Microsoft drops Geotrust verification for individuals and students

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Microsoft has removed one rather annoying barrier to registering for a Windows Phone 7 developer.

Part of getting registered was getting your identity verified by GeoTrust, something which was not even possible in many countries. Now this requirement has been dropped.

On App Hub it says:

Close to 10% of Android Apps festering pits of spyware, worms and premium SMS senders, getting worse

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We all know Android Market is increasingly afflicted by malware, but I do not think any of us has thought is was as bad as this.

According to security firm named Dasient, of the 10,000 Android apps they studied, 800 or 8% turned out to be malware, engaging in activities such as stealing data, e.g email account passwords, sending premium SMS messages, trying to spread to users in one’s contact list by sending SMS messages with links to your friends, and even stealing IMEI and IMSI numbers, allowing for the mass cloning of a user’s phone.

Developers: Add Support For Peer-to-Peer Multiplayer Gaming In Windows Phone Mango

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One of the neat feature coming to Windows Phone Mango for developers is the support for accessing TCP and UDP Sockets. This will enable game developers to enable their games for multipalyer gaming. From Channel 9,

One of the new features for the app platform in Windows Phone Mango is TCP and UDP Sockets. In this blog post, I’ll talk about using this to augment an existing game to add peer-to-peer multiplayer over WiFi using UdpAnySourceMulticastClient. Phones running the game on the same WiFi network automatically discover one another and the players just appear on the screen.

LG Fantasy leaked

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LG's fall roadmap has been leaked and while it mainly deals with Android devices, there is one lone Windows Phone listed. The LG Fantasy is being reported as a Mango device and looks a lot like the HTC HD7.

No specs were available with the listing but strong speculation is for a fourth quarter release. LG already has the side-keyboard Quantum in their Windows Phone lineup so a slab phone would help expand the companies Windows Phone offerings.

Devs Can Submit Windows Phone Mango Apps In One Month's Time

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Windows Phone Mango is the first major update to Redmond's OS and it will try to close the gap between the mobile platform and competitors like Apple's iOS and Google's Android. It should be out soon and as such, Microsoft announced that it will accept app submissions in a month's time.

"We’re just about a month away from enabling developers to begin submitting Mango apps to App Hub" says Todd Brix in its Windows Phone Developer Blog post. Apps submitted will be created with the aid of the Windows Phone Release Candidate (RC) tools that Redmond plans to make available in late August. That aside, there are some interesting bits related to the new App Hub functionality and geographic expansion so head over to the source link and take a look.

Optimus 7, Omnia 7, Mozart Getting WP7 Device-Specific Updates

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Early this morning, we told you about how the Samsung Focus was finally getting all its software brought up-to-date, with the release of pre-NoDo, NoDo, and the subsequent security patch for version 1.4 of its hardware. At the time, Microsoft also mentioned some other phone-specific updates that were in the works, but didn't have much in the way of details to share. Now we've learned a little more about what models can expect to see new code on the way.

ChevronWP7 Labs to unlock your Windows Phone 7 handset for $9, hackers not welcome

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Need a little extra unlocked WP7 incentive to keep you from buying those oh-so-distracting iOS and Android devices? Well, that official homebrew love is going to cost you -- $9 to be exact. We already knew the Microsoft-sanctioned ChevronWP7 Labs would be open for business soon, but recent tweets from the jailbreaking outfit's Chris Walsh have shed a little more light on the process. In addition to the nominal fee users will have to fork over for the official unlock, Walsh also points out that software updates to Mango and Nodo will close any security holes in the platform.

The Guy In Charge of the People Hub

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The Windows Phone Youtube channel recently posted a cool video interview of Greg, the product manager in charge of the People Hub for Windows Phone 7. In Greg's video you'll get to hear a little bit about him as well as some thoughts and features that went into the People Hub experience for Windows Phone's forthcoming "Mango" update. For example, things like the pinning a live tile of a person to a start screen lets you keep in touch with them better by having an animated status update or recent photo load. Then there are people groups that you can also pin to the start menu in order to keep track of a whole group of people. The contact history feature is also mentioned as a new way to keep track of all sorts of communications you might have had with a specific person.

Rumor: Nokia spending $127M marketing Windows Phone

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It's said you have to spend money to make money. If this latest rumor is true, Nokia will be betting on a $127 million dollar marketing budget to help sell Nokia-made Windows Phones, according to Marketing Magazine.

The Finnish device manufacturer's six-month campaign set to launch in October would rebrand the company as primarily a maker of Windows, rather than Symbian and MeeGo, phones, according to the report. The timing would also coincide with the release of Nokia's first device for Microsoft's OS--likely this fall, and likely the handset known as Sea Ray.

