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Windows Phone 7: Buy One Get One Free?

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No, this deal isn’t from Microsoft (at least that I’m aware of) but it looks like users in love with Windows Phone 7 can purchase 2 models for the price of one (provided you are on the right carrier of course).

I know many of you have been waiting for the perfect time to pick up your new Windows Phone. AT&T just sweetened the pot a bit for the holiday shopping season with the announcement of a buy one get one free deal for the HTC Surround, LG Quantum and Samsung Focus. To take advantage of this offer head down to your local AT&T retail store, sign up for a two-year contract and you and a friend will have a couple of the coolest phones of the season.

Combine that offer with the AT&T entertainment pack which includes a free download of the Xbox LIVE puzzle game ilomilo, 30 days of Zune Pass service plus 10 free song downloads and 30 days of AT&T U-verse and you have a great way to pass the long drive to grandmas house for Thanksgiving. (Official Windows Phone Blog)

To my knowledge AT&T is the only US carrier offering this deal, although I wouldn’t be surprised to see T-Mobile and Verizon (the latter who is also embracing Windows Phone 7) adopt this policy in order to prevent users from defecting.

It will be interesting to see whether this deal bumps up demand for Windows Phone 7, whose sales have been decent but not blockbuster hits (at least when compared against the iPhone and Android).

Note: Microsoft has thus far declined to disclose how well Windows Phone 7 has done, giving generic praises of the device which is rumored to only have sold 40,000 units at launch.

Originally posted on November 24, 2010 @ 1:24 pm

Windows Phone 7: Use Any Browser As Long As It’s IE?

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For those of you hoping that Microsoft would allow rival browsers to appear upon their beloved mobile device, you may want to consider jailbreaking as a serious option.

Internet Explorer not stirring your cup of Windows Phone 7 tea correctly? Well, you now have an alternative in the form of a new browser that’s arrived in the Marketplace: Browser+. It does seem to have been built on IE code rather than its own framework, so don’t get your hopes up for Chrome to Phone on WP7 any time soon. (via Engadget)

Other bloggers are also confirming the IE only flavor that Microsoft is establishing, which ironically makes Microsoft more of a locked down OS than Apple’s iOS (who allowed Opera to grace the app store in April of this year).

Although it’s not surprising to see a third party browser apps emerge embracing IE (as iOS has numerous apps embracing mobile Safari), hopefully the software giant will consider opening up their smartphone to competitors in the future.

While IE on Windows Phone 7 is a vast improvement over its predecessors, giving users browser choice could help improve Microsoft’s image in the mobile market, something the company desperately needs to do in order to catch up to Android or iOS.

Originally posted on November 17, 2010 @ 5:12 pm

Hacktivist Loss Is Amazon’s Gain? (Wikileaks)

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Unless you lived in a house lacking a television as well as an internet connection, you are probably aware of the Wikileaks war that has been raging recently.

Yesterday a hacker group called Anonymous was able to successfully launch DDoS attacks against Mastercard, Visa and Paypal, temporarily forcing all of those sites offline.

The Hacktivists (as some call them) then set their sites upon Amazon for refusing to host Wikileaks earlier in the organization’s time of need.

However, unlike their previous attempts, Amazon seemed to hold their own as indicated by an message sent by someone claiming to represent the group.

With the Amazon attack, they are simply toooo big for us right now. Maybe at a later time we can try again with them.

We are using LOIC’s to attack. We have a hive of nearly 5000 users right now. You can read about LOICs here – http://encyclopediadramatica.com/LOIC (via Mashable)

Whether or not you agree with the Hacktivists DDoS attacks, the fact that Amazon was able to easily withstand the attacks is impressive (technologically wise) and will probably help bolster their image among the masses as a superior hosting platform.

With DDoS attacks sadly becoming the norm for supporters and haters of Wikileaks, this whole drama could end up benefiting Amazon financially as the company might be able to use these attacks to convince companies to host with them instead of the competition.

Originally posted on December 9, 2010 @ 3:02 pm

Google And Apple Are “Friends” Again (Google Voice)

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After removing third party Google Voice apps (and lying to the public about it), Apple has finally cleared Google Voice for the iPhone giving iOS fans one less reason to be jealous of their Android friends.

Earlier this year we launched a Google Voice HTML5 web app for iPhone users. Today we’re taking the Google Voice experience on the iPhone to a whole new level with the launch of the official Google Voice for iPhone app.

With this native app, you’ll continue to have access to all the major Google Voice features on your iPhone[.] […]

Google Voice for iPhone is available to download from the Apple App Store today. You’ll need an iPhone with iOS 3.1 or later and a valid Google Voice account to use the app. At this time, Google Voice is available in the U.S. only. (Official Google Voice Blog) [Read more…]

Originally posted on November 16, 2010 @ 4:27 pm

Google Docs Syncs With MS Office, Is OpenOffice Next?

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Despite Google Docs embrace by numerous charities, corporations and road warriors (thanks to Google’s ever-so-helpful web app) there are still many individuals who refuse to leave the domain of Microsoft Exchange.

In order to make it easier for users to embrace the cloud, Google is allowing business users to sync changes from their office suite to Google Docs online.

Users of Office 2003, 2007 and 2010 can sync their Office documents to the Google cloud, without ever leaving Office. Once synced, documents are backed-up, given a unique URL, and can be accessed from anywhere (including mobile devices) at any time through Google Docs. And because the files are stored in the cloud, people always have access to the current version.

Once in the Google cloud, documents can be easily shared and even simultaneously edited by multiple people, from right within Office. A full revision history is kept as the files are edited, and users can revert to earlier versions in one click. These are all features that Google Docs users already enjoy today, and now we’re bringing them to Microsoft Office. (Official Google Docs Blog) [Read more…]

Originally posted on November 22, 2010 @ 4:40 pm