Date surfaces for end of HTC One M8 for Windows carrier exclusivity

Posted on by Stephen Schenck

We’re coming up on two months now from the launch of the HTC One M8 for Windows, an overdue flagship-level WP handset from someone other than the Nokia/Microsoft juggernaut. And while we were very excited to see an Android phone we loved get the Windows Phone treatment, the release of the device left a bit to be desired, hitting the US as a carrier exclusive, bound to Verizon. But even with that restriction we had cause to be optimistic, as it became clear that Verizon’s exclusivity was a ...

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Cortana develops a taste for bloodwine? Microsoft teaches its service Klingon

Posted on by Stephen Schenck

Big things have been happening for Microsoft’s voice assistant Cortana recently. She’s been picking up new functionality, getting ready to spread to new nations, and supposedly gearing up to make a desktop debut with Windows 10. But for all the serious improvements Microsoft’s been delivering, Cortana’s also had a playful side, like

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HTC pulls in another quarterly profit, beating expectations

Posted on by Stephen Schenck

One year ago, HTC found itself in a tight spot. Despite the generally warm reception the first-gen HTC One received, the sales just weren’t there, and as the manufacturer reported its quarterly earnings figures, it revealed a shocker: it was facing a loss of more than a hundred million dollars. Since then, we’ve been watching to see if HTC could get back on its footing. Earlier this year, we were still looking at losses, but ...

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T-Mobile, Cricket get ready to welcome Lumia 530 to the US

Posted on by Stephen Schenck

Summer already seems like a distant memory at this point, and the smartphones it brought us have started to be eclipsed by new models, like the iPhone 6, 6 Plus, and now all this Nexus 6 talk. But some of those summer launches have been taking their sweet time getting here, and we’re only now starting to see their availability come to carriers in the States. Back in July, Microsoft announced the Nokia Lumia 530, the ...

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Cortana could be spreading across Europe soon

Posted on by Stephen Schenck

As of right now, Microsoft offers its Windows Phone voice assistant Cortana to users in Australia, Canada, China, India, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Despite that limited language compatibility, there’s long been evidence pointing to Cortana seeing broad international support, and we’ve been wondering just when we might see the service expand its reach to some new nations. While we don’t have firm ETAs just yet, ...

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Microsoft’s new Windows app videos might hint at that no-more-Phone rebranding

Posted on by Stephen Schenck

For the past week or two, we’ve been hearing more about this idea that Microsoft could be distancing itself from “Windows Phone” as we know it, and instead transitioning to more general “Windows” branding across all its platforms, including smartphones. Just the other day we checked out a render of an upcoming handset that appeared to be going this no-Phone route, and now we’re turning our ...

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Smartphone users spending more time with their apps than ever before

Posted on by Stephen Schenck

It’s not surprising to think that our app usage changes over time: new titles and services emerge, and as Angry Birds fails to have the same punch as it did back in 2010, we find ourselves moving on to new software. But now a recent study suggests that not only are our tastes in specific apps constantly evolving, but the amount of time we spend interacting with them on a whole is on the upswing, with users spending an average of 21 percent more time in apps than they were just one year ago.Localytics ...

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Microsoft embraces its competition with Universal Mobile Keyboard

Posted on by Stephen Schenck

Competition between the big players on the mobile platform stage is an odd thing. On one hand, it’s in the best interest of companies like Google to see the Apples of the world fail, driving users over to its own platform. But at the same time, we have Google releasing app after app for iOS. Microsoft’s in on this seemingly counter-intuitive action as well, and this year has seen it bring Office to more of its competitors’ devices. Today we check out a new accessory from Microsoft that further ...

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Verizon wants to help you upgrade to an iPhone 6 (or other phone) early

Posted on by Stephen Schenck

Do subsidized on-contract smartphone sales make a lot of sense? We could (and in the past, have) argue that point until the cows come home, but whether through choice or chance of fate, let’s say you find yourself in that on-contract wagon. Record numbers of smartphone users are pre-ordering the iPhone 6 right now, so what do you do if you find yourself craving Apple’s latest handset, but it’s not quite ...

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HTC rumors: Eye hardware, mysterious M8 Eye, new HTC WP phablet

Posted on by Stephen Schenck

Just when we thought that the smartphone world was in store for a couple months of quiet, following the iPhone 6 launch and in advance of the bustling holiday season, HTC’s been popping-up all over the place with rumors of new hardware. If we’re not talking about plans for a Nexus 9 tablet with Google, we’re wondering what’s in store for next month’s “double exposure” event. Our best guess yet at the ...

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New evidence arrives for “Phone”-less Windows Phone branding

Posted on by Stephen Schenck

Last week, we were talking about the future of Windows Phone, with reports that Microsoft is in the middle of a pretty substantial re-branding project. Specifically, we heard that efforts were underway to start moving the Nokia name away from Lumia phones, while also shifting Windows Phone over to simply “Windows.” And certainly, we’ve be seeing a bit of evidence on all these fronts already, but this new ...

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64-bit Windows Phone model could be coming from unlikely source

Posted on by Stephen Schenck

Android has joined iOS at the 64-bit table, having seen the recent launches of phones like the HTC Desire 820 with 64-bit SoCs at their core. Where does that leave Windows Phone, though? Will we see Microsoft actively pursue 64-bit components for its platform’s hardware? As it turns out, Windows Phone may be coming to 64-bit handsets sooner than you might expect, as we get word of an upcoming model running a ...

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HTC event invite hints at photography theme

Posted on by Stephen Schenck

Do we ever have HTC launches on the mind this evening, or what? We just got done making reference to last month’s One M8 for Windows launch in the context of Windows Phone branding-change rumors, and right before that we were checking out what might be new evidence in favor of an HTC Nexus 9. And wouldn’t you know it, but a new invitation to an upcoming October 8 HTC gathering just popped-up in our inbox. What ...

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The end of Windows Phone and Nokia: new Microsoft phone branding rumored

Posted on by Stephen Schenck

Remember when HTC delivered its Windows Phone version of the One M8 last month? In the weeks leading up to its release we heard a few names thrown around, including things like the W8, but the phone ultimately debuted as the One M8 for Windows. Specifically “Windows,” not “Windows Phone.” Compare that to the company’s previous WP entries: models with names like the Windows Phone 8X by HTC. What happened to that “Phone” part? This may be just the start of a larger trend, as multiple ...

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Pocketnow IFA 2014 wrap-up (Video)

Posted on by Stephen Schenck

IFA 2014 is over. The Pocketnow team has packed up its bags, hopped on a flight home, and we’re already thinking about the next big thing in mobile. But before we completely put IFA behind us, it’s worth taking some time to reflect on everything we got to see. We’ve already presented you with an overview of our coverage from the past week, and now we’ve got something even better, as our IFA crew of Michael Fisher and Taylor ...

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