Say what you will about Windows Phone, it’s missing apps, the hardware doesn’t compete with the latest Android devices, etc, ad infinitum… What the OS does have though is a huge amount of independent, highly motivated developers. Whose passion and skills combined with a bit of engineering, can blow you away.
HTC posted over on their Global Homepage, what is a concept brought to reality, an advanced baby monitor, and advanced is really understating it.
What can you do with a pair of HTC 8X smartphones, a pan/tilt gimble, a WiFi connection and a block of wood?
“Dream big and reach for the crazy projects, actually do the work, write out the schematics, and build it, and be prepared to evaluate the success or failure every step along the way.”
The concept allows one 8X to stream video via WiFi to another 8X, on a rig that responds to audio input. If people doubt the power, usefulness, versatility of the OS this video is something you will want to look at!
WordPress is one of the biggest blogging platforms out there, and when we talk about apps coming to the Windows Phone ecosystem, I think their app for both Windows Phone 7 and Windows phone 8 have mirrored each other and have been overlooked. The app since it was first released got off to a slow start, but of late it seems that there has been update upon update, and it has become a really useful tool for bloggers on the go.
The app is very true to the modern design, it has been kept very clean and functional, and in increments, has actually caught up to the web interface that WordPress offers in the PC browser. The latest update for me ticked the last box, you can now access the visual editor from your Windows Phone.
As Windows Phone users go, there are many out there that are not that involved, even though they have chosen the OS, and made their phones their own, they are some how distant from the ecosystem.
Quite often apps available for an OS are make or break, when people decide to go with a new phone, and it has been the bane of Windows Phone growth, not to mention any names or apps that people want.
These large services that are missing though often are highly financially backed, but what of a lot of the apps that you use every day, do you ever think were they come from?
There are a lot of passionate independent developers out there making apps that are on the store now, and inadvertently you are probably using quite a few apps, developed by these people, because they suit your needs. People often have no idea how all these apps, are developed and tested, and the emotional investment made by these developers, or the effect an un-thought out store review from a user affects them. Read On
So good news and bad news, looks like there will be an AusWinPhone app on the Windows Phone Store pending approval in the next couple of days, and of course it will be free. Bad news is that the app that I have been working on for the site failed certification dismally, because of a simple language mistake that I made, and some issues with logos.
So as disappointed as I am with myself for missing a couple of basic things, I quickly uploaded a generated app from a service online, to get something up which I hope to update later in the week. Not satisfactory, but a solution that will work for now, as I have been under the pump working on another project that I think all Windows Phone Fans will appreciate. While not elegant, it is a stop gap that I hope to be able to update soon.
I love PhotoSynth, it’s unmatchable for really cool 360 degree photos, but then once shared on the site, you can pan all through them really effectively. It’s more than 360 degrees though, if you can work it correctly you can actually get a fully interactive spherical image. Have a go and send me some links to your efforts in the comments!
Recently I reviewed Page Manager2 for Windows Phone, in it’s beta form, although that was just prior to it’s submission to the marketplace. So it’s great to report that it has sailed through the approval process in what I would call record time. What is impressive for an Aussie made app is that it is universal, and will be available in 149 countries world wide.
It’s an essential tool for managing multiple Facebook pages on the go from your Windows Phone, and well worth the price of $1.99 for what will be a well supported application, with feature updates already planned. If you have version 1 installed of course the app will update.
One of the most useful features that we can have on our phones is the ability to monitor our usage, both data and call cap. Windows Phone is an incredibly data centric operating system. The beauty and bane of which could be its live tile interface, depending on your mobile plan, having a fairly active home screen can easily eat up a lot of data without you knowing it.
While contracts with carriers are now more reflective of users data usage, overages cost an arm and a leg and a kidney. While call caps are hard to go over in a month, data caps, are more and more likely to be broached. Without tethering to other devices, I still find it quite easy to use 2 Gb of data a month on the phone, so much so that I am constantly monitoring it as the month runs down.
Recently I had a chance to look at a new app from my friend @dgaust totally focused on the important info about my carrier account with Telstra. Surprisingly he himself describes it as “just a live tile” when it is so much more.
