those first six countries. It is scheduled to be available in Hong Kong, India, Russia, Singapore and Taiwan before the end of the year, and in further markets in early 2012.

The Nokia Lumia 710 is scheduled to be available first in Hong Kong, India, Russia, Singapore and Taiwan toward the end of the year alongside the Nokia Lumia 800, before becoming available in further markets in early 2012.

Nokia also announced its plans to introduce a portfolio of products into the US in early 2012 and into mainland China in the first half of 2012. In addition to the existing products, which include coverage for WCDMA and HSPA, Nokia also plans LTE and CDMA products to address specific local market requirements.

Asha: A new family of smarter mobile phones
Nokia continues its mission to deliver high quality, stylish devices that provide the best access to social networks, the Internet and information, and offer the best overall experience and value proposition for the next billion mobile phone users. These consumers want access to innovations such as easy-to-use dual-SIM, local services and content, and third-party apps, all with a superior user experience for which Nokia mobile phones are known.

These devices comprise the new Asha family of Nokia mobile phones. Derived from Hindi – meaning ‘hope’ – Asha signifies Nokia’s focus on positive user experiences and connecting millions of people to new opportunities that help them reach their aspirations.

The Asha mobile phone family includes:

Nokia Asha 303 The Nokia Asha 303 is a stunning phone designed with sophisticated materials and metallic finishes. It combines a large 2.6″ capacitive touch screen with a high quality QWERTY keypad. The Nokia Asha 303 is built with Internet and social networks ease in mind.

Image: Nokia Asha 303

The device harnesses a powerful 1Ghz engine, 3G and WLAN to deliver a fast Internet experience. Social networks, email and IM are at the center of the experience, easily accessible from the homescreen. The Nokia Asha 303 is powered by the cloud-based Nokia Browser, which by compressing the web by up to 90%, provides higher speeds and a more affordable access to the Internet.

Entertainment and applications are also a core part of the Nokia Asha 303 offering. Angry Birds Lite, the popular mobile game, comes preinstalled, together with support for other globally relevant applications such as Facebook Chat, Whatsapp messaging and the latest release of Nokia Maps for Series 40 (in selected markets). The price will vary from market to market and operator to operator. The estimated retail price for the Nokia Asha 303 will be approximately 115 EUR, excluding taxes and subsidies. It is expected to start shipping in the fourth quarter of 2011.

Image: Nokia Asha 300

Nokia Asha 300 The beautifully designed Nokia Asha 300 is a touch device which also offers the convenience of a keypad. The Nokia Asha 300 has a powerful 1GHz processor and 3G to deliver a faster Internet and social networking experience. The Nokia Browser allows for fast, affordable and localized Internet access by compressing web pages by up to 90%.

Users have fast access to messaging, email and instant messaging from the home screen and can swipe to access apps, music or games from the Nokia Store. The Nokia Asha 300 also arrives preloaded with the popular Angry Birds game.

The Nokia Asha 300 comes with a 5 megapixel camera, a music player, FM radio, Bluetooth connectivity and can handle memory cards up to 32GB. The price will vary by market and operator. The estimated retail price for the Nokia Asha 300 will be approximately 85 EUR, excluding taxes and subsidies. It is expected to start shipping in the fourth quarter of 2011.

Nokia Asha 200 The Nokia Asha 200 is Nokia’s latest dual SIM phone with Easy Swap functionality, allowing consumers to easily change their second SIM without switching the device off.It is a fun and colorful QWERTY phone designed to meet the needs of young, urban consumers who want to constantly stay in touch. The Nokia Asha 200 features integrated social networking, email and IM, adding RenRen, Orkut and Flickr support. Nokia Asha 200 makes it possible to carry thousands of songs with support for 32 GB memory cards and providing a battery for an amazing 52-hour playback time. The price will vary by market and operator. The estimated retail price for the Nokia Asha 200 will be approximately 60 EUR, excluding taxes and subsidies. It is expected to start shipping in the fourth quarter of 2011.

