14/05/2013 - Nokia announces the Lumia 925: a thinner, lighter aluminum body coming June for 469 euros

Nokia's second announcement for May is arguably a more notable progression from the Lumia 920 than the US-only Lumia 928. This is the Lumia 925. It's another flagship, but this one's setting its sights on the rest of the world. The first thing to note is the change in build materials and profile. While the rest of the Lumia range have stuck to plastics -- typically glossy polycarbonate -- the Lumia 925 is Nokia's first Windows Phone to be packed into an aluminum frame. One of the benefits of this change in design? The handset's weight has plummeted. While the phone has the same dual-core 1.5GHz Snapdragon S4 Pro processor, 1GB RAM and 8.7-megapixel OIS camera of the 920, the Lumia 925 is almost 50 grams (1.8 ounces) lighter than last year's Lumia 920.
Despite a thinner 8.8mm profile, there's an identical 2,000mAh battery. Alas, instead of built-in charging, you'll have to purchase an accessory cover to enable the function on the 925. Said covers will come in red, yellow, black and white, offering a splash of color to the three understated monochrome shades (white, grey and black) of the hardware. The 925 model also sports an 4.5-inch AMOLED screen, so while it matches the resolution of the existing 920 (1,280 x 768), those on-screen blacks -- a regular occurrence with the Windows Phone OS -- should be notably deeper than the LCD competition. It's also coated in Gorilla Glass 2, with ClearBlack tech and a high-brightness mode to improve outdoor visibility and the same super-sensitive touchscreen that means you'll be able to steer the phone with your gloves on. There's more to say about camera improvements -- jump past some Nokia-approved sample shots below to hear more.
Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile, Nokia
02/05/2013 - Wunderlist for Android and Windows gets Pro version, a few freebies for the kids
As if it weren't plenty apparent, the people at 6Wunderkinder are pretty good at task management. Less than a week after the company delivered Wunderlist Pro for iOS, Mac and the web, it's followed through on the promise of Android and Windows versions. For $50 per year (or $4.99 per month), Wunderlist Pro delivers advanced collaboration features like task delegation and, soon enough, file sharing. Even if you aren't too keen on paying for the Pro version, though, free users will discover an action bar in the latest update that brings the ability to sort items alphabetically, by assignee or by due date. Also from the action bar, you can email, print or invite people to shared lists. Yep, there's something for everyone, and even if you aren't yet familiar with Wunderlist, this is a prime opportunity to check out the scene.
Source: 6Wunderkinder
22/04/2013 - Nokia granted preliminary injunction against HTC in the Netherlands over high-amplitude mics
Don't worry, this time it's not a patent issue. However, it is more bad news for HTC's oft-delayed One. Nokia has been granted an injunction by the Amsterdam district court, concerning the technology used by HTC in its current flagship. You might recall the pair of high-amplitude mics housed within One's aluminum body, but these are apparently the same dual-membrane tech that Nokia's used in its recent Lumia 720, seen above.
The Finnish company recently applied for a preliminary injunction, pointing the finger at ST Microelectronics, which is responsible for manufacturing the mic component for both Nokia and HTC. According to our source, the issue is likely to be a breach of an NDA between Nokia and ST Electronics as the phone maker asserts that the "microphone components [were] invented by and manufactured exclusively for Nokia." We're still hearing the details and will update as we hear more. We've also reached out to HTC for comment. For now, you can read up on Nokia's statement following the court's decision after the break.
Update: HTC has offered up an official statement in response to the injunction: "HTC is disappointed in the decision. We are considering whether it will have any impact on our business and we will explore alternative solutions immediately."
