All About Windows Phone

News, reviews, information and apps for Windows Phone.

Recent Features

Camera head to head: Lumia 950 XL vs Redmi Note 10 Pro

Last week I pitched the new AMOLED-screened budget Redmi Note 10 Pro, made by Xiaomi, against the IDOL 4 Pro (for its screen and media capabilities) — and the result was almost a complete whitewash. The Redmi Note 10 Pro, at just over £200 inc VAT, is a stunning game changer of a device, specs-wise — but can its camera system beat out an old AAWP favourite? With Xiaomi’s excellent image processing, despite the low price tag, I’m expecting a close run thing.

# Posted by Steve in Features || Comments 12:53, Apr 18th

Head to head: Alcatel IDOL 4 Pro vs Xiaomi Redmi Note 10 Pro

After the Lumia 950 XL head to head with the flagship Xiaomi Mi 11 in the £700 range, I wanted to match this with a similar comparison feature at the other end of the market, but this time using the media-centric Alcatel IDOL 4 Pro, my favourite Windows-powered phone of the last era in AAWP. The (Xiaomi) Redmi Note 10 Pro is also brand new and usually around the £200 mark, while still offering an impressive (even game changing) spec level, especially against something as relatively old as the Alcatel, though this put up a close fight in some areas, as you’ll see.

# Posted by Steve in Features || Comments 13:07, Apr 15th

‘Piny — Pinterest with love’ UWP updated for 2021

A full four years ago I looked at a fledgling UWP Pinterest client for Windows 10 Mobile — and, believe it or not, it’s still being updated, with the latest in the last few days. The developers, Chococode, are one of the last active UWP app developers compiling for Windows 10 Mobile, so credit to them. Piny UWP is now £4 if you want to zap the ads, so it’s slightly pricier than it was originally, but heck, at this stage in Windows 10 Mobile’s existence, it’s worth showering active developers in beer, so buying them a pint in this case is money well spent, I contend.

# Posted by Steve in Features || Comments 06:47, Apr 13th

Smartphone wired audio/DACs. (2021 update)

Minor apologies for two quick updates to this ‘reference’ article in a few days, but I’ve added the rather excellent Samsung Type C to 3.5mm DAC/dongle, plus made numerous extra tweaks to the table, including quoting maximum sample rates and resolution where known. Here I look at wired audio quality from smartphone 3.5mm jacks (where they have one) and from add-on, plug-in DACs/dongles (where digital output is the only wired way forwards). Worth bookmarking, hopefully, and coming back to later in 2021, since I’ll keep updating it as needed.

# Posted by Steve in Features || Comments 17:47, Apr 11th

Status report for April 2021: services and apps on Windows 10 Mobile

Here, for April 2021, is the refreshed/latest news and comment on applications and services on Windows 10 Mobile — the OS itself has now had its very last security update, but it still works on the whole. This feature will summarise what’s broken and what’s not, along with workarounds where possible. Details and links have all been updated throughout. Note that I’ve kept the URL the same, so the last nine months of comments are all still here.

# Posted by Steve in Features || Comments 16:53, Mar 31st

Camera head to head: Lumia 950 XL vs Xiaomi Mi 11 5G

Xiaomi is now no. 2 in Europe by some metrics in the smartphone world and it’s easy to see why, with great value, high spec handsets — and, to my delight, with good image processing in their cameras. And now we have the first of the next generation Xiaomi flagships, the Mi 11, currently £650 inc VAT on Amazon UK. So not cheap, but also not crazy Samsung or iPhone flagship pricing. Last week I looked at overall specs, here I test out the Mi 11’s imaging against the usual staple, the Lumia 950 XL.

# Posted by Steve in Features || Comments 06:41, Mar 29th

Head to head: Lumia 950 XL vs Xiaomi Mi 11 5G

Another year, another Xiaomi flagship, good value for money compared to the Samsungs and OnePlus of this world. Except that there are several variants, two of which have yet to be announced (next week should see the ‘Pro’ and ‘Ultimate’). Regardless, I have the standard Xiaomi Mi 11 5G in hand and here I do a head-to-head against my standard benchmark device (for AAWP), the Lumia 950 XL. Imaging is next, don’t worry.

# Posted by Steve in Features || Comments 07:29, Mar 26th

Just how practical is solar power for keeping your smartphone going?

It’s an idea that I’ve toyed with over the years, and prompted by a recent submission for review of a solar-powered smartphone power bank (link below, it had a design flaw!) Now, I’m in the UK and the sun isn’t exactly a reliable resource, but hey, picking a sunny day or two in early Spring here, I applied some science to the solar idea. Using my trusty Choetech 19W tri-fold panel, I’ve been taking measurements and doing some maths.

