Windows MarketPlace for Mobile: Will you shop there?

After much anticipation and amidst much fanfare, Microsoft unveiled its Windows MarketPlace for Mobile devices last Tuesday.  The Windows MarketPlace is now open for business for WM6.5 phones, with plans to make it accessible to WM6.0 and WM6.1 phones by the end of the year (NOTE: If you don’t want to wait, you can find a CAB file that can be installed to WM6.0 or WM6.1 phones at the XDA Developers forum).

Over the last year I’ve read numerous articles that discussed the Windows MarketPlace in regards to software developers, but I have not read any articles that discuss the MarketPlace in regards to end users like me!  To get a better understanding of the MarketPlace from an end user perspective I spent several hours reviewing the “MarketPlace for Mobile Customer Service Agreement,” the “Windows MarketPlace Frequently Asked Questions for Customers” and the “Windows MarketPlace Frequently Asked Questions for Developers” documents that are located on Microsoft’s website.

How the MarketPlace works

According to the Windows MarketPlace for Mobile Customer Service Agreement, “Applications made available through Windows Marketplace are licensed, not sold, to you.”  To license software through the MarketPlace, all you need is a Windows Live ID.  You can’t shop online from your computer just yet, but you can set up your billing preferences and view your purchase and billing history on the Windows MarketPlace website.  You can pay for software either with a credit card or by having charges applied to your mobile phone bill (if your mobile operator is set up to do this).  Online shopping from your computer will be offered sometime in the future.

Before you can license software you’ll be required to sign off on the Windows MarketPlace for Mobile Customer Service Agreement.

MarketPlace Mobile client

You can browse and purchase applications directly from your Windows phone through the Windows Mobile MarketPlace client.  After you open up the client, you will login to your Live ID.  Then you can browse available applications by selecting the “Showcase,” “Most popular,” or  “What’s new” options on the Home page.  Tapping the “View All” option (at the top right hand side of the screen) allows you to refine your search to paid, free, or the newest applications that have been added to the MarketPlace.

The mobile client also lets you browse by category, and you can manage applications you’ve licensed through the MarketPlace.

When you purchase a license to use an application, the application is downloaded and installed directly to your device from the MarketPlace.  If you remove an application or perform a hard reset, you can download and install the application again by opening the Marketplace client on your windows phone, and going to the My Applications page (see screenshot below on the right).

Tapping the Menu option on the lower right hand side of the screen allows you to return to the Home screen or to Search for specific applications.

The Marketplace Mobile client is touch friendly and easy to use. 

Licensing Applications

You can tap any application you see to learn more about it or to purchase and install it to your phone.  Applications are installed directly to the Windows phone’s main memory.

i

Windows MarketPlace for Mobile does not issue or use activation codes (4).  Instead, applications are associated with your Windows Live ID account, are licensed to specific devices and can only be installed from the Windows MarketPlace.  You can install applications on up to five different devices at a time.  Activation and registration codes that have been purchased in other places are not supported in the Windows MarketPlace.

Trial Software, which are described as “limited functionality” versions of applications, will be available for free. (5)  This is different than most trial software that is downloaded from other places, where the software are fully functional versions that time out after some period of time.

Are the benefits compelling enough to get your business?

From an end-user perspective, the benefits of shopping at the MarketPlace include:

Convenience:  One-stop shopping for software from a Windows phone just doesn’t get any easier or faster than using the Mobile MarketPlace client. (well, it could be one-stop shopping once more developers get on board).

Secure Backup:  All applications that are purchased in the Marketplace are automatically backed up to your account and you can download and reinstall the software to your Windows phone, as needed. (6)

Microsoft certification:  All MarketPlace applications go through a rigorous certification process by Microsoft to ensure the best user experience on their Windows phones, and applications are backed by a simple return policy. (7)

Simple Refund Policy:  Credit card purchases come with a no-questions-asked refund policy as long as a refund is requested within 24 hours from time of purchase and you don’t ask for more than one refund a month. (8)

Will MarketPlace restrictions leave you cold?