Filed under: Cellphones, Wireless, Mobile, HTC, Nokia
18/04/2013 - Verizon added 677,000 subscribers, made a $4.8 billion profit in Q1 2013
Last quarter, Verizon gained a record high 2.1 million subscribers, but at the cost of a $1.9 billion net loss. Now that the company is releasing its Q1 2013 figures, are we going to see some of those losses trimmed back? The latest jumble of spreadsheets says yes, revealing that Big V turned a profit of $4.8 billion whilst adding 677,000 new subscribers to its wireless service -- giving it a total customer base of 98.9 million users. In the quarter, Verizon activated 7.2 million smartphones, of which 5.9 million were LTE-ready devices. It added that 28 percent of those activations were customers who had defected from other carriers.
The company's wireline business saw 188,000 FiOS Internet and 169,000 FiOS Video customers, pushing that particular sector's revenue up to $2.6 billion -- 69 percent of Verizon's consumer revenue. Customers who are hoping to trade up from DSL should take heart that Big Red has switched over 83,000 homes to fiber this year, and plans to upgrade a further 217,000 dwellings before the end of 2013. CEO Lowell McAdam was his usual upbeat self, painting a rosy picture for the company's future without mentioning that other company that begins with V it's got to deal with.
11/03/2013 - HTC Droid DNA gets an early taste of Sense 5 thanks to beta ROM
While plenty of Android users prefer the vanilla OS experience, manufacturer-created skins persist, like HTC's updated Sense 5 UI debuting on the latest One flagship. HTC's Droid DNA will almost certainly receive this new version in the future -- the handset maker has confirmed it's coming to the Butterfly, a DNA variant -- but if you're partial to flashing, you can get your fingers on it right now. XDA Developers member newtoroot clearly isn't lacking the expertise their handle suggests, and has taken to the site's forum to offer a beta build of Sense 5 for the DNA. Bear in mind it's a beta, but everything is said to working bar MMS and the new Zoe camera mode. If you've got the hardware, know your way around a ROM and are up for toying with HTC's latest skin, head to the source link for the file and thread.
Filed under: Cellphones, Software, Mobile, HTC
Via: PhoneArena
Source: XDA Developers
04/03/2013 - White House responds to petition: unlocking phones should be legalized
The recent ruling that effectively bans third-party phone unlocking has ruffled more than a few feathers, and the people have spoken with their electronic signatures -- 114,322 of them, to be exact. Now the petition to the White House, which asks that DMCA protection of phone unlockers be reconsidered, has finally received an official response, and it appears that it's for the positive. The author of the letter is R. David Edelman, Senior Advisor for Internet, Innovation and Privacy.
"The White House agrees with the 114,000+ of you who believe that consumers should be able to unlock their cell phones without risking criminal or other penalties," Edelman writes. All told, the response matches that of the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), which wrote a letter to the Librarian of Congress in support of extending the exemption last year.
So what does this mean for us? Edelman states: "The Obama Administration would support a range of approaches to addressing this issue, including narrow legislative fixes in the telecommunications space that make it clear: neither criminal law nor technological locks should prevent consumers from switching carriers when they are no longer bound by a service agreement or other obligation." We're not going to see immediate change, but it appears that a chain of events is now in motion in which the FCC and Congress potentially play a huge role. We're not out of the woods yet, but it's relieving to see such a positive response -- along with a call to action -- from the government.
Read the response in its entirety below.
Filed under: Cellphones, Wireless, Mobile
Source: White House
25/02/2013 - LG's new Optimus L II series: hands-on with the L7II and the L5II
We've heard (and seen) a fair bit about LG's L-series sequels, but nothing beats seeing them in the flesh, right? Both the 4.3-inch L7II and the smaller (4-inch) L5II were on show here at LG's media event, and while we might have been more easily distracted by more powerful relatives, it looks like LG's middleweight smartphone series has its fans.
As is to be expected from the company's Style line, there's been some design changes, alongside a power increase to dual-core processors on the bigger L7II -- the L5II arrives with a single-core 1GHz processor. Cosmetic changes include a textured backing and, well, you'll have to skip after the break to hear about the other improvements, but be reassured that they're backed up by Android 4.1 and dual-SIM iterations -- although those don't look quite as good. After the gallery, we've got more first impressions and you can expect a hands-on video very soon.
Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile, LG
11/02/2013 - Belkin signs licensing deal with Lego, encourages you to brick your phone
Yes, it's already possible to snag a "Lego" iPhone case, but only if you throw some cash Smallworks' way. If you've been waiting for one that bears Olé Kirk Christiansen's official branding, then you don't have much longer to wait. Belkin has signed a licensing deal with the toymaker that will allow it to produce a range of Lego-themed iOS device cases, offering a "buildable" experience -- whatever that means. Wake us up when they release a Mindstorms version, please.
[Image credit: Scott Stein / CNET]
Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile
30/01/2013 - BlackBerry Z10 spotted at retailers prior to BB10 event
Looks like retailers might be jumping the gun a bit on the about-to-be-announced BlackBerry Z10 smartphone ahead of the upcoming event. Twitter user @bandozer spotted one at a UK Phones4U retailer and managed to snap a pic (after the break), saying that "it looks and feels good," while our own tipster forwarded us the above image that came from another store. Looks like the only thing that'll stop the numerous leaks is when RIM finally announces the darned thing -- sometime in the next hour or two.
[Thanks, Anonymous]

Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile, RIM
Via: The Verge
Source: @Bandozer (Twitter)
17/12/2012 - Sprint confirms it's buying the rest of Clearwire for $2.2 billion
Sprint has just announced that it has entered into a "definitive agreement" with Clearwire to buy the 50-percent stake in the company it doesn't already own in a transaction worth around $2.2 billion. Thanks to the increased value of Clearwire's stock when the rumors of the deal broke, House Hesse has had to pay an extra $100 million on its first formal offer.
While the deal is contingent upon the legal nuts-and-bolts of Sprint's deal with Softbank working out, the Japanese carrier has given its blessing to the deal. Big Yellow has also garnered the requisite support from Clearwire's big-ticket minority stakeholders, including Comcast, Intel and BrightHouse networks -- which will all vote in favor of the transaction.
Developing...
Continue reading Sprint confirms it's buying the rest of Clearwire for $2.2 billion
Filed under: Cellphones, Wireless, Mobile, Sprint
06/12/2012 - T-Mobile planning to move entirely to Value Plans in 2013
T-Mobile's not skimping on the big announcements in today's investor conference: it's now declared that it plans to move entirely to its Value Plans in 2013. The carrier's current rate offering nets you a lower monthly tariff in exchange for an omitted device subsidy -- in other words, bring your own phone, and you'll pay less for service. The new strategy would make the company's voice and data lineup more competitive, particularly for subscribers who don't mind paying full sticker price for their handsets, or bringing over an unlocked device from another carrier. During this afternoon's presentation, the company used the term "Un-carrier" to describe its new direction -- considering that Deutsche Telekom's Capital Market Days programming runs through tomorrow in Bonn, this move could turn out to be but one piece of the T-Mobile's overall marketing plan for 2013.
Filed under: Mobile
19/11/2012 - Internal Microsoft Kin testing videos offer a new look at what went wrong
The downfall of Microsoft's Kin smartphones is a fairly well-known story at this point, and something that Microsoft would no doubt prefer to forget, but details have a tendency to keep trickling out. The latest comes courtesy of Wired's Gadget Lab, which has obtained some previously unseen internal testing videos that paint a bleak picture of the problems Microsoft was facing. While the devices in question are pre-production models, they're said to be "changed very little from the shipping product" and, as you can see in the videos, they didn't exactly make a good impression on the product testers. Words like "lag" and "frustrating" are the common theme, with one tester adding: "I can imagine my daughter would give this back very quickly." Of course, these are just a small sample of what were undoubtedly many testing sessions, but the complaints are remarkably similar to those we'd see when the phones were ultimately released. You can find one video after the break and the rest at the link below.