Google+ destined for iOS, WP7 on the horizon?

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The search giant is pushing forward with its latest social media product (anyone remember the rise and sudden fall of Buzz?) called Google+ and beta testing has been well underway with invites being rolled out. TechRadar reports that Google has confirmed that an iOS app will be hitting the App Store in the closing future which will feature native support. Question is, will they support Windows Phone 7?

Google+ is seen as the potential Facebook Killer and has a lot of hype to live up to according to the social media sphere. Since we already have Facebook and soon-to-be Twitter integration, I think Google+ could be a worthwhile addition. If we look at the current Google presence on WP7, its nothing to be proud of. Users of docs, calendar, GMail, GTalk and other services have to switch between apps and there's no fluidity.

HTC Eternity size compared to other Windows Phones

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The HTC Eternity (specs here), if real, would be the largest Windows Phone 7 handset to date, with a massive 4.7 inch Super-LCD screen.

Of course the question arises if this device will even be pocketable and how it compares to existing devices.

From this to-scale picture, one can see that the main effect is that the handset will be significantly taller than existing devices, and that it is only slight wider than the HTC HD7. The handset is also as slim as the Samsung Focus, which should ameliorate somewhat the size.

Make money with Microsoft Ad Control [Developers]

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The July 2011 issue of the MSDN Magazine features a great resource for aspiring developers - making money on Windows Phone 7 with Microsoft Ad Control. We wont cover absolutely everything since the article is massive but the detail it goes into is great for anyone new to the whole advertising and revenue realm. Unfortunately PubCenter is still not yet available to anyone outside of the US.

Before you dive onto this path of revenue, you must first ask yourself if this is the most effective way to earn revenue from your app(s). We have covered the debate surrorunding paid apps vs advertising (also which advertising network should you use). Once you've decided on what's best for your app(s), should it be advertising then you should check out the article as it will help you (as a developer) to:-

- get started and set up with Microsoft Advertising in your application(s).
- create an advertising-supported app using XAML or in code.
- improve the advertising experience for your users and potentially earn more profit.

Be sure to read through the article (using the link below) to pick on some useful tips and tricks or to understand completely with how to successfully kick off your free app campaign backed by advertising.

Source: wpcentral.com

Mango Spread for HD2 Users Monday!

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Mango on HD2 Image Courtesy of DFT

Wow, mango is a delicious OS (so far) for developers and the media alike that have updated their devices or were given test devices. But the mango sexy doesn’t end with current windows phones 7 because it seems the HTC HD2 super phone has also received Mango from DFT. But there are some warnings and considerations: windows live functions aren’t working and you have to use MS Hotmail Connector to sync with Outlook. A huge bummer is multitouch isn’t working properly, but that’s a hardware limitation.

Windows Phone Marketplace slowdowns today?

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Is the Windows Phone Marketplace acting up for you? Having trouble loading, just general slowness? You're not alone.

In an informal polling of our users and from comments, it seems like the Microsoft servers are having some lag issues. Some are reporting that it has been going on all day for them, others cannot connect at all (it's just slow for us, but we can still download). Maybe all of those official app downloads are taking their toll...

We haven't found a reason yet, nor of any ETA when it could be fixed. But we'll keep you posted.

Windows Phone 7 Marketplace now has 25,000 apps?

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Microsoft's mobile-app marketplace might now feature more than 25,000 applications, one report claims.

According to Windows Phone App List, a Windows Phone 7 Marketplace app tracker, Microsoft's store currently has 25,076 applications available to users. However, another Windows Phone 7 Marketplace tracker, WP7applist, claims the store has 24,878 applications. What's more, WP7applist claims 4,044 of those programs are currently "inactive."

Either way, it's worth nothing that neither Windows Phone App List nor WP7applist offer the official stats on available applications in the Windows Phone 7 Marketplace--that is reserved for Microsoft.

Nokia WP7 Apps: Not confined to Nokia

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Samsung, HTC, and LG all have apps that are dedicated to their particular Windows Phones. Manufacturers offer these apps as a selling point, hoping that such apps will attract consumers to thier Windows Phone. There are some really nice apps from each of these manufacturers but they are confined to that particular device. I can't load Samsung's Photogram on to my HTC HD7s or HTC apps to a Samsung.

In a recent interview, Nokia's Senior Vice President of Developer and Marketplace, Marco Argenti, said this won't be the case with Nokia Windows Phones. Quoting,

"Every Nokia App will be available on every phone."