I hold many personal reservations about my loss of control over applications that are purchased through the Marketplace.

shopping in cellphonesBox.com

HTC Touch Diamond 2 Mobile Phone Review – A Business Focussed Handset That Also Entertains

The HTC Touch Diamond 2 is an upgraded version of the HTS Touch Diamond. Weighing in at 117 grams, it measures 108mm x 53mm x 14mm, and includes a large WVGA LCD screen measuring 81mm which displays 65,000 colours at a maximum resolution of 450 x 800 pixels. The screen is as large as physically possible in the body of the phone, with an ultra-sharp widescreen display, allowing the user to enjoy websites, photos and videos.

The phone is compact, sturdy, and yet sophisticated in appearance.

The Touch Diamond 2 uses Wi-Fi technology where hotspots are available, and its on-board Internet browser to access the Internet. USB and Bluetooth make printing and connectivity to other devices such as laptops or personal computers easy.

The integrated camera has a 5-Megapixel capacity with autofocus, video recording and a video player which supports MPEG4, ASF, AVI and 3GP formats. Separate, preinstalled albums are provided for photos and video. There is also a second VGA CMOS camera for 3G video calls.

With its support for polyphonic and mp3 ringtones, this little mobile phone is sure to please. It is a quad phone – designed to work on the GSM 850, GSM 900, GSM 1800, GSM 1900, HSDPA 900 and HSDPA 2100 networks. It is therefore useful for the person who frequently travels abroad, however the actual coverage will depend ultimately on the network provider selected when purchasing the handset.

Message services that come standard are SMS and MMS. Instant messaging allows chatting through the phone without the need for a personal computer.

The office assistant services are reasonably standard compared to similar mobile phones – the Touch Diamond 2 includes a phone book, calendar, alarm clock, and a document viewer which supports standard formats, including PDF, MSWord, MSExcel and MSPowerpoint. The zoom facility allows close-up views of internet pages and documents viewed and the voice to text feature is regarded by happy users as a particularly good one.

The Touch Diamond 2 shows a communication history ‘tree’ associated with the individual contacts in the phone – very useful if you are inclined to forget when you last spoke to someone and what you talked about at the time.

The Touch Diamond 2 has capable music playing facilities – supporting many formats of audio data, including WAV, MIDI, WMA, QCP, MP3, AMP, AAC, AAC+ and eAAC+.

Pre-installed games are part of the package, and more games can be downloaded straight from the internet for use on the handset.

What we didn’t like:

The Windows-based user interface has a tendency to freeze, and is slow in response when it is used.

What we did like:

This is a good looking little phone which is a useful office assistant. It can store messages, contacts, photos and videos, and open documents in different formats for reading during commuting hours. It has 512MB read-only memory and 288MB RAM which can be increased by the use of a microSD memory card. From fully charged – the battery life will allow 5.5 hours of talk time and 360 hours stand by.

The sharp display makes watching videos and choosing photos for storage a pleasure. It is also much easier to surf the internet using a widescreen formatted view.

Top Ten Mobile Phone News Stories of the Week - 23nd May

It’s that time of the week again, where we cover the mobile phone news stories you may have otherwise missed.

1.   Concept to Become Reality Shocker?

At first, it seemed as if the Motorola Nest concept phone may become reality according to this DVICE story, however closer examination of the comments section reveals an answer from the designer herself, who quashes the rumour.  What a shame, as this beautiful design is just what Motorola needs to revive its mobile business.

2.  CellphonesBox.com Launches.

If you want to easily work out which mobile tariff is the best for you, then follow the link to CellphonesBox.com, where after answering a few questions, the website compares all the available plans and provides an answer.  It can even read your online bill to see how to save money!

3.  Sony to Introduce Face Recognition for Music Selection?

They could call it SeeMe.  Sony Ericsson have applied for a patent on software which generates a music playlist based on facial expressions, something like its SensMe mood-based playlist generator, but dependent on whether you’re happy, sad or angry.  Interesting!