Continue reading Internal Microsoft Kin testing videos offer a new look at what went wrong
Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile, Microsoft
Internal Microsoft Kin testing videos offer a new look at what went wrong originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 19 Nov 2012 17:03:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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07/11/2012 - Sprint pays US Cellular $480 million for Midwest spectrum and customers
Sprint has cemented a deal with US Cellular to pick up its PCS spectrum and around 585,000 customers across the Midwest. The deal will land the newly-owned company 30MHz within the 1900 MHz band across Illinois, Indian, Michigan, Missouri and Ohio, with the carrier stating that it'll be putting the extra spectrum to use augmenting its coverage while it continues to roll out 4G.
US Cellular will apparently continue business elsewhere, once the deal passes regulatory approval some time year, stating that it aims to "increase focus on markets where it has strong positions" and "streamline operations" -- probably involving its own 4G expansion plans.
Sprint pays US Cellular $480 million for Midwest spectrum and customers originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 07 Nov 2012 07:46:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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15/10/2012 - Softbank confirms 70 percent Sprint acquisition for $20.1 billion
In a joint press conference, Softbank has officially announced that it is buying a 70 percent stake in US mobile carrier Sprint. The Japanese company is paying $12.1 billion to buy existing shares, and a further $8 billion for new shares that the network is issuing. CNBC reported previously that it would net Sprint around $3 billion in cash, which it could use to regain control of Clearwire and bolster its LTE rollout.
Developing...
Continue reading Softbank confirms 70 percent Sprint acquisition for $20.1 billion
Filed under: Cellphones, Wireless, Internet, Mobile, Sprint
Softbank confirms 70 percent Sprint acquisition for $20.1 billion originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 15 Oct 2012 04:12:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink | | Email this | Comments11/10/2012 - Court reverses Galaxy Nexus sales ban in the US

A US appeals court has overturned the injunction banning the sale of the Galaxy Nexus, saying that the California district court had "abused its discretion" in granting the injunction.
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Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile
Court reverses Galaxy Nexus sales ban in the US originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 11 Oct 2012 11:34:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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03/10/2012 - Deutsche Telekom and MetroPCS agree on $1.5 billion T-Mobile merger

Apparently the "significant issues" that stood in the way of a prospective T-Mobile and MetroPCS deal couldn't have been too onerous. Just a day after acknowledging that talks were underway both boards have approved the deal according to the Wall Street Journal. Details of the deal haven't been officially announced yet, but Financial Times Deutschland are reporting that the two carriers will be combined into a single unit in which Deutsche Telekom will hold 74 percent of shares. MetroPCS will have a 26 percent stake in the company and receive a $1.5 billion check for its troubles. Expectations are that this will put the kibosh on a recent deal T-Mobile struck with Crown Castle to lease its mobile towers for $2.4 billion.
Developing...
Filed under: Cellphones, Wireless, Mobile, T-Mobile
Deutsche Telekom and MetroPCS agree on $1.5 billion T-Mobile merger originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 03 Oct 2012 08:13:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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05/09/2012 - Nokia announces Lumia 820, a 4.3-inch, LTE-running, budget-friendly Windows Phone 8 handset
No matter your budget, Nokia's got a Windows Phone 8 handset for you. While the Lumia 920 dominated today's press conference, the company's more modest Lumia 820 is planning to sneak in and capture the mid-range. The handset is packing the same 1.5Ghz dual-core Snapdragon S4 internals you'll find in the 920, along with 1GB RAM and a 4.3-inch display.
While the handset isn't unattractive, the design language of the 800 (and N9) that captured our hearts has been dumped in favor of something more symmetrical. The glass of its 800 x 480 ClearBlack OLED screen is flat rather than curved (poached by the 920) and the body's finish is a little more shinier than the previous generation of Nokia's polycarbonate.
Photography fans looking to get their hands on that PureView goodness will be disappointed to see that it's also been reserved for the flagship. Instead, this unit comes with the more familiar 8-megapixel Carl Zeiss optics we've seen before, but at least there's a front-facing VGA lens for video conferencing.