# Posted by Steve in Features || Comments 07:28, Mar 24th

2021 Smartphone photo storage thoughts

With Google stepping back from their original vision for Google Photos, year on year, changes are afoot in the phone photo storage world. So I thought a round up of your options in 2021 would be worthwhile. This being cross-posted to AAWP, it’s highly appropriate to suggest that Microsoft’s OneDrive, as used originally back in Symbian (as ‘SkyDrive’) and then Windows Phone days, is still perhaps the premium repository for all your photos and videos. But there are alternatives galore.

# Posted by Steve in Features || Comments 07:20, Mar 22nd

My Top 20 free Microsoft Windows 10 wallpaper/theme packs

Almost exactly a year ago, I was struck by the quality and beauty of one of Microsoft’s official Windows 10 Wallpaper/Theme packs for Windows 10. Each with stunning colours and composition, and each with 15 (or so) wallpapers for your PC/hybrid to cycle through and generally take theme and colour cues from. So I wrote a guide for adapting these for Windows 10 Mobile, e.g. on a Lumia. Since then we’ve had dozens of similar packs, i.e. many hundreds of super-high-end images, so I thought I’d pick my top 20, in case you too feel like a wallpaper/theme change for your PC/phone.

# Posted by Steve in Features || Comments 07:36, Mar 18th

All about windows phone blog

Put four knowledgeable Brits with a passion for mobile technology together on a website, and if you’re very lucky you might get something that looks a bit like this week’s Blog Star. Please make some noise for the magnificent All About Windows Phone.

What is it?

This week’s featured blog is chock full of news, reviews and features, with in depth writing and personality-filled fortnightly podcasts. It looks at phones, accessories, software and related technology. A British blog with international appeal, it launched in October 2011 and is the latest addition to the All About family of blogs, alongside All About Symbian and All About Meego.

Who runs it?

Rafe Blandford has headed up the All About blogs for more than a decade. His Twitter profile describes him as “thinking about mobile” which I think is a bit of an understatement: it’s more like he eats, sleeps and breathes it. He writes with Steve Litchfield (who also edits the blog), Ewan Spence and David Gilson, each of the guys writing from a noticeably different angle – from a deep understanding of the underlying technology and what it’s capable of, to photography and multimedia and the consumer experience.

What we love about it

The sheer volume and range of content is vast. It isn’t unusual for ten articles to go live on a single day. These can include anything from hardware and software news and reviews to buying tips, photography hints and tricks, and views on fascinating news from elsewhere – much of which is just passed over by other bloggers. It really is a place that immerses you in Windows mobile technology.

The hardware reviews are astonishingly detailed – take a look at the four part 7,852 word beast of a review on the Nokia Lumia 928 – while their app and game reviews offer a great taster for new software, with screenshots and a great understanding of what their readers need to know.

Of course with so much content, you could easily miss some really important stuff in a standard day by day blog format – but not only do the All About Windows Phone team know their technology, they also know how to structure their stories so you can find them no matter how you like to browse. And we absolutely adore their regular podcasts, where the team gets together to share facts and opinion with a decent dollop of banter thrown in too. Here’s what they had to say about the launch of the Nokia Lumia 1020, in which they scrutinise the New York launch event itself as well as sharing their expectations of the 1020 itself. And the best bit about the podcasts? I think it’s that you can tell these guys genuinely enjoy the technology they’re talking about. It’s so much more than just “thinking about mobile”.

What’s its stand out feature?

Once in a while, I come across a blog that has depth, knowledge and objectivity, coupled with an honest passion for its subject and a good dose of personality to keep it running. Done just right, that can be a pretty potent mix for holding an industry to account. All About Windows Phone is just such a blog.

All four contributors are enthusiastic about Nokia products – but they aren’t about to let us kick back. They’re quick to tell us when we’re getting it right. They’re quicker to tell us when we could do better. And that’s the most valuable thing that I get from All About Windows Phone – that they’ll do everything they can to keep big players like Nokia and Microsoft on our toes. Please don’t stop, guys.

Hooking up beyond the blog

You’ll find All About Windows Phone on Twitter, Google+, Facebook and YouTube – and their four personal Twitter feeds (find them on the About Us page) are a great way to get to know them individually. The fact is that wherever you hook up with All About Windows Phone, you’ll find yourself totally immersed in a daily stream of up to the minute, accurate, expert views and know-how.