Image: Nokia Asha 200

Nokia Asha 201
The single SIM version of the Nokia Asha 200, the Nokia Asha 201 is ideal for young consumers who wish to stay socially connected, are price conscious and like listening to music. The Nokia Asha 201 has great music features including a high performing loudspeaker, enhanced stereo FM radio and ringtone tuning. With the Nokia Browser you get even faster, even better and more affordable access to the Internet. It supports up to 32 GB memory cards and provides a battery for 52 hours of music playback time. The Nokia Asha 201 also supports push email as well as the popular Whatsapp messaging app. The price will vary by market and operator. The estimated retail price for the Nokia Asha 201 will be approximately 60 EUR, excluding taxes and subsidies. It is expected to start shipping in the first quarter of 2012.

Nokia Maps: location services designed to make every day better
With an aim to continuously improve its location-based offering, Nokia showcased the latest versions of Nokia Maps and Nokia Drive for Windows Phone. These and other map-related applications introduced at Nokia World aim to make Nokia Maps relevant for commuters and to find interesting places in the city where people live. In addition to its world-class, free walk-and-drive navigation for more than 100 countries worldwide, the Nokia Public Transport application tracks public transportation directly on a mobile device in more than 430 cities worldwide, including up-to-the-minute updates on bus and train routes for 45 cities. Nokia also introduced Nokia Pulse, which allows location-tagged updates and photos to be sent privately, adding location to conversations with the people that matter most. Nokia also showcased Nokia Live View, which turns the phone’s camera view finder into a reality augmenting tool. With Nokia Live View, a phone can be pointed to a building or street and the names of the places become superimposed over them, offering one click access to detailed information about businesses, restaurant or attractions. All the applications announced today are available at Nokia’s Beta Labs (betalabs.nokia.com).

Nokia also announced:
· Nokia Maps is now powering Yahoo! Maps, starting with the US and Canada
· An agreement with the New York Metropolitan Transit Authority to develop a NFC-based smartphone ticketing solution to pilot on New York regional commuter trains starting before the end of 2011.

Nokia World is happening right now in London. Just announce are 4 new phones – Nokia Asha 200, 201, 300 and 303.

Nokia also launched it’s highly anticipated Windows Phone 7 device – Lumia 800. The Lumia is just another Windows Phone 7.5 It has customised applications like ESPN, a Music Remix service which can download music offline without subscriptions. Voice Navigation maps are also Free on Nokia’s WP7 phones.

The 2nd Wp7 device is the Lumia 710.

Updates to follow, follow @ocworkbench on twitter now.

The long wait is over, WP 7.5 is here to stay. Although Mango has brought some new features like Asian language input (but less menus in Asian language), it did not deliver the highly anticipated feature – Tethering via USB or WIFI. These two popular features are readily available on iPhone and Android phones.
According to media representatives, they said that the updates will be available to first generation Windows Phone 7 at a later date. There is no indication when will it be available.

So far, for Singapore, HTC trophy 7 (M1) has already delivered it’s updates while LG Optimus 7 from Singtel hasn’t got the update signal yet.

Comments

I came across this video a while ago and thought that it is pretty creative. The short youtube video shows the creativeness and the long anticipated Windows Phone 7 update – Mango which is scheduled to be somewhere in mid Sept to end Sept.

Below is the video :

HTC unveils HTC RADAR, htc’s FIRST WINDOWS® PHONE 7 WITH MANGO UPDATE

HTC boosts of a richer multimedia experience and seamless communication with latest Windows Phone device

SINGAPORE – 2 September, 2011 – HTC Corporation, a global leader in mobile innovation and design, today unveiled the HTC Radar™ with Windows®  Phone smartphone.  The HTC Radar is designed to keep you close to the people, news and entertainment that matters to you most.

“The new HTC Radar smartphone raises the bar with new advanced photography, multimedia and social capabilities that enable you to take full advantage of the latest Windows Phone innovations,” said Lennard Hoornik, President of HTC South Asia Pacific. “The HTC Radar’s aluminum uni-body, compact size and finish will capture people’s attention.”

