Windows Phone users should check their email for an early Christmas present from Microsoft. The Redmond software giant wants to thank its users for a great year with Windows Phone by offering a free 20GB upgrade of SkyDrive storage.
Microsoft May Kill Windows Phone & RT Licensing Costs for Mobile OEMs
After failing to gain significant market share in its battle with Google’s Android, Microsoft is reportedly considering a drastic new strategy which will see the company give its mobile versions of Windows — Windows Phone and Windows RT — to manufacturers for free.
Microsoft Becomes Smartphone Maker With $7.2 Billion Nokia Purchase
Microsoft surprised the mobile industry late Monday by announcing its acquisition of Nokia’s mobile phone division in a $7.2 billion deal. The move will see Microsoft become a genuine smartphone manufacturer as well as make the CEO hunt to replace Steve Ballmer a whole lot more interesting.
Create Apps in Your Browser with Windows Phone App Studio
Microsoft this week launched a novel new app development tool aimed primarily at first-time programmers. The tool, called Windows Phone App Studio, is a free, web-based platform for developing Windows Phone apps, and gives practically anyone with access to a modern browser the ability to create fully functional, if limited, apps which can be shared locally or published to the Windows Phone Store. We’ve heard from many potential Windows Phone developers who have great ideas, but who might not have…
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Android Dominates, Windows Phone Surges in Q1 2013
Expanding on an April report that showed smartphones outselling feature phones worldwide for the first time, research firm IDC released a new look at global shipments and market share of smartphone operating systems. Top Worldwide Smartphone OS (Shipments in Millions) Source: IDC Q1 2013 Q1 2013 Market Share Q1 2012 Q1 2012 Market Share Year-Over-Year Change Android 162.1 75.0% 90.3 59.1% 79.5% iOS 37.4 17.3% 35.1 23.0% 6.6% Windows Phone 7.0 3.2% 3.0 2.0% 133.3% BlackBerry 6.3 2.9% 9.7 6.4%…
Nokia ‘Pleased’ with Competition That Strengthens Windows Phone
Despite fierce competition for the relatively small Windows Phone market, Nokia is generally pleased by the mounting number of Windows-based smartphones from other manufacturers as it increases the health of the platform overall, according to Vesa Jutila, the company’s head of smartphone marketing. Engadget spoke with Mr. Jutila following Nokia’s Lumia 925 launch event in London this morning. He revealed that “biggest complaint [received by the company over its Windows Phone smartphones] is that customers are missing the apps they…
Android Dominates Q1 2013 with 74% of Smartphone Shipments
Samsung hardware and the Android mobile operating system dominated the first quarter of 2013, according to new data released Tuesday by research firm Gartner. The Korean electronics giant shipped 64.7 million smartphones during the quarter for 30.8 percent of worldwide market share while Google’s Android was found on 156 million devices shipped during the quarter, for a commanding 74.4 percent market share. Anshul Gupta, principal research analyst at Gartner, explained the results: There are two clear leaders in the OS…
Apple’s iPhone Widens Lead as Most-Owned U.S. Smartphone
Apple’s iPhone reached record high usage share in U.S. during the first quarter, according to the latest MobiLens survey from research firm comScore. The iPhone achieved 39 percent usage share among U.S. smartphone subscribers as of the end of March, up 2.7 percent from December 2012. U.S. Smartphone OEM Usage Share Source: comScore December 2012 March 2013 Point Change Apple 36.3% 39.0% 2.7 Samsung 21.0% 21.7% 0.7 HTC 10.2% 9.0% -1.2 Motorola 9.1% 8.5% -0.6 LG 7.1% 6.8% -0.3 Usage…
Microsoft Invades Android with ‘Switch to Windows Phone’ App
Although badly trailing iOS and Android in terms of market share, Microsoft’s Windows Phone mobile operating system often leads in terms of clever marketing. Microsoft just released a “Switch to Windows Phone” app for Android that works with a companion app on the Windows Phone Store to help users migrate from Android to Windows Phone 8. Users interested in switching from Android to Windows Phone can download the free app on their current Android device. With the user’s permission, the…