Microsoft loosens hardware requirements and camera now optional

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It would appear that Microsoft has relaxed their hardware requirements (on September 23rd) to exclude the camera as a necessity. This would allow lower-end handsets to be brought out at a more affordable price, something we know Nokia wish to do. In fact, these changes are already here. We already know the Lumia 800 has neither a front facing camera nor gyro and the HTC Radar has no compass or gyro on board.

Check out the revised hardware requirements below:

Nokia Drive hacked, takes trip abroad to rival Windows Phones

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While we knew that Nokia Maps would be arriving on the full range of Windows Phone devices, Nokia indicated that its Drive voice navigation feature would stay an Espoo hardware exclusive. Alas, it seems that enthusiastic WinPho meddlers had other ideas, already managing to transplant the Lumia series' voice navigation functionality to Samsung's Omnia 7 -- and presumably any other handsets they'd like. No video proof's been unearthed just yet, but it looks like Nokia's first foray into a shared OS may require a tougher software lock-down.

Metro bus? Metro UI!

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Everyone keeps pleading with Microsoft to advertise and push Windows Phone. Well, it looks like it is starting to happen (and we'll see more Monday). This shot was taken by Josh in downtown Bellevue, about a half mile from the Microsoft Store.

Not a bad idea for a metro bus we suppose. And it sure is eye-catching. Thanks Josh for the pic!

Samsung Focus S confirmed to have no microSD expansion

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We were recently able to confirm the Samsung Focus S only came with 16 GB of storage, but questions still remained about the presence of expandable storage via a microSD card, a feature of the original Samsung Focus.

Documentation and pictures on AT&T’s support website however confirms the absence of any expansion, meaning users are limited to 16 GB of storage after all.

There are still rumours of a 32 GB version, but that is unfortunately likely only wistful thinking.

Nokia Lumia Windows Phones feature Corning Gorilla Glass

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The Nokia Lumia 800 follows suit of the N9 in more ways than one and the glass is no different. The first two Windows Phones from Nokia feature Corning Gorilla Glass, both the 710 and 800. The manufacturer has a long track record in using this glass technology to improve the toughness of the screen. So to recap for the Lumia 800, we have AMOLED, curved glass and Gorilla toughened glass being implemented. The 800 should be fairly resilient when it comes to being flung across a room in rage, or accidentally dropped while out and about. Check out our product review for a walk through.

Though this is interesting news, it's nothing new for Windows Phone. HTC have a number of devices using Gorilla Glass, as well as the Dell Venue Pro and even some LG handsets.

Source: wpcentral.com

Microsoft-approved Windows Phone 7 unlocker goes live

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Let the great Windows Phone 7 unlocking begin! ChevronWP7, the Microsoft-sanctioned Windows Phone unlocker, went live today. The project is aimed at "hobbyist developers," giving owners of WP7 handsets the ability to run and test unsigned apps on their phones. Interested parties need a Windows Live ID and $9 to sign up -- that price'll give you unlimited unlocks on a single phone. You can grab more info and an unlock token at the source link below.

Microsoft readies developer phones for distribution

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One thing Microsoft definitely excels in is developer relations. And getting phones into the hands of would-be devs is a key component for getting more interest and apps on our platform.

From the pic above, we can see Microsoft getting ready to send some more out to those who need 'em. You have to love that kind of support. Plus with Nokia's pledge of 25,000 dev phones, we think we may have this area cornered.

Nokia promises tethering for Lumia 800, points finger of blame at FCC

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Nokia's mission to reclaim smartphone competitiveness with its Windows Phone clan isn't over. We may have bemoaned the lack of data tethering in our Lumia 800 review, but it appears the Finnish phone titan has already announced that it will be coming to its Mango-flavored handsets. The apparent reason behind the inability of its flagship Windows Phone to share its data connectivity at launch was due to the FCC's stringent requirements.

Nokia Teams Up With ST Ericsson For Future Windows Phones

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ST Ericsson today announced its official partnership with Nokia. In the light of the agreement, ST-Ericsson is now selected as a supplier for future devices Nokia plans to introduce with Windows Phone at its core.

Back in may we heard that ST Ericsson dual-core chips might be powering Nokia Windows Phones at one moment in time. We've also heard with that occasion that there are 12 devices planned for 2012 and they might be powered by future versions of the U8500 chip, which is a dual core one. Gilles Delfassy, president and CEO of ST-Ericsson said that "NovaThor platforms continue to gain traction as they enable customers to bring great smartphones to the market".

Nokia Ad Push Raising Lumia's Profile; 800 Available November 16?

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Nokia product announcements for the Lumia 710 and Lumia 800 Windows Phone Mango handsets have gone over in a big way, dominating today's headlines and generating a lot of buzz. It's clear that Nokia is very interested in seeing its first WP7 efforts a success – it certainly has enough at stake – already releasing tons of content showing-off the pair of phones and their capabilities. We're still taking it all in, while Nokia is one step ahead, starting what looks to be a very prominent advertising campaign for the Lumias, and helping to narrow-down when we could expect the phones to arrive.

Steve Ballmer hits back at Android and praises the iPhone

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Google's User Experience Director for Android, Matias Duarte, said about Windows Phone being too forceful everything into a constrained look and feel. While he says that he offers the web, there's no denying that Metro is a beutiful UI and effectively provides content with no pixels wasted to chrome. Even Android took some pointers from Windows Phone (as well as other platforms).

Steve Ballmer, being the legend that he is (see the above image), has lashed back at Android but praises the iPhone to keep it from being a targeted attack. Ballmer mentioned that Android is simply difficult for the user to get into from the off.

Mango update unleashed to everyone

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Eric Hautala is back! With some more good news regarding the Mango roll out, which has now been bumped up to 100%. Everyone is now set to receive the notifications to update their NoDo powered handset (be sure to keep an eye on Where's My Phone Update?), up from 50% only two weeks ago.

The LG Optimus 7 on Telefonica in Spain is now being scheduled, finally. Eric mentions that work is still ongoing, for example with Orange FR where technical difficulties are preventing the network and Windows Phone team from pushing out the update at full speed.

Nokia Windows Phones to use "Pure" Font

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After Long Zheng saw those first press-shots of the Nokia 800 Windows Phone that is expected to be announced next week, he noticed that the images are