Take a picture with your voice? Microsoft wants a patent on it

voicesnap

Tired of using a timer to snap a picture? Microsoft has a solution for you. Well, it’s not a particularly original solution, at least not at this point. But the company is hoping to patent the approach. A newly surfaced patent application, first reported by Patent Bolt, describes a method for “voice-controlled camera operations,” in… Read More…

Microsoft’s Windows Phone inches past BlackBerry for #3 in IDC’s global rankings

Nokia-Lumia-925

Microsoft’s Windows Phone is making modest but steady progress in the smartphone market, according to the latest numbers from the IDC research firm. Shipments of Windows Phone reached 7 million units in the first quarter, the firm says. That gave Microsoft 3.2 percent market share and put Windows Phone ahead of BlackBerry, which came in… Read More…

Location-sharing startup Glympse looks to expand its reach with first public SDK

Map Screen

Seattle startup Glympse has made its mark with time-based location sharing technology, letting people share their spot on the map with others in real time, for a limited period of time. Increasingly the company has also been working with partners — including BMW, Ford and many others — to incorporate the technology into their own… Read More…

Verizon CEO: Windows Phone will play a crucial role in the mobile industry

lumiasmall

At least one high-level mobile exec is optimistic about the long-term success of the Windows Phone. Verizon CEO Dan Mead said today that the Windows Phone has received good traction with OEM’s and thinks both Windows and Blackberry will play a crucial role in the mobile industry. Mead added that there needs to be more… Read More…

Windows Phone app nirvana: YouTube and Foursquare refreshed, as Hulu arrives

youtube

Microsoft is releasing a new version of its YouTube app for Windows Phone 8 today, with new capabilities that take advantage of Windows Phone’s core features. It’s part of a broader effort by Microsoft to strengthen its lineup of Windows Phone apps to better compete with the iPhone, Android and BlackBerry. Also new today: An… Read More…

PHOTO: Come on, where’s the love for Windows Phone?

tunein

Windows Phone just can’t catch a break, it seems. The ad above, for the popular TuneIn radio app, is appearing as part of a big transit campaign in the Seattle region, a.k.a. Microsoft’s backyard. There happens to be a very nice version of TuneIn available for Microsoft’s Windows Phone. But you wouldn’t know it based… Read More…

First look: Microsoft’s ‘Switch to Windows Phone’ app for Android

windowsphone

Microsoft today released a new app designed to make it easier for Android users to make the leap to Windows Phone. OK, this probably won’t end up being the most-used Android app in history. But it is an interesting attempt by Microsoft to chip away at Google’s lead in the smartphone market. So consider us… Read More…

Microsoft’s raucous new Windows Phone ad pokes fun at Samsung, Apple fans

apple

Can a little humor improve Microsoft’s fortunes in the U.S. smartphone market? The company just released this preview of a new ad that attempts to differentiate Windows Phone from Apple and Samsung by poking fun at stereotypical users of the leading smartphones. The ad shows the guests at a wedding getting into an all-out fight… Read More…

Windows Phone exec throws cold water on rumors of Microsoft phone

Terry Myerson

The Microsoft executive who leads the company’s Windows Phone group, this morning came very close to outright denying any plans by Microsoft to come out with its own smartphone hardware, despite past reports that it was moving in that direction. Speaking at the All Things D “Dive Into Mobile” conference, Microsoft corporate vice president Terry Myerson… Read More…

Report: Lumia 920 rises to top of Windows Phone market

lumia920

Nokia’s Lumia 920 is now the most widely used Windows Phone device, reaching 14 percent of usage, and Nokia is by far the biggest maker of Windows Phones, with upwards of 80 percent of the market for Microsoft-powered devices. That’s the word from AdDuplex, an app-promotion service for Windows Phone and Windows 8, drawing from its latest… Read More…