Tag: wp7 apps

Categories
Amazon Software and Apps

Amazon Kindle App For Windows Phone 7 Launches

After weeks of anticipation, Amazon has finally released their Kindle ebook reading application on the Windows Phone 7 platform. The application, that seems to have been made public just hours ago, will be free to download and measures 1.36MB in size. The Amazon Kindle app for WP7 will give users access to over 750,000 Kindle books that includes new releases and close to 107 of the 111 best sellers from the New York Times list. Amazon also notes on their app description that 550,000 of these books will be priced $9.99 or lower.

Given that the app was only recently released, there are no comments as yet. But if you are looking to download the app or read more about the application, you can do so by clicking this link. As always, let us know your views on this app in the comments below.

Categories
Mobile Software and Apps

Chevron WP7 Unlocker Tool Pulled After Microsoft Negotiations

The iOS jailbreak community has often been viewed as rebels who have challenged Apple’s attempts to curb the limitations of the software. Apple’s strategy to deal with the jailbreakers doesn’t seem to have impressed many as the two have been engaged in a cat and mouse game as far as jailbreaking is concerned. With the release of ChevronWP7 unlocking tool for Windows Phone 7, one may have been anticipating a similar reaction from Microsoft. Apparently, Redmond seems to have learned from Cupertino’s mistake as the company has embraced the concerns of the jailbreak software developers.

In a blog post, ChevronWP7 developers have announced that they were contacted by Microsoft director of Developer Experience, Brandon Watson who agreed to open the Windows Phone 7 platform in order to allow greater access to developers and users with respect to homebrew opportunities. Following these discussions, the developers have decided to pull the ChevronWP7 tool and cease further development work.

It is not clear what path this amiable resolution will take in the future. But at least it appears to be the right move from Microsoft so far.

Categories
Microsoft Mobile

ChaosHUD – Windows Phone 7 Jailbreak App For Speed & Wind Direction

With a jailbreak tool for Windows Phone 7 now available, it was only a matter of time before applications started being released for these jailbroken devices. A new application called ChaosHUD is one of the first applications in this category that users who have jailbroken WP7 phones can sideload to their handsets.

The application is just a basic tool that will tell the user their speed, wind direction and time on a clear screen. Additionally, the application will also render the content in HUD mode – that’s basically flipping the text vertically. Writing about the application, developer ‘chaoscentral‘ writes,

“I have recently made what I feel is a pretty decent HUD application, however I don’t have a device to properly test it on. I figured with the Chevron unlocker out allowing sideloading I could post my xap and allow people to test it to see whether or not it functions.

If all works as planned then I do plan on releasing it on the market for free, so take what is posted here as more of a beta. Please leave some feedback as to what actually happens, the more detailed the better.”

The app is expected to run in beta mode till December 12 after which the developer may make it available on the market. Anyway, if you are interested in testing the application earlier than that, click here to check out ChaosHUD.

Categories
Microsoft Mobile Software and Apps

Windows Phone 7 Unlocking Application May Brick Phone

I do not know if this is sensationalist, but that is exactly what Microsoft is reported to have claimed about the ChevronWP7 jailbreak/unlocker application that we wrote about yesterday. To tell you about the application, it is a Windows-based application that can enable users to sideload non-Marketplace apps on to their WP7 phones thereby bypassing the App Hub.

According to a statement from Microsoft, the unlocking could “void the warranty, disable phone functionality, interrupt access to Windows Phone 7 services or render the phone permanently unusable. We anticipated that people would attempt to unlock the phones and explore the underlying operating system. We encourage people to use their Windows Phone as supplied by the manufacturer to ensure the best possible user experience”

However, the developers of the WP7 jailbreak app have claimed that these allegations are false and that ChevronWP7 makes use of the same procedure that is used by the official phone registration tool.

We really do not know who to believe, so we leave that part of interpretation to you.

Categories
Microsoft Software and Apps

Jailbreak Windows Phone 7 To Install Non-Marketplace Apps

The Windows Phone marketplace may not really be as fussy a place as the iPhone App Store when it comes to accepting new applications. But again, not all the apps you may need are on the app marketplace yet. If you are looking for more freedom in this aspect, it is now possible to jailbreak your Windows Phone 7 handset with one simple application.

