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[thirty]

castlevania is $7. ahahahhahahahaaaaaaaaaaaaa, it's a damn puzzle game. an iphone port at that.

 

[Ocho]

Hey guys!

Quick question: I own an US Xbox account but I lack a US credit card since I'm not american. It seems I need to buy the apps on the shop with a valid Credit Card. Do you guys know any quick solution? Or is it just not feasable?

Thanks.

EDIT: I've managed to survive on Xbox Live with US MS points bought online. I don't want to create a new account (serious money spent, a nice gt, and achievements)

 

[Vanillalite]

castlevania is $7. ahahahhahahahaaaaaaaaaaaaa, it's a damn puzzle game. an iphone port at that.

I tried the demo. It just made me want an actual 2d Castlevania with a better resolution than all of the DS games. LOL

Game looked cool, but LOL@7 bucks. Seriously MS I'm not paying out the ass for a phone game even if it's got xbl achievements because I could give a fuck about that.

 

[thirty]

exactly, after buying need for speed i told myself i'd never spend more than $3 for phone games.

 

[clav]

Hey guys!

Quick question: I own an US Xbox account but I lack a US credit card since I'm not american. It seems I need to buy the apps on the shop with a valid Credit Card. Do you guys know any quick solution? Or is it just not feasable?

Thanks.

EDIT: I've managed to survive on Xbox Live with US MS points bought online. I don't want to create a new account (serious money spent, a nice gt, and achievements)

I asked this question a few pages back, and the response was no. You can't use points on WP7, and it may stay that way as Microsoft wants to move away from the points system.

You can't even buy Xbox 360 DVD downloadable games with points.

 

[antiquegamer]

I asked this question a few pages back, and the response was no. You can't use points on WP7, and it may stay that way as Microsoft wants to move away from the points system.

You can't even buy Xbox 360 DVD downloadable games with points.

Actually you can, there is an option you can toggle to change payment method for the Xbox full game on Xbox live. The reason it's not implement on the phone well ... I don't know why, probably because we still running unfinish OS for Microsoft.

 

[antiquegamer]

I have a wallpaper folder in my Windows 7 Pictures Library that will automatically sync with my WP7 via Zune. You could also use SkyDrive to sync the pics over the air.


I said it's not entirely their fault, doesn't mean they didn't fuck up.

I won't completely disagree with you (I said something similar about MS' relationship with Verizon in this and the Nokia thread), but saying MS is taking too long with the CDMA update, while the final is on their servers since January and waiting to go online ... well.

Hmm.. I have to see what I did wrong (may be deleted it) but I don't see that folder (wallpaper) in my zune (though it is on my phone).

 

[brotkasten]

Hmm.. I have to see what I did wrong (may be deleted it) but I don't see that folder (wallpaper) in my zune (though it is on my phone).

I created that folder (called it WP7 wallpapers).

Microsoft released the final version of the Mac sync tool on the Mac App Store.
Download: Windows Phone 7 connector for Mac

 

[Robobandit]

I created that folder (called it WP7 wallpapers).

Microsoft released the final version of the Mac sync tool on the Mac App Store.
Download: Windows Phone 7 connector for Mac

This version fixes the issue that prevented you from syncing the device with a mac if it was locked with a pin code.

I get my work e-mail on my device, which enforces a PIN. Since then, I haven't been able to Enable sync on my device until they released this updated version.

now if they'll just provide an update for the phone itself.. MS and I will be on good terms.

 

[shantyman]

So which carriers blocked the update? AT&T and T-Mobile would have a vested interest in keeping the CDMA update from being released. What a mess this is.

 

[jonnybryce]

I like the HTC 7 Trophy. It is clean, very stylish in appearance and has nice specs. It doesn't have any offensive qualities (LG) or gimmicky components (Surround). A clean, nice slab. If I was interested in buying a WP7 phone, which I'm not, I would lean towards something like the Trophy.

 

[Lucius86]

Are there any new Windows 7 handsets announced??

 

[brotkasten]

Are there any new Windows 7 handsets announced??

We'll see new Windows Phone 7 handsets later this year.

e: Engadget's Chris Ziegler interviewed Aaron Woodman, director of Microsoft's mobile communication bussines.

http://www.engadget.com/2011/02/16/the-engadget-interview-microsofts-aaron-woodman-talks-windows/

And Thurrot confirms again that the Zune brand is going to be killed.

