WhatsApp runs on a huge range of operating systems, but even the ubiquitous messaging app doesn't think it's worth supporting Windows Phone any more. The company has announced it is ending support for older versions of Android and iOS as well as the...
Facebook is bidding farewell to its family of apps for Windows Phone, including Messenger, Instagram, and the original Facebook app. A Microsoft spokesperson confirmed to Engadget on Tuesday that Facebook will end its support for its apps on Windows...
Microsoft is making some changes to its Skype app going forward, and it may end up making some Android and Windows Phone users frustrated. Today, Microsoft announced it would continue to support Skype across iOS 8, Android 4.03 and Windows 10 Mobile,...
Word Flow is making its way to other platforms, as Microsoft has started working on an iPhone version of its Swype-like keyboard for Windows Phone.
Microsoft has been known to support compatibility of many of its hardware and software products with more than its own platform. This really sets the Redmond company apart from many of its competitors, who often decide to lock down their product. After bringing Cortana to both Android and iOS and making its Universal Mobile Keyboard compatible to these platforms, Microsoft is now looking to speed things up in the texting department for the users of its competitor operating systems. In the very near future, the Word Flow keyboard will be made available for iOS, and soon after that, Android users will be able to use it as well.
Below is the content of the e-mail Microsoft has sent to beta testers registered in the Windows Insiders program:
“Hello,
Do you own an iPhone (5S or newer)? Do you think your native iOS keyboard could use improvement?
Word Flow keyboard has long been one of the highly praised features on Windows Phone and was used to break the Guinness World Record for fastest texting. We are now working on extending this keyboard to other platforms, starting with iOS.
Before publicly releasing this keyboard to the App Store, we’d love to give Insiders like you a preview. With your feedback, we’ll build a roadmap of improvements to the keyboard over time.
If you’re interested in participating in this beta program, just send an email to wordflow@microsoft.com with subject line “I want in!” and we’ll be in touch!
The Windows Insider and Word Flow teams”
If you are a Windows Insider and own an iPhone 5S or newer, you might want to give Word Flow a try. Microsoft seems to be aware of its smaller app ecosystem, and has probably decided to show, on one hand, that what few apps Windows Phone has are excellently built, and on the other hand, that it can improve on what others haven’t perfected, yet.
Handing over some of Windows 10 Mobile’s unique features has caused anger and frustration in some of Microsoft’s users. While they agree with sharing Cortana and the Office suite, they don’t really see why Word Flow should be shared, as well. After all, these are some of the essential aspects that make Windows 10 Phone unique. More than that, some are taking such announcements as clear signs that Microsoft has given up on Windows 10 Mobile. Such reactions are a bit exaggerated, as people don’t seem to know how these apps work. Cortana gets better the more people use it, and predictive keyboards such as Word Flow are not that far behind. One good point some users made is that Microsoft would bring Word Flow to other platforms, rather than adding more languages, which really doesn’t seem fair.
WhatsApp have finally let Windows Phone users join the rest of the world in doing phone calls from the popular chat app, just like Android and iOS users have been able to do since early 2015.
Just as we had reported before in this link, Windows Phone users are finally able to enjoy and take advantage of WhatsApp call service via VoIP protocol. This rumor, which had been going for over a month now and had Windows Phone users awaiting for clarification finally became official, and starting with the WhatsApp version 2.12.60 for Microsoft’s platform, they will be able to enjoy this call system.
The process to make a phone call is just as easy as it was on every other system out there. Users only need to access the chat of the person they want to communicate with, and a menu will show up on the lowest part of the screen – with a completely new icon to activate calls. Once users click it, they will be able to call as well as receive them on the screen – but at the same time has a tab in which users can check a log of calls done and received, as to keep track of them.
As expected, this WhatsApp update now covers the biggest part of the available market, no matter which one of the three big OS anyone might prefer or use – yet the new features don’t stop there, as users will also be able to send audio files and even deactivate the much talked about “read” confirmation.
As of now, these new features exist only on Windows Phone 8, which can be downloaded from the Windows Store in the following link.