Picture Perfect

HTC Radar features a dedicated hardware camera button which enables you to capture vivid images while the f/2.2 aperture lens and back-illuminated sensor provide improved low-light performance – making sure you never miss that perfect shot. With 28mm wide-angle lenses you can capture more of the scene in front of you while the new panoramic feature lets you create dramatic pictures of skylines and landscapes.  HTC Radar can shoot bright and vibrant HD (720p) videos, making them perfect companions for family functions or a night out with friends. And with the HTC Photo Enhancer, you can quickly touch up pictures and upload them to Facebook, tagging your friends as you go using automatic face detection built in to Windows Phones.

“Phones were originally designed for communication, but they haven’t kept up with the way consumers are actually communicating today. That’s why we built Windows Phone to put people first, building in all the key types of communication people are already using right out of the box,” said Andy Lees, President of Windows Phone Division.  “The HTC Radar brings a sleek, modern design that perfectly complements this people-first experience, making sure it’s easy to connect & share with the people you care about most so the message always gets through.”

HTC Radar

Elegantly crafted with an aluminium unibody, HTC Radar brings you closer to the important things in life, with the new People Hub from Windows Phone. The People Hub keeps you up to date with your friends’ latest news showing all of your communication history with each person, as well as their recent social network updates and photos. You can also stay in touch using SMS, Facebook chat and Windows Live® Messenger in one conversation, without having to switch applications or disrupt the conversation flow. Alternatively, speak “face-to-face” with new video calling that lets you see your friends’ faces on the bright and sharp 3.8 inch screen.

Entertainment on the move

With the HTC Radar, mobile multimedia is greatly improved. It includes HTC Watch™ – an application and service that puts an entire library of the latest, premium movies and TV shows right at your fingertips, letting people discover the latest video content in an easy and visually engaging way. Utilizing Virtual 5.1 surround sound for a rich audio experience, these phones are your perfect entertainment on the go.  Internet browsing is fast and smooth with HTML5 support.  You also get an amazing mobile gaming with Xbox LIVE®, giving you access to a great selection of games for Windows Phone, which include features like Leaderboards and Achievement that connect you with your friends and the Xbox LIVE community around the world.

Availability

The HTC Radar will be available at all mobile operators and authorized retailers at a suggested retail price of $569 in October 2011.

Fujitsu IS12T Mango phone Available for Pre-Order in Japan.

The folks at the Au KDDI store in Nishi-Kasai in Tokyo Japan that they’re going to have the Fujitsu IS12T as early as this Thursday, August 25th, 2011.

This Fujitsu Toshiba masterpiece going by the name of IS12T comes in a couple of fantastically loud colors or your choice of black, and it runs Windows Phone 7.5 Mango. This is the cellular partnerships’ first Windows Phone ever AND it appears very much to be the first device to be released with Mango out of the box. This device has a massive 13.2-megapixel camera, 32GB of internal storage, and is both waterproof and dust-resistant! What more could you want?

Source

A user by the name of longshot442 from XDA forum has published a 404MB file which contains the official RTM build of Mango, which is, the build 7720.

It has been claimed that users are able to flash devices ranging from NoDo, 7661 or build 7712 up to 7720. To do this, you do not need to restore from your backup, but instead can directly update.

User cyberdel among the first to successfully flash the phone with the once the file was leaked:

“install on htc trophy is finished:

at first i see on the bootscreen there is no mark anymore like “Not for resale” an Version is…. tada…. 7.10.7720.68

i am very happy now, good night”

Others have since reported success as well, regardless of device, carrier or network i.e. which tells us that the files might just be the developer release, meaning device neutral. Instructions, translated from German, can be found here. You can download the files at your risk from here or here. Original thread at XDA starts here, which we strongly encourage you to read first! Discuss in comments.

Remember, using this is at your own risk! The site do not endorse this method at all and take no responsibility when any issues occurred due to the flash. Having said that, enjoy.

Source

If you hold one of the Windows Phone 7, there is an update available. The notification will be shown on the ABOUT phone or when you connect up your phone to Zune.

As we are updating the phone right now, we are unsure if Mango is being downloaded and installed. Below is a screen shot from Zune.