Mary Jo Foley stoked the flames by publishing a post in which she rhetorically asked whether Microsoft was killing Zune. This caused Microsoft to issue a denial that wasn’t really a denial. According to Microsoft:

We’re not ‘killing’ any of the Zune services/features in any way. Microsoft remains committed to providing a great music and video experience from Zune on platforms such as Xbox LIVE, Windows-based PCs, Zune devices and Windows Phone 7, as well as integration with Bing and MSN.
​

Right. No one ever said the software or services were disappearing. What I’ve been saying is that the Zune brand is disappearing. The stuff that is currently part of Zune, in the public’s eye at least—the Zune PC software, the Windows Phone player and management software, the Zune Marketplace, and Zune Pass—will all continue going forward. But these things will no longer bear the Zune brand. They will instead become part of Microsoft’s broader efforts around other products and brands. Most likely Windows Live? (That’s a guess.) This effort has been ongoing at Microsoft for some time. And whoever wrote that quoted text above (I saw this on Facebook’s Zune page) has known about this longer than I have. Process that one for a second.

And if you re-read that Microsoft “denial” what you’ll see is that they do not deny what I’m really saying at all. That statement very conspicuously and decidedly ignores that issue. Because the Zune brand is disappearing.

Note, too, that there is no mention of the Zune hardware products in that quote. I don’t have any specific information about that at all, but one has to think that effort is dead too. Unlike my comments about the Zune brand recently, however, that’s just a guess.

http://windowsphonesecrets.com/2011/02/16/about-zune-yes-microsoft-is-killing-it/

 

[JaggedSac]

Any news on what device Verizon is going to be getting for WP7? Since they are only doing 1, it better damn well be good.

 

[jagowar]

And Thurrot confirms again that the Zune brand is going to be killed.

Really hope the services/apps do not go away if they do kill it and they just get a rebranding.

That said if they come up with a new brand it doesn't seem any better than the zune brand (from a marketing perspective) and I can't see this working out very well if they brought it under the windows or live brand (because the windows brand is not "hip" and "cool").

The only one that would make sense that I have seen suggested is Xbox Entertainment.

 

[brotkasten]

Any news on what device Verizon is going to be getting for WP7? Since they are only doing 1, it better damn well be good.

I think it's still the HTC 7 Trophy. You can find it in the device list in the OP.

edit:

And I guess MIX11 in April is going to be interesting.

A question that Microsoft is commonly asked involves the TCP-socket layer support and whether or not Windows Phone will make it accessible for developers. Socket-layers are critically needed for such services as VOIP aka Skype, Viber, etc. We now know that multitasking is coming to Windows Phone 7 with 'Mango' but now we have a very strong hint that socket-support, in some way, may be coming as well. Those two features are necessary for VOIP. [For a complete background, see J2i.net for relevant points]

Watson does the talking here but dare we say, if you read between the lines you get the feeling that (1) MIX11 will be huge for developers in terms of new features (that are coming with 'Mango') and that (2) Socket-support is a strong contender for a new feature, allowing developers to finally expand beyond simple web-based software. One thing is clear is that Microsoft does not want to disappoint consumers or developers and they are working hard to roll out new features for both, as quickly as possible.

Key new Windows Phone tools hinted for Mix11; VOIP?

WPCentral forgot to mention that good socket support is also critical for instant messaging apps.

 

[Treo360]

So we have to wait nearly a year for socket support? <sigh>

 

[brotkasten]

So we have to wait nearly a year for socket support? <sigh>

"nearly a year" sounds so ... negative. We'll have it in less than nine months. trollface.jpg

But did you expect anything else? You need to update to OS to support that kind of stuff and we'll only get two updates a year (which is bullshit, but we talked about it ad nauseam). Should it be in the first update? Fuck yes it should, but it isn't.

Rivera had something interesting to say about this. It's not about WP7, but still strangely related to the topic:

So to conclude, Microsoft had SP1 ready/signed on November 21. Almost 3 months to get it squeezed out.

Conclusion #2: Microsoft isn't going to remain relevant for much longer in today's fast paced world.

 

[Treo360]

"nearly a year" sounds so ... negative. We'll have it in less than nine months. trollface.jpg

But did you expect anything else? You need to update to OS to support that kind of stuff and we'll only get two updates a year (which is bullshit, but we talked about it ad nauseam). Should it be in the first update? Fuck yes it should, but it isn't.

Rivera had something interesting to say about this. It's not about WP7, but still strangely related to the topic:

Well to be fair I've had my phone since November

Yeah, that second conclusion from Rivera is accurate, they are going to be left behind, and in the end they have no one to blame but themselves, Carriers be damned.

 

[clav]

Looks like I'll be holding onto my HTC Touch Diamond for another year.

Will be getting the second iteration of Windows 7 devices.

 

[PG2G]

I'm just glad that the Mango update seems to be addressing the majority of our concerns. I hope that, in addition to sockets, we see access to the camera feeds. That would pretty much address the MAJOR shortcomings.

 

[besiktas1]

Hmm mango seems like everything I wanted other than 2 things. Flash support. MSN meesenger. I want to stream porn and it seems silly to me that they put in twitter but seem to forget their IM client.