While the unit only has 8GB of on-board storage, it's packing microSD support (our guess would be up to 32GB, as per usual) and you'll also get an additional 7GB of storage on Microsoft's cloud service, Skydrive. The company's including a series of protective cases in a variety of colors, including a set that add bundle QI-compatible wireless charging to the handset -- at the cost of adding an extra 1mm to the handset's overall thickness.
It'll arrive in Red, Yellow, Grey, Cyan, Purple, White and Black, with separate LTE and HSPA+ variants shipping "later in the year," but Elop and co declined to give a specific announcement on availability or price today.
Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile
Nokia announces Lumia 820, a 4.3-inch, LTE-running, budget-friendly Windows Phone 8 handset originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 05 Sep 2012 11:02:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink | | Email this | Comments29/08/2012 - Sony annouces Xperia T,V, and J models at IFA
Kaz Hirai is live on stage at Sony's press even at IFA, and has just announced three new Xperia phones, the T, V, and J. The T being the new flagship.
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Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile
Sony annouces Xperia T,V, and J models at IFA originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 29 Aug 2012 10:34:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink | | Email this | Comments23/08/2012 - Sony Mobile moving HQ to Tokyo, cutting 1,000 jobs in Sweden
Sony's slow and painful transformation continues with a restructuring of its newly-minted mobile division. In October, it's moving its headquarters from Lund, Sweden (presumably a holdover from its Ericsson days) to Tokyo -- for deeper integration -- and repurposing the duties of its facilities in Tokyo, Lund and Beijing. As part of the changes, Sony Mobile will slash 15 percent of its workforce, with 1,000 employees being let go by the end of March 2014, in a trend we've seen across the industry. Most of those affected are in Sweden, with 650 on-site staffers and up to 450 consultants being shown the door.
Continue reading Sony Mobile moving HQ to Tokyo, cutting 1,000 jobs in Sweden
Filed under: Cellphones
Sony Mobile moving HQ to Tokyo, cutting 1,000 jobs in Sweden originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 23 Aug 2012 03:51:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink | | Email this | Comments31/07/2012 - Verizon to stop blocking tethering apps, settles with FCC for $1.25 million
In May of last year, our free ride came to an end. US carriers started blocking third party tethering apps in the Android Market. Not long after, the built in feature was turned off on most phones. Our fortune may be reversing, however. The FCC has ruled that Verizon violated the rules governing the C Block of LTE spectrum by preventing consumers from using any application of their choice. The end result: Big Red will have to open up its airwaves and allow customers to circumvent its $20 a month tethering plan using apps from the Play store -- so long as you're on a "usage-based pricing plan." Though it's not explicitly stated, we assume that means those of you lucky enough to be grandfathered in to the unlimited data plans are left out. In addition to unblocking apps such as PdaNet and Barnacle, Verizon must pay a $1.25 million settlement to put an end to the investigation. For a few more details of the plan put in place to ensure compliance with the ruling, check out the PR after the break.
Continue reading Verizon to stop blocking tethering apps, settles with FCC for $1.25 million
Filed under: Wireless, Software
Verizon to stop blocking tethering apps, settles with FCC for $1.25 million originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 31 Jul 2012 15:28:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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19/07/2012 - Nokia's Q2 2012 financials announced: 4 million Lumias sold, $1.01 billion dollar loss
The past three months haven't been the best for Finland's former world number one. Unfortunately the results reveal that the company made an operating loss of $1.01 billion dollars for the quarter. The company managed to make €7.5 billion in sales ($9.2 billion, down .5 billion since the last quarter), shifting four million Lumia handsets in the process. In fact, the only cause for optimism is that sales of the Lumia range have roughly doubled each quarter.
The number of handsets pushed out the door increased (thanks to the Asha range of budget phones) with the company selling 73 million phones. That said, the company has clearly failed to crack America, selling a paltry 600,000 handsets in the States. The cash pile has also continued to dwindle, with the piggybank currently standing at €4.1 billion ($5.1 billion), down from $6.3 billion in Q1, despite getting a further $250 million in kickbacks from Microsoft.