Unfortunately it is not, the new build is 7.0.7392.0

Application launching performance comparing Mango beta vs NoDo on WP7

In our test, we put the two WP7 phone side by side. The LG Optimus 7 is loaded with Mango beta while the HTC Trophy 7 is with NoDo.

We launch the game from XBOX Live and time how long before the music starts. The mango beta loaded phone took 14 secs, 2 secs faster than the HTC Trophy 7 with NoDo.

We quit the application from both phones and tested it again. This time round, we found something unusual, the HTC Trophy 7 loads up faster than the LG Optimus 7.

Does that mean that Mango only speeds up loading for the first launch and is slower in subsequent launches?

On the other hand, phone boot up time for LG Optimus 7 with the Mango beta is way ahead of the HTC trophy 7 with NoDo by at least 4 – 5 secs. Check out the video below.

http://en.ocworkbench.com/feature/lg-optimus-7-with-mango-beta-updated-differences-from-nodo/

http://en.ocworkbench.com/mobile-news/application-launching-performance-comparing-mango-beta-vs-nodo-on-wp7/

http://en.ocworkbench.com/mobile-news/how-to-install-windows-phone-7-mango-beta-update-on-any-wp7-phone/

In our last news update, we posted the instructions for readers to test out the update on their WP7. We spent the early hours (2 hrs) going through the 2 step process which took us 2 hours to get Mango beta onto the LG Optimus 7.

In the following video, we present you the interface of the Mango beta which should be almost final unless last minutes cosmetic changes. We also a few other things. The mango beta allows Chinese text input using pinyin and handwriting method. In addition, the back arrow key seems to be able to go back to the previous application which we “swap” out – well some sort of task swapping handling.

We tested it with Angry Birds but it didn’t keep the gaming state. Looks like applications might have to be modified to take advantage of this upcoming feature in Mango.

Thirdly, the XBOX Live interface is beautified but functions remains the same as on Nodo. Powering off also involve sliding down the screen before you can power down the phone. Boot up time is shorter and application also launch slightly faster than before.

Do comment and let us know what is your experience with the Mango.

http://en.ocworkbench.com/feature/lg-optimus-7-with-mango-beta-updated-differences-from-nodo/

http://en.ocworkbench.com/mobile-news/application-launching-performance-comparing-mango-beta-vs-nodo-on-wp7/

http://en.ocworkbench.com/mobile-news/how-to-install-windows-phone-7-mango-beta-update-on-any-wp7-phone/

If you intend to try out the multilingual input and some form of multitasking, Redmonpie has posted this hack works by tricking Microsoft’s update service into thinking that you have a developer phone, and push the update straight to you. Sounds simple enough, right?

Disclaimer: Follow the following steps at your own risk only. Updating to Mango this way (unofficial) may void your warranty. This guide is for testing & educational purposes only. Redmond Pie is not to be held responsible for any loss of important data or malfunctioning of your Windows Phone.

Here’s what you’ll need:

1. A Windows Phone running NoDo, an update that should have been pushed to your phone a few months ago.
2. Windows Phone 7 Support Tools, used to upgrade your phone. Get the x64 or x86 version, depending on the flavor of Windows you’re running.
3. Download the updating tool from this post on Windows Phone Hacker. Per request, we’re not hotlinking, but look for the link above the “Notes”.
4. A beta version of Zune made specifically for Mango, which you can get from here.
5. A PC running Windows (obviously).

How to get up and running:

Step 1: Make sure Zune isn’t running and extract the updating tool you’ve just downloaded to the C drive’s root directory (C:\) and run it as an administrator (right-click on Update.bat and select “Run as administrator). Let the tool do its thing.

Step 2: Zune should automatically launch when this process is finished. Once you check for updates, the program should display the “Windows Phone 7 build 7401″ update: install it. Once it’s done, check again, and look for the “Windows Phone 7 Mango build 7661″ update and install it as well. That’s Mango.

Step 3: Once Mango is installed, Zune shouldn’t be able to locate your phone. Download the beta version of Zune made specifically for Mango (which we linked to above) and install it.

You’re done!