 

[PG2G]

As much as messenger would be nice, I'd rather rely on a 3rd party solution. Nobody I know uses MSN messenger. Its either AIM or Google Talk. It would be nice to have an integrated multi network IM, but what are the chances of that

 

[brotkasten]

Hmm mango seems like everything I wanted other than 2 things. Flash support. MSN meesenger. I want to stream porn and it seems silly to me that they put in twitter but seem to forget their IM client.

They didn't "forget" the WLM. Just because they didn't announce everything right away, it doesn't mean it isn't coming.

As much as messenger would be nice, I'd rather rely on a 3rd party solution. Nobody I know uses MSN messenger. Its either AIM or Google Talk. It would be nice to have an integrated multi network IM, but what are the chances of that

WLM is still huge in Europe and got quite the boost with the Facebook integration. You can use Flory for GTalk (check the app thread).

 

[Vanillalite]

I get that WLM is huge in the EU but still would love a new good multi account im client. Flory is buggy and meh IMO.

 

[VanMardigan]

All of the IM options are crap when it comes to how people actually use it on a phone. Which is how they use texts, send one out and then go do something else on the phone or away from it until you get a response. The fact that wp7 kills them when you navigate away makes ALL of them simply worthless.

 

[jagowar]

All of the IM options are crap when it comes to how people actually use it on a phone. Which is how they use texts, send one out and then go do something else on the phone or away from it until you get a response. The fact that wp7 kills them when you navigate away makes ALL of them simply worthless.

Unless those other im apps will be able to integrate into the message hub I don't want them..... the way I want to use an im on my phone is exactly how txt messages work. If 3rd party apps can't get in there I see no reason for them to exist (which is why I am hopeful wlm will get in there with native support)

 

[snap0212]

WLM is still huge in Europe and got quite the boost with the Facebook integration. You can use Flory for GTalk (check the app thread).

Is it really? I want ICQ! None of my friends have WLM (I have it, but don't know anyone else who has). I, as usual, am pissed about there not being a good IM App, but am also still hoping that (for some reason) Microsoft will surprise me and finally give devs what they need in order to make a great IM App.

 

[PG2G]

All of the IM options are crap when it comes to how people actually use it on a phone. Which is how they use texts, send one out and then go do something else on the phone or away from it until you get a response. The fact that wp7 kills them when you navigate away makes ALL of them simply worthless.

I'm pretty sure iOS apps work the same way and nobody has any issues there. They just need to put some better work into their push notification system.

 

[PG2G]

Some new Dell phones leaked...

http://www.wpcentral.com/dell-wrigley-revealed-dell-2011-roadmap-exclusive

the Dell Wrigley, due out in July 2011 with a 1GHz processor, a 4" qHD 960x540 screen, an 8 megapixel camera on the back capable of 720p video recording. What's more, the Wrigley is branded as "Windows Phone 7 Next Gen," which more than implies that a) a big Windows Phone update will come before then and b) the Wrigley will ship with it.

Not sure why they say qHD when it says WVGA. Must be a typo. Kinda sucks that it doesn't look like Dell will have any dual cores this year. WP7 better support multiple cores -_-

 

[dream]

I'm pretty sure iOS apps work the same way and nobody has any issues there. They just need to put some better work into their push notification system.

Yeah, I use Beejive on my iPhone and it leaves me connected to IM servers for up to a week using their push notification system. There's nothing wrong with this approach if Microsoft creates an infrastructure that allows for a socket to be left open.

 

[PG2G]

Yeah, I use Beejive on my iPhone and it leaves me connected to IM servers for up to a week using their push notification system. There's nothing wrong with this approach if Microsoft creates an infrastructure that allows for a socket to be left open.

I don't even think Microsoft needs to do anything. The back end IM servers (in your case, hosted by Beejive) need to maintain the connection and forward all of the messages to the push notification service. The current apps don't seem very good at this (or the push notification service itself isn't that good).

 

[Korey]

Some new Dell phones leaked...

http://www.wpcentral.com/dell-wrigley-revealed-dell-2011-roadmap-exclusive



Not sure why they say qHD when it says WVGA. Must be a typo. Kinda sucks that it doesn't look like Dell will have any dual cores this year. WP7 better support multiple cores -_-

Cool! First second gen WP7 to leak. Hopefully the other manufacturers have some to show by July as well...seems like so far away

 

[dream]

I don't even think Microsoft needs to do anything. The back end IM servers (in your case, hosted by Beejive) need to maintain the connection and forward all of the messages to the push notification service. The current apps don't seem very good at this (or the push notification service itself isn't that good).

Ah, I didn't know Microsoft already provides a push notification service.

Really, there are going to be people who bitch about how shit like this isn't true multitasking but I think it's a far better method given the compromises that are made when it comes to mobile devices.

 

[samus i am]

Any news on the HTC 7 Pro? As in, when is it coming to Sprint?