Microsoft’s digital assistant Cortana might soon be coming to Android and iOS, where it will compete with Siri and Google Now in their own turf.
The Windows Phone platform has its own digital assistant, Cortana, based off of the Halo video game series. And while Android uses Google Now and iOS uses Siri, the option to pick our favorite option regardless of platform might not be all that far. Microsoft might be the first to make their software available for other platforms, as Cortana could see a release on iOS and Android. This isn’t the first port of Cortana, as Microsoft had already announced Windows 10 would include its own version in it.
This standalone version of Cortana would be made available for iPhone, iPad and smartphones and tablets running Google’s Android platform, enabling users to choose between their default assistant or Microsoft’s. And, while none of this is set in stone or confirmed, the possibilities are at least exciting. Do you think we’ll ever see Siri on Android?
Two days after teasing the world with the resurrection of the Palm trademark as an Android smartphone, Alcatel makes the news again with the newest member of the Pixi family, a smartphone capable of running Windows Phone, Android or Firefox OS.
The days when our smartphones are locked to a single operating system seem to be over. The Pixi 3 will pack the necessary hardware for running Microsoft’s WP, Google’s Android or Mozilla’s Firefox OS, the users being able to pick any of these either when buying the phone or at a later point in time. Right now, it is not known how Alcatel plans to implement this, but the new Pixi 3 line will be showcased at CES 2015 in the next few days, so we’ll learn more about it then.
There is a Pixi 3 line, as the OS-agnostic smartphone will not be offered in a single version. Instead, there’s a 3.5″ 3G model, as well as 4-inch, 4.5-inch and 5-inch versions, with the mention that the last three are LTE-compatible. Don’t expect the Pixi 3 phones to have high-end specs, as that’s not going to happen. Alcatel has a specific target audience in mind, and I would say that it is represented by young people, judging by the design of the phones and the available color options.
Alcatel has experience with all of these three mobile operating systems, and the smartphones in its portfolio emphasize this fact. However, offering all three platforms on a single device might turn tricky, and the users might not have the same experience as when using a smartphone built specifically for a single OS.
“Our users do not want complicated systems — they want something familiar from their work environment in the office, but also on a smartphone,” explained Alcatel OneTouch CMO Dan Dery. That makes sense if people are using particular operating systems on their desktops or notebooks that ensure increased compatibility or functionality with specific mobile OS.
Along with the new Pixi 3 smartphones, the company also plans to launch an affordable smartwatch, simply known as the Alcatel OneTouch Watch (now that’s a tongue-twister!). According to the press release, Alcatel intends to make its smartwatch elegant and versatile, at a fraction of the cost of what popular wearables cost today. A demo of the watch and of the proprietary apps will be made at Alcatel’s booth at CES.
Windows Phone 8.1 has only just been released, and now it would appear that we have some details on Windows Phone 9, it looks like Microsoft intends to release Windows Phone 9 preview in Early 2015. According to some documents that myce has received, Windows Phone 9 preview will be released some time between the […]
The first Microsoft Windows Phone 8.1 devices have started to go on sale with the new Nokia Lumia 630, and now Microsoft has released a couple of new videos for the latest version of their mobile OS. The first video is designed to show the new features and changes that have been made in Windows […]
The Nokia Lumia 930 was announced back in April along with the Nokia Lumia 630, and now the handset is available to pre-order in Europe. Amazon France and Germany have the Nokia Lumia 930 listed on their website with a price of 580 Euros, although they have not listed any shipping date for the handset. […]
WhatsApp runs on a huge range of operating systems, but even the ubiquitous messaging app doesn't think it's worth supporting Windows Phone any more. The company has announced it is ending support for older versions of Android and iOS as well as the...
Facebook is bidding farewell to its family of apps for Windows Phone, including Messenger, Instagram, and the original Facebook app. A Microsoft spokesperson confirmed to Engadget on Tuesday that Facebook will end its support for its apps on Windows...
Microsoft is making some changes to its Skype app going forward, and it may end up making some Android and Windows Phone users frustrated. Today, Microsoft announced it would continue to support Skype across iOS 8, Android 4.03 and Windows 10 Mobile,...