Note: if you wish to revert back to NoDo, this tool also offers that option. Just run restore.bat as an administrator and follow the on-screen instructions. Be sure to downgrade your Zune client first. The final version of Mango will require NoDo to be present, so be sure to keep this tool handy.

Source

http://en.ocworkbench.com/feature/lg-optimus-7-with-mango-beta-updated-differences-from-nodo/

http://en.ocworkbench.com/mobile-news/application-launching-performance-comparing-mango-beta-vs-nodo-on-wp7/

http://en.ocworkbench.com/mobile-news/how-to-install-windows-phone-7-mango-beta-update-on-any-wp7-phone/

Microsoft has started pushing out it the firmware update to wp7 devices. Other than cut and paste feature, you’ll also see your apps and games load faster, your marketplace searches refined and your WiFi performance improved. There’s also a host of Outlook, messaging, Facebook, audio and camera improvements.

Users in North America are already getting the updates pushed to their devices. You might have to wait a while if you reside in the Asia Pacific region.

 After upgrade, the firmware version will be 7.0.7390.0.

Yesterday, we received notifications of the available update of our 2 Windows Phone 7 phones. Both the HTC trophy 7 and LG Optimus 7 received the update without any errors.

It is not to our surprise that the new patches didn’t change much of the existing OS. Errors arising from failed installations still exists. This happened when we download Guitar Hero 5. To the phone, it seems to be installed and it prompts for an update. When you click the update button, it prompts Failure with Error 8000FFFF. There is also no way you can uninstall the application as it is not listed in the XBOX LIVE Tile.

Below are some pictures of the update procedure which took around 15 minutes to complete.

NEW YORK -(Dow Jones)- Intel Corp.’s (INTC) chief executive said the chip giant remains committed to its MeeGo operating system and doesn’t believe ARM Holdings PLC (ARMH) will be competing in servers anytime soon.

Intel partner Nokia Corp. (NOK) said last week that it was shifting strategy to adopt Microsoft Corp.’s (MSFT) Windows Phone as its main smartphone platform rather than MeeGo–something Intel Chief Executive Paul Otellini characterized as a financial decision on the part of Nokia Chief Executive Stephen Elop.

“Between Microsoft and Google [Inc. (GOOG)], he was getting incredible offers [of] money,” Otellini said at an investor conference in London.

But Otellini said he wouldn’t have made the same decision to sell himself to the highest bidder and if not staying with MeeGo, would have gone with Google’s operating system.

“I probably would have gone to Android if I were him,” he said. “MeeGo would have been the best strategy for him, but he concluded he couldn’t afford it.”

He added the problem for phone makers is finding a way to differentiate themselves.

“It’s going to be hard to do that on Windows,” Otellini said. “It’s less hard to do on Android. On MeeGo, he could have done it. We’ll find other partners.”

MeeGo was formed last year as a combination of Nokia’s Maemo and Intel’s Moblin platforms, and was expected to be used in Nokia’s high-end smartphones and other devices such as tablets and TV sets. At times, MeeGo appeared as a contender as companies jostle to create the third major marketplace for smartphone applications after those created by Apple Inc. (AAPL) for the iPhone and Google for its Android operating system.

Last week, however, Nokia said it believes Microsoft’s Windows Phone 7 will become the primary alternative to those market leaders. The cellphone giant also indicated Windows 7 would be a greater focus of technology development than its venerable Symbian operating system.

Intel has struggled in the mobile arena, with its chips viewed as too power hungry. While it has garnered some tablet design wins, the company has yet to have a chip designed into a smartphone on the market.

Otellini said that while Intel doesn’t have a smartphone announcement yet, there will be a device “from a premier vendor in the marketplace this year.” He expects Intel chips to “ramp up significantly on all the major phone” operating systems over the next several years and take share from rivals.

And one advantage Intel has over the ARM companies, he said, is the consistency of its architecture. Each ARM licensee uses the cores differently, and the instruction sets are different, he said.

“This is a big, expensive, hard job to create consistency in your architectures over multiple generations,” Otellini said. “That’s what we do exceptionally well.”

Meanwhile, Otellini said the PC market will continue growing, even with the rising popularity of tablets.