 

[VanMardigan]

I don't know what the heck you guys are on about, but IM on iPhone works, it works well, and you don't restart the application when you navigate away from it, you don't reload any messages, and you don't miss messages because of the lack of push. You get notifications, but you can ignore them and hit up the app later and everything is there just fine. This has been this way before WM7 launched. Way before.

IM on WP7 simply does not work unless you stay on the app the entire time and hopefully the phone doesn't go to sleep on you or you may end up restarting the app involuntarily. You miss messages, push doesn't work right, it's a pain to use. And no, I don't think it's as simple as "the devs don't know what they're doing".

 

[clav]

Any news on the HTC 7 Pro? As in, when is it coming to Sprint?

First half of March 2011.

 

[PSGames]

Cool! First second gen WP7 to leak. Hopefully the other manufacturers have some to show by July as well...seems like so far away

Looks like Android is getting all of the Dual-core hotness.

 

[PG2G]

IM on WP7 simply does not work unless you stay on the app the entire time and hopefully the phone doesn't go to sleep on you or you may end up restarting the app involuntarily. You miss messages, push doesn't work right, it's a pain to use. And no, I don't think it's as simple as "the devs don't know what they're doing".

Here is how it should work, and how it most likely works on the iOS apps

IM Service (AIM) <---> IM App Server (i.e. Beejive) <---> Microsoft Push Service ---> Phone

The Microsoft Push Service pushes to the phone regardless of whether or not the app is open. Either the Push Service is unreliable or the IM App Servers are not maintaining messages and connection to the IM Service. If they were, they should easily be able to send them over to the Push Service.

I'm not entirely surprised either. The majority of iOS IM apps are by larger corporations that have been making these things for numerous platforms. They likely rent out their own servers and what not. The WP7 ones so far are from independent developers who might be running the thing on their desktop

 

[Firestorm]

As much as messenger would be nice, I'd rather rely on a 3rd party solution. Nobody I know uses MSN messenger. Its either AIM or Google Talk. It would be nice to have an integrated multi network IM, but what are the chances of that

Probably because you live in the US. In Canada, Europe, and many other parts of the world, WLM is king.

 

[Firestorm]

Microsoft should be doing Live Messenger in-house. The one RIM makes is perfect. Its how every IM client should work on phones. Your competitor should not be making better versions of your own damn software.

Interesting news on Dell. Might stick with just my Torch until April or July if Wrigley or MLK has HSPA+.

 

[SlaughterX]

So I can't use the mp3s on my phone as ring tones? WTF? How can they remove this feature when like every single Windows 6 Mobile phone did it? WACK! I linda wished I had went with an Android phone now...

 

[Korey]

so there's NO custom ringtones at all?

 

[PG2G]

so there's NO custom ringtones at all?

Not right now. At least its not like they are against it, it just hasn't been implemented yet. You can add ringtones if you unlock your phone and use some of the homebrew tools.

 

[snap0212]

so there's NO custom ringtones at all?

No, but we'll maybe get them in 2012.

 

[besiktas1]

Can I ask a quick question please. Can you explain push notifications please. Does it drain data usage? I have 500mb so am paranoid so I have Gmail syncing once every hour, nothing on push e.g. Alpha jax (which I only play on wfi) and on a seperate note to push, I never stream videos...

 

[thirty]

MS's response to the camera setting issue makes me sick to my stomach. Why on earth would anyone not want an option to save the settings is beyond me. To have MS say "It's a feature," is just insulting.

"Mango update or bust," for me. I tell you, RIM's roadmap isn't looking so bad with their premium phones having HSPA+ 1.2Ghz chips and 768mb of ram.

 

[PG2G]

Can I ask a quick question please. Can you explain push notifications please. Does it drain data usage? I have 500mb so am paranoid so I have Gmail syncing once every hour, nothing on push e.g. Alpha jax (which I only play on wfi) and on a seperate note to push, I never stream videos...

I think push should be better as far as data usage is concerned. It uses a constantly on TCP connection to the server but I'd imagine that minimal data is being transmitted.

 

[Iced_Eagle]

MS's response to the camera setting issue makes me sick to my stomach. Why on earth would anyone not want an option to save the settings is beyond me. To have MS say "It's a feature," is just insulting.

"Mango update or bust," for me. I tell you, RIM's roadmap isn't looking so bad with their premium phones having HSPA+ 1.2Ghz chips and 768mb of ram.

The camera thing is pretty annoying (I usually have to go in and turn on Anti-Shaking every time), but in addendum to them saying it's a feature, they also said the team has heard the feedback and is looking at other solutions. It would be great if you could define your own "default". I'm all for it resetting when you go into it again (it really does make sense), but you should still be able to define your own defaults.

 

[Psychotext]

Having your own default makes a lot of sense. If you're capable of making one then you're capable of understanding why it gets used.