Windows Phone

Meet Cortana, Microsoft’s answer to Siri

Christian Zibreg ∙ March 3, 2014

The Windows giant Microsoft will be introducing its upcoming Windows Phone 8.1 update at the Build conference next month.

With it comes Cortana, a Microsoft-branded personal digital assistant that includes functionality provided by Apple's Siri and Google's Google Now voice-activated assistants.

It also has a few nice features not provided by Apple so perhaps competition from Microsoft (and Google) will prompt the iPhone maker to roll out new Siri features sooner than later. The Verge has an exclusive look at Cortana's interface and some of its features, here are the highlights...

Microsoft officially launches its $200 iPhone trade-in bait

Christian Zibreg ∙ September 27, 2013

Forbes on Wednesday reported that Microsoft will be extending its existing $200 iPad trade-in offer to Apple's iPhone as well. Sure enough, today the promotion has gone live. It's part of Microsoft's running #timetoswitch Windows Phone and Windows 8 campaign that encompasses television, print, online and social media channels.

Similar to the iPad promotion, the Windows giant has partnered with recycle firm CExchange to lure would-be switchers into bringing in their existing iPhone handset in good working condition for up to $200 credit, redeemable against Microsoft Store purchases...

Microsoft to trade-in your iPhone if you switch

Christian Zibreg ∙ September 25, 2013

Microsoft has been running its #timetoswitch campaign for some time, to mixed results. The multi-pronged effort spans television, print, online and social media channels as Microsoft positions Windows Phone as the next big thing.

Part of that effort is a recent iPad trade-in campaign seeking to steal sales from Apple by inviting iPad users to trade-in their tablet for up to $200 in Microsoft Store credits. That's just the tip of the iceberg: Forbes writes today that Redmond is prepping to add the iPhone to the promotion...

New Microsoft ad touts Lumia 1020 camera, mocks iPhone users

Cody Lee ∙ August 22, 2013

My how the tables have turned. Five years ago Apple was running its 'I'm a Mac' ads, attacking the perceived weaknesses of PCs running Microsoft's Windows software. And now we have Microsoft making ads that attack Apple products.

The Redmond company's latest in a series of Cupertino-bashing commercials pits the 41MP camera of Nokia's Lumia 1020 against that on the iPhone 5. And as you can imagine, the spot paints iPhone users in a not-so-favorable light...

In the aftermath of the Apple deal, HopStop for Windows Phone gets discontinued

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 23, 2018

Last Friday, Apple confirmed it had snapped up HopStop, the brains behind a transit-navigation app which provides detailed subway, bus, train, taxi, walking and biking directions. The move should complement Apple's troubled mapping solution as the company works toward folding HopStop's high-quality public transit data into its in-house Maps app.

Though an important capability, Apple initially felt content with third-parties tackling the transit navigation puzzle. Be that as it may, it's now come to our attention that the Windows Phone app has rather unceremoniously been pulled following the HopStop acquisition.

File this one under the 'business as usual' drawer: Apple similarly pulled Chomp for Android after acquiring the app discovery engine back in February 2012...

Here’s why Apple dropped the ball in Russia

Ed Sutherland ∙ Updated April 18, 2016

Russia is one of the BRIC countries mentioned alongside Brazil, India and China as areas where demand for smartphones is increasing rapidly. Yet, recently, the last of Russia's big-three carriers stopped selling the iPhone, leaving it up to resellers and Apple's new online store to meet demand.

Why are Russian carriers saying no to the iconic handset - and adopting competitors, such as Samsung and Microsoft? The answer could be as simple as 1-2-3...

Microsoft reorganizes as Nokia unveils new 41MP phone

Cody Lee ∙ Updated March 2, 2017

Seemingly taking a page from Apple's playbook, Microsoft announced a major reorganization this morning. It's calling the move 'One Microsoft,' as it looks to rally behind a single strategy as one company, instead of a collection of separate divisional strategies.

The company says that moving forward, it will continue to release new devices and services. And this new approach will allow it to innovate with greater speed, efficiency and capability in a "fast-changing world," while helping them execute better than ever...

IDC: Apple, Android own 92% smartphone volume, Windows Phone beats BlackBerry

Ed Sutherland ∙ May 16, 2013

Just days after rival research firm Gartner released quarterly sales for iOS and Android, rival IDC today announced similar numbers for shipments of smartphones. Combined, iOS and Android maintained their stranglehold on the smartphone market, accounting for more than an astounding 92 percent of shipments during the first quarter of 2013.

In a surprising move, shipments of the Windows Phone smartphone operating system surpassed the BlackBerry OS, putting Microsoft in third place behind Android and iOS. I bet you didn't see that one coming...

Windows Phone ad sees iPhone and Android owners trading insults at wedding

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated October 22, 2017

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z19vR1GldRI

Despite the massive marketing blitz, Microsoft's Windows Phone platform has managed to regain but a fraction of market share lost to iOS and Android in years past. Figuring it could take a page from Samsung's marketing handbook, Microsoft on Monday published on its YouTube channel a new Windows Phone commercial which takes a mandatory jab at Apple's iPhone and its Siri digital personal assistant while also poking fun of Gorilla-sized Android devices from Samsung. The funny ad is aimed at boosting Microsoft's and Nokia's stagnant sales of Lumia handsets in the United States...

Apple claimed $3 out of each $4 top app stores made in Q1

Ed Sutherland ∙ Updated April 18, 2016

In the latest sign of the importance apps play in smartphone adoption, more than thirteen billion downloads were recorded during the first three months of 2013, according to a Monday report.

The survey of the four leading app stores also found Apple, Google and others earned $2.2 billion from apps, an eleven percent increase over the final quarter of 2012.

Whereas Apple leads in terms of revenue - and by a large margin, too - Google's Play Store, thanks to a large installed base of Android devices, has the upper hand in terms of download count. Specifically, the App Store collected 74 percent of the revenue of top app stores, while Google Play led registered 51 percent of apps obtained...

Chart: how US mobile landscape changed in 7 years

Christian Zibreg ∙ March 21, 2013

Research firm comScore today released a comprehensive report on mobile landscape in the United States and elsewhere and one particular chart stands out as another example of how the smartphone market is a duopoly between iOS and Android, with Apple and Samsung increasingly taking industry's profits at the expense of - well, pretty much every other handset maker out there.

Spanning 2005-2012, the chart paints an accurate picture of platform dynamics when it comes to the competitive market for connected mobile devices...

Vevo wants to become the next MTV, launches always-on broadcast channel

Christian Zibreg ∙ March 12, 2013

Today at SXSW, Vevo announced a 24/7 channel coming to your traditional television via the Roku set-top box and the Xbox gaming console, but also to the Vevo web site and mobile platforms like Apple's iOS, Google's Android, Microsoft's Windows Phone. As you know, Vevo streams official music videos licensed from record labels, both through its web site and via a dedicated YouTube channel, where most of its 52 million monthly uniques come from.

Vevo's mobile apps will be updated with an around-the-clock curated experience of original programming, including live concerts and television shows. The experience is being described as multicast, meaning everyone gets to watch the same programming at the exact same time, regardless of the platform they're accessing it from. Vevo TV will even feature a 24-hour schedule of static programming blocks, just like your regular dumb-ified tube...