So what should Rafe and co be writing about this week to keep the Windows Phone community on its toes?

Welcome ‘All About Windows Phone’

It is a sign of the times. What you might consider the Godfathers of the once epicly huge Symbian community, Rafe Blandford, Steve Litchfield and team of All About Symbian have opened the doors to their new venture – “All About Windows Phone”.

It’s not the first time there has been a spin off from AAS, there was afterall, All About MeeGo. Â AAWP joins the line of Windows Phone sites that aim to bring news and educate about Windows Phone. I’m sure it will still be a nice safe place for Nokia fans (who are willing to give WP a go) despite the likely possibility of coverage of multiple manufacturers (shame AAS’ manufacturer’s list essentially dwindled into one).

The site looks great, very clean with well defined core topics they’ll be covering. (Makes me wish I was less higgledypiggledy here)

We will of course, still try to cover as much Nokia related news as we can, including Windows Phone things. Here at MNB we’ll be focused more on the Nokia windows phone and that ecosystem as a whole, unless there is something significant to WP or Nokia as it relates to MS things. Of course, we will still always cover Symbian, S40, Meltemi, Qt and any Nokia stuff as well as any remnants of MeeGo/Maemo and the future Swipe. As for Tizen…meh…

I’ve reserved covering WP apps until I actually have a Nokia phone with Windows Phone Mango on it. Â So pleeease, Nokia, can I have a trial unit of this please when it’s available? (I haven’t touched anything since the E6 btw. No belle, no N9). Ha.

Windows Phone — недостатки и преимущества

Windows Phone — это операционная система для мобильных устройств. Была разработана корпорацией Microsoft. Преимуществом этой системы является четкость и скорость работы, которая сопоставима с iOS . Windows Phone и iOS, несмотря на то, что они сильно отличаются, работает намного быстрее, чем Android. Иначе говоря, Windows Phone необходим для удовольствия, а сама система не требует такого контроля, как OS Android. К плюсам Windows Phone, необходимо также добавить большое количество бесплатных приложений.
Вы бесплатно получаете ‘Office’, навигацию и множество других полезных приложений. Еще одним преимуществом является синхронизация данных в gmail, Google — контакты сохраняются в учетной записи Microsoft, а когда вы меняете телефон, то сразу же получаете доступ ко всем данным.

К недостаткам системы относятся ограниченная возможность передачи данных для персональных компьютеров. Другой недостаток : приложения нельзя устанавливать на карту памяти SD. Кроме того, любители игр в магазине Microsoft не найдут слишком много для интересного. SD-карта используется только для хранения файлов с фотографиями, видео и музыкой. Еще в конце 2012 года на рынок вышла версия системы – Windows Phone 8. К плюсам этой версии можно отнести интерфейс Modern UI, который является уникальным. Внешний вид рабочего стола зависит от вашей изобретательности и воображения. Второе преимущество — это экран блокировки, задачей которого является информирование пользователя обо всех важных событиях, таких как пропущенные сообщения и звонки, напоминания, текущие погодные условия, а также уведомления из социальных сетей. Кроме того, экран блокировки может работать с Groupon. Это приложение, которое сообщает, о событиях в городе, например, культурных или спортивных мероприятий. Другое очень полезное преимущество, которое, впрочем, выступала в предыдущих версиях – хабы, благодаря которым темы взаимосвязаны между собой, собраны в одном месте.

Дополнительные приложения (например, проигрыватель YouTube) после установки интегрируются с собственными приложениями, а это означает, что можно быстро переключаться между ними. Другая новинка — это ‘номера’, благодаря которым можно создавать группы контактов, чтобы поделиться, например, с друзьями или с близкими своими фотографиями, файлами, музыкой или наблюдениями. Другой полезной функцией является Skydrive. Этот виртуальный диск дает пользователям системы очень много преимуществ. Доступная память составляет 7 ГБ. Skydrive полностью интегрирован с ОС, а передача данных осуществляется с помощью wi-fi.

Виртуальный кошелек и платежные карты

Другая важная функция — это виртуальный кошелек, который позволяет хранить ваши платежные карты. Есть возможность добавить счет PayPal, который позволяет нам совершать покупки в магазине приложений. Некоторым дополнением к ранее перечисленных преимуществ является тот факт, что последние наборы, использующие Windows Phone 8 работают на одном из самых мощных в настоящее время процессоров — процессор Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 и имеют экраны с высоким разрешением HD.Другой достаточно важной, но очень полезной функцией является возможность группового обмена и удаления фотографий.

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