Called ChevronWP7 unlocker, this is a software that you should install on a Windows computer running XP SP2 and above. All it takes is for you to connect your WP7 phone to the computer and a couple of clicks on the application. Doing this will let you access any of the several experimental apps that may not be available on the App marketplace because they use private or native APIs.

Go ahead and check out the software and instructions in the ChevronWP7 website.

Categories
Google

First Jailbreak Apps For Windows Phone 7 Roll Out

Just a week after we first heard about developers starting to get successful at jailbreaking the new kid on the smartphone block – Windows Phone 7 – comes the news that the first WP7 app for jailbroken handsets has now been developed. This application is courtesy Kevin Marshall; a Windows Phone 7 developer. Marshall has created an application that is a rudimentary copy of the Augmented reality based Google Goggles app. It uses information pulled from the camera into a publicly-available Silverlight toolkit to render information on to real-world objects.

A similar functionality is already available on LG Optimus 7 phone. However, the tools necessary to build such an app is not available for third party developers. Consequently, similar apps can be installed only after a jailbreak.

Check out a demo of this app in the video embedded below

Categories
Microsoft Software and Apps

Bug Allowing App Source Code Download On WP7 Marketplace Revealed

App pirates just need a reason to crack into proprietary applications for a free download. And that is now child’s play thanks to a significant glitch in the Microsoft App Hub system that lets any user check out the source code link for the apps and download them. The bug here is apparently in the way the Zune software pulls information about the WP7 apps using an ATOM XML feed. Consequently, it is just a matter of checking out the feed for the XAP Package address and downloading the source.

Microsoft is apparently aware of the issue and had in fact advised app developers to encrypt details before app submission. But this advice was offered only earlier this month and has not been viewed by several developers who submitted their applications earlier.

Nevertheless, the chances of pirated apps being distributed elsewhere is slim considering that such pirated apps can only be viewed over emulators and cannot be made to run on WP7 devices. That’s the sole consolation for now.

Categories
Mobile Software and Apps

Watch TV On Windows Phone 7 With SlingPlayer Mobile App

If you are one of those 40,000 people to have got yourself a Windows Phone 7 handset on launch day, here is your chance to start watching TV on your newly purchased mobile phone. EchoStar, the owners of Sling Media have announced that their SlingPlayer Mobile software that lets users control and watch television from their mobile phones is now available for download on Windows Phone 7.

The application will not work independently however. The app will need the television to be connected to a SlingBox HD or SlingBox Pro HD via the internet that will let them manage the software using the mobile phone over a Wi-Fi or 3G connection. You will be able to control channels, schedule recordings on DVR and watch TV over the WP7 handset.

The app is not free though. It will cost the user $29.99 in the US while the app is available in the UK and Canada at a price of £22.99 and CAD31.99 respectively. European users (outside the UK) may purchase the app at €21.10 plus local VAT.

Categories
Microsoft Mobile Software and Apps

Download Netflix On Windows Phone 7 Now

Windows Phone 7 users in USA and Canada can now watch their favorite movies and TV shows on their new smartphone. Netflix has announced that their streaming service has now been made available on the Windows Phone 7 App Marketplace and starting today, users can download it for free to their mobile phones.

“Netflix members in both the U.S. and Canada also now have the ability to instantly watch TV shows and movies on their Windows Phone 7 handsets. The application is available in the Marketplace Video Store and is free.”

The timing of the launch is interesting considering that an alternative Netflix app for the Android platform is yet to be made available. The WP7 marketplace is hardly a couple of weeks old and the platform is yet to see widespread traction. On the other hand, Android is already one of the most popular smartphone platforms in North America and it is not clear why Netflix has still not launched their app for Android. It is possible that the movie streaming service had lesser roadblocks on the WP7 platform since it is based on the same Silverlight platform that the Netflix service is built with. Nevertheless, that still may not be the complete explanation.