And he isn’t worried about competition in the server market from ARM-based chips despite plans from companies like Nvidia Corp. (NVDA) to expand into traditional computing and servers using ARM processors.

“I don’t see [ARM chips] being a factor in servers anytime soon, if ever,” Otellini said.

He said ARM developers don’t have the software capability, compute architecture and transistor performance to compete.

“It’s not going to happen,” Otellini said. “[Rival Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (AMD)] is much more potent as a server competitor than the ARM guys ever will be.”

Intel shares ended regular trading up 1% to $21.97. They are up 6.3% over the past 12 months.

-By Shara Tibken, Dow Jones Newswires; 212-416-2189; shara.tibken@dowjones.com

ng in servers anytime soon. Intel partner Nokia Corp. (NOK) said last week that it was shifting strategy to adopt Microsoft Corp.’s (MSFT) Windows Phone as its main smartphone platform rather than MeeGo–something Intel Chief Executive Paul Otellini characterized as a financial decision on the part of Nokia Chief Executive Stephen Elop. “Between Microsoft and Google [Inc. (GOOG)], he was getting incredible offers [of] money,” Otellini said at an investor conference in London. But Otellini said he wouldn’t have made the same decision to sell himself to the highest bidder and if not staying with MeeGo, would have gone with Google’s operating system. “I probably would have gone to Android if I were him,” he said. “MeeGo would have been the best strategy for him, but he concluded he couldn’t afford it.” He added the problem for phone makers is finding a way to differentiate themselves. “It’s going to be hard to do that on Windows,” Otellini said. “It’s less hard to do on Android. On MeeGo, he could have done it. We’ll find other partners.” MeeGo was formed last year as a combination of Nokia’s Maemo and Intel’s Moblin platforms, and was expected to be used in Nokia’s high-end smartphones and other devices such as tablets and TV sets. At times, MeeGo appeared as a contender as companies jostle to create the third major marketplace for smartphone applications after those created by Apple Inc. (AAPL) for the iPhone and Google for its Android operating system. Last week, however, Nokia said it believes Microsoft’s Windows Phone 7 will become the primary alternative to those market leaders. The cellphone giant also indicated Windows 7 would be a greater focus of technology development than its venerable Symbian operating system. Intel has struggled in the mobile arena, with its chips viewed as too power hungry. While it has garnered some tablet design wins, the company has yet to have a chip designed into a smartphone on the market. Otellini said that while Intel doesn’t have a smartphone announcement yet, there will be a device “from a premier vendor in the marketplace this year.” He expects Intel chips to “ramp up significantly on all the major phone” operating systems over the next several years and take share from rivals. And one advantage Intel has over the ARM companies, he said, is the consistency of its architecture. Each ARM licensee uses the cores differently, and the instruction sets are different, he said. “This is a big, expensive, hard job to create consistency in your architectures over multiple generations,” Otellini said. “That’s what we do exceptionally well.” Meanwhile, Otellini said the PC market will continue growing, even with the rising popularity of tablets. And he isn’t worried about competition in the server market from ARM-based chips despite plans from companies like Nvidia Corp. (NVDA) to expand into traditional computing and servers using ARM processors. “I don’t see [ARM chips] being a factor in servers anytime soon, if ever,” Otellini said. He said ARM developers don’t have the software capability, compute architecture and transistor performance to compete. “It’s not going to happen,” Otellini said. “[Rival Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (AMD)] is much more potent as a server competitor than the ARM guys ever will be.” Intel shares ended regular trading up 1% to $21.97. They are up 6.3% over the past 12 months. -By Shara Tibken, Dow Jones Newswires; 212-416-2189; shara.tibken@dowjones.com

BARCELONA, Spain – Feb. 14, 2011 – Microsoft today kicked off Mobile World Congress by giving people a glimpse of what the rest of the year will bring for Windows Phone 7. Among the updates are several new features, a booming app marketplace, and the integration of even more Microsoft products with the phone.

A concrete example of the company’s vision is the new strategic partnership with Nokia. “This partnership will combine the strengths of our two companies, and fuel our growth as we build the global Windows Phone ecosystem. This is a great win for us, for Nokia, and for our existing and new customers around the world,” said Andy Lees, president of Microsoft’s Mobile Communications Business.