4.  Nokia 1100 Affair - Truth?

You may recall the story of the little Nokia 1100 reaching huge prices on the aftermarket due to a hack which made it possible to ‘clone’ other phones and thus intercept private data.  Well, it seems Ultrascan, who first uncovered the problem, have managed to recreate the exploit! While it may not directly affect many of us, it should make us more aware of the importance of securing our data.

5.  HTC Tweak Android.

HTC are well known for their TouchFLO user interface which overlays Windows Mobile on their handsets, however we considered Android to be far more finger friendly, so we didn’t expect an HTC makeover.  This video though, claims to show ‘Rosie’, the codename for HTC’s tweaked version of Android which includes several of their familiar services.  It all looks very smooth too!

6.  BlackBerry Storm Seen Not Working on Video!

The people over at Engadget Mobile show considerable restraint when their super-secret Storm 2 refuses to power up beyond the first screen.  It’s still an interesting watch though, as if it turns out to be real, then SurePress has indeed left the building and been replaced with a capacitive touchscreen.

7.  More Acer Android Speculation.

Further credibility has been added to the rumour that Acer will be releasing an Android smartphone by the end of the year.  Acer’s head of smartphones has said they are planning a summer launch of their touchscreen phone, which will be priced at feature, rather than smart phone level.

8.  Japan Gets Sharp Aquos Branded 10 MP Phone!

Wow, we love this flip phone from Sharp, especially as it has a 10 megapixel camera and a swiveling 3.3″ WVGA display which becomes the viewfinder!

9.  Nokia Open Unused Patents to Other Companies.

Here’s a good idea, Nokia have opened up their archives of unused patents for other Finnish companies to use and develop, in a bid to ignite the economy after months of decline.  Nokia are interviewing hopefuls with a view to supporting 100 final projects.

10.   Concept to Become Reality Shocker?

At first, it seemed as if the Motorola Nest concept phone may become reality according to this DVICE story, however closer examination of the comments section reveals an answer from the designer herself, who quashes the rumour.  What a shame, as this beautiful design is just what Motorola needs to revive its mobile business.

10. Nokia’s Ovi Maps Updated.

Exploring the latest Ovi Maps service is something worth doing, as it’s very impressive! Nokia have updated it to include 2D and 3D rendering, satellite and terrain maps and 3D images of landmarks, details of which have been provided by company’s like Lonely Planet, so the information is excellent. Details on how to download it for your PC or Symbian S60 device can be found here.

AT&T cuts cord on VoIP service

AT&T has pulled the plug on its CallVantage voice over IP phone service, according to letters from subscribers this week.

The service competed with other VoIP services like Vonage. VoIP services use broadband networks to place phone calls. These services are much less expensive than traditional landline phone services and cost between $20 and $30 per month. But even this price is proving too high for consumers who are cutting their traditional phones to use their cell phones or are signing up for voice services with their cable providers, which are bundling the phone service in with broadband and TV service.

AT&T launched CallVantage in 2004 when AT&T was still just a long-distance phone company. But the company hasn’t disclosed subscribers numbers in recent years. The Associated Press reports that at the end of 2004, the service had 53,000 subscribers.

It is not a huge shock that AT&T is getting rid of the service. Last summer, the company stopped signing up new subscribers. Also AT&T has been pushing a new flavor of the VoIP service that it sells to its U-verse customers. U-verse is a new fiber network that AT&T is building to deliver high-speed broadband, TV, and phone service to consumers. Like the cable companies, AT&T is bundling the voice service with TV and broadband.

Verizon Communications also recently shut down its VoIP service called VoiceWing. It also sells an IP-based telephony service to its Fios fiber-to-the home customers as part of a triple play package.

An AT&T spokesman has said that the CallVantage service will be disconnected in phases throughout the year. And the company will send several more reminders to its customers before it shuts down the service.

To get a free cellphones,you can visite this store:www.cellphonesbox.com. this shopping mall has wholesele price with good queality.