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Filed under: Cellphones
Nokia's Q2 2012 financials announced: 4 million Lumias sold, $1.01 billion dollar loss originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 19 Jul 2012 06:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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16/07/2012 - T-Mobile officially confirms Samsung Galaxy Note, more details in coming weeks
Due to numerous marketing materials, FCC documents and other leaks, T-Mobile hasn't exactly made it a secret that the Samsung Galaxy Note would be coming to its network sometime soon. We've been begging the company to just come clean about it and confirm the inevitable, and a spokesperson has finally pulled the trigger, announcing on Twitter that it indeed is going to be coming to the lineup. This is unfortunately all the carrier is willing to divulge at this time, however, as we were told in a separate email that it will have "more details to share in the coming weeks." We're now strongly considering a pool on whether or not it'll arrive before a rumored sequel is announced.
[Thanks, Ramon]
Filed under: Cellphones, Wireless
T-Mobile officially confirms Samsung Galaxy Note, more details in coming weeks originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 16 Jul 2012 13:38:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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27/06/2012 - Google cuts the price of the HSPA+ Galaxy Nexus to $349, adds Jelly Bean

Jeez Louise, Google's 2012 I/O keynote has barely begun and much of the news has already leaked out on the company's own Play Store. Add this to the list: Google is dropping the price of the HSPA+ Galaxy Nexus to $349 from $399, and is updating the flagship phone with the next, soon-to-be-unveiled version of Android, Jelly Bean. That screenshot up there should answer some of your most likely questions, but here's the short version: it'll be compatible with AT&T and T-Mobile in the US, and roughly 200 other GSM carriers everywhere else in the world (no surprise here).
[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
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Google cuts the price of the HSPA+ Galaxy Nexus to $349, adds Jelly Bean originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 27 Jun 2012 12:36:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink | | Email this | Comments27/06/2012 - T-Mobile US CEO Philipp Humm resigns

Philipp Humm, the CEO of T-Mobile US, has resigned, according to a report from All Things D. While no official reason has been given, an official statement given to the publication tells us that Humm is heading back to Europe to be with his family and will look for a career outside of Deutsche Telekom. We're still waiting to receive the full statement from T-Mobile, and will update this post as we get more information.
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T-Mobile US CEO Philipp Humm resigns originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 27 Jun 2012 12:20:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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20/06/2012 - Microsoft introduces Windows Phone 8 for fall release
Microsoft has finally and officially removed the wraps from the OS formerly known as Apollo. It's now just Windows Phone 8 and, at their "sneak peek" event we're learning a good bit about that OS, and some of the great new hardware support that it offers.
And what are those hardware allowances? As detailed here, multi-core processors (up to 64) are now allowable, displays up to WXVGA (1280 x 768) and external storage on SD. This better, faster hardware will enable new, faster games and other demanding apps which, for the first time, can be written in native code. (Well, it's C/C++, which at least lets developers get out of CLR land.) All this will run on a kernel shared with Windows 8 and Windows RT. In other words: yes, Microsoft has managed to get one platform running on desktops, laptops, tablets and phones, the idea being that apps can be more easily ported from one to the next, promising "games we've never seen before" running on your phones.
There's also a new wallet functionality thanks to the NFC support, as detailed here, but reliant on an augmented SIM, not hardware on the phone itself. This means carriers won't have to remove apps (as we've seen with Google Wallet in the past) but they can block support altogether. Nokia maps is now built into the OS, including offline map support.
This is a big step forward on many levels, but Microsoft is naturally sticking to its roots, promising enterprise-ready security and support, enabling admins to deploy and restrict apps on corporate-provided phones and manage them remotely. There's also encryption and secure booting integrated.
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Follow the liveblog of the event here!
Microsoft introduces Windows Phone 8 for fall release originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 20 Jun 2012 12:18:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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