New Windows Phone Features & Apps

Image 1 of 7

IE9 Mobile

IE9 will be available for Windows Phone 7 in the second half of 2011, offering “a dramatically enhanced mobile Web browser experience.” The IE9 beta has been downloaded an estimated 25 million times. Feb. 14, 2011

Web-Ready

Print-Ready

Image 2 of 7

Twitter Integration

Microsoft announced native Twitter integration will be available on Windows Phone 7 in the second half of 2011. Twitter will be integrated into the People Hub in Windows Phone 7 similar to the way that Facebook is integrated today. Feb. 14, 2011.

Web-Ready

Print-Ready

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SkyDrive

A depiction of Office Hub access via SkyDrive. New SkyDrive support services will offer users the ability to access cloud-based Microsoft Office programs via their phone. Feb. 14, 2011.

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Xbox LIVE Extras

One of the most downloaded Windows Phone applications is Xbox LIVE Extras, which allows users to customize their Xbox LIVE avatars from their phones, including the ability to add accessories and change styles. Feb. 14, 2011.

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Xbox LIVE: Pac-Man

This classic ‘80s video game is brought to life on Windows Phone via Xbox LIVE. Now available in the Windows Phone Marketplace. Feb. 14, 2011.

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Xbox LIVE: Tetris

Enabled for Xbox LIVE, the official TETRIS® game for Windows Phone 7 may soon be one of the biggest games on Xbox LIVE. Feb. 14, 2011.

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Xbox LIVE: Full House Poker

Place your bets! Full House Poker allows bettors to play Texas Hold ‘Em against thousands of players worldwide. Feb. 14, 2011.

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“…A year ago, we introduced Windows Phone 7 at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. We described how we are putting the entire muscle of our company behind our mobile strategy including Windows, Windows Live, Bing, Zune, Xbox LIVE, Office, SharePoint, Exchange, and our developer tools,” Lees said. “Our alliance with Nokia creates opportunities for both companies far beyond what we could achieve separately, and offers a compelling alternative to the existing choices for consumers, mobile operators and developers.”

The first goal with Windows Phone 7, Lees said, was to deliver a uniquely delightful customer experience. And the results, as provided by Windows Phone 7 users, show that the overall experience is great. “So far we’ve had a fantastic reaction from customers, with a 93 percent customer satisfaction rate and nine out of 10 customers saying they are likely to recommend [the phone] to someone else,” Lees said. “All of this contributed to Nokia choosing us. And with this partnership, we are taking another big step toward driving global scale, reach and impact.”

Microsoft announced several new Windows Phone 7 features coming in 2011, including a “dramatically enhanced” browser experience based on Internet Explorer 9; additional multitasking capabilities; support for Microsoft Office documents in the cloud; and the addition of Twitter to the People Hub. The expanded capabilities announced today include:

Microsoft sold 2 million phone licenses in Windows Phone 7’s first two months, and the phone is now available from 60 mobile operators in 30 countries around the world, Lees said. As phone availability and sales grow, so too does the app marketplace – there are now more than 8,000 apps in the marketplace and 28,000 registered developers.

In addition, the phone will be available soon on U.S. networks such as Verizon and Sprint, he said. Also, with an expanded feature set, more capabilities, and new partnerships like the one just announced with Nokia, the Windows Phone 7 platform is positioned to scale up rapidly.

First Mile Point in the Marathon

With the bang of a starting gun firing last fall, Windows Phone 7 launched itself into the mobile race. It’s a race that Microsoft leaders are quick to point out is not a sprint, but a marathon – and one that’s just begun.

“We’re in the race – it’s not a sprint but we are certainly gaining momentum and we’re in it for the long run,” said Achim Berg, a corporate vice president in Microsoft’s Mobile Communications Business and Marketing Group. “We know we have tough competition, and this is a completely new product. Our design is different, our platform is different, our customer experience is different, and our long-term strategy for earning widespread adoption is different.”

Over the next year, the company will continue to work with third parties on phone innovation and will add new features and apps that customers want and that make using Windows Phone 7 a “delightful experience.” Microsoft also will work to engage more of the nearly 80 percent of worldwide phone users who are not using a smart phone, said JP Wollersheim, a Windows Phone 7 product manager.

A Different Kind of Phone

It was just two and a half years ago that Microsoft’s Windows Phone 7 team came together with a single mission: to go back to the drawing board to create a completely new Windows Phone, to rethink and smarten up the smart phone, and to create a device that successfully integrated many favorite Microsoft products into one device – Bing, Windows LIVE, Xbox and Office, among others.

“For the first time, Microsoft has actually collected all of those great products and put them on a device with a screen that’s 480×800,” said Wollersheim. “It’s always been about being different. Because we were starting fresh, from the ground up, we were able to look at what our competitors were doing, look at their issues and work through their experiences, and design something better.”

Wollersheim said Microsoft built a smarter smart phone that focuses on user experience, integrates experiences rather than launching separate apps for tasks, gives information at a glance, and “allows you to have things happen on your behalf.”

One example of how deep thinking about the mobile phone experience translated into a feature is the Windows Phone 7 camera. Each device has a camera button on the side and can instantly take a photo, even if the phone is locked, rather than the user having to miss the moment while scrambling to unlock the phone and open a camera app.

It’s just one of many thoughtful details that make the phone different, and Wollersheim said that is largely why people are so “jazzed” with their new phones.

“You don’t sell phones if people aren’t happy. That’s the leading indicator of where we’re at, and it’s predictive as to how many we’re going to eventually sell,” Wollersheim said. “We want it to sell, and we want customers to be super happy, and we want them to tell their friends and family. That’s the best recommendation you could have.”

Microsoft pushed out an update to the Zune desktop player, indicating that an update could be on it’s way to WP7 phones.

The version number in the Zune About screen doesn’t change, staying at 4.7.1404.0, so it would appear this does nothing but allow Windows Phone 7 updates. What is visible if you poke around deep enough is ZuneWmdu.dll and ZuneWmduResources.dll are updated and those two files are known to be necessary for the WP7 update process.

Would this update also indicate a support for upcoming Nokia phones (if they marry Microsoft to run WP7 ?)

Mobiletechworld has described in detail on how you can actually hack the phone to enable the dial up modem within your HTC WIndows Phone 7. First you will nede to jailberak it using ChevronWP7 unless you have a developer account. Next, you will nede to run DFRouter. Below is he instruction direct from the source.

As you have probably already noticed by now I usually only post about things that I personally think are worth talking about (that’s the beauty of having my own blog..) and this is why you won’t see me talk about every single homebrew Windows Phone 7 application popping up. Unless it’s something I think is really important like enabling tethering on HTC’s Windows Phone 7 devices. So if you have a developer unlocked device (you know..if you actually paid the $99) or if you just unlocked yours with the ChevronWP7 unlocker (which will definitely be rendered useless after the first OS Update) here is how to finally enable USB Tethering on an HTC Windows Phone 7 handsets:

1. Download XAP file here
2. Download HTC Sync for Android from HTC for USB Modem driver from HTC’s site (the whole package) or just the driver here
3. Deploy XAP file to your phone
4. Turn of your Data conection in your phone.
5. Run DFRouter and click on “HTC Modem”
6. If you only downloaded driver package just unzip to any folder, then Open Device Manager (recommended for Win7 64bit). If you installed the HTC Android package skip to step 10.
7. Find USB\VID_0BB4&PID_0EFF&REV_0000&MI_01 and force update driver with HtcUsbMdmV64 (inside unzipped folder)
8. Find USB\VID_0BB4&PID_0EFF&REV_0000&MI_00 and force update driver with HtcVComV64 (inside unzipped folder)
9. You will get two new device HTC USB Modem and HTC Diagnostic Interface (COM8)
10. Connect device to PC, open HTC USB Modem and select Advance Label
11. Add below command
+cgdcont=1,”ip”,”APN”
(APN = Your carrier’s APN)
12. Create a new connection with HTC USB Modem, diag number is *99#
13.Just connect without user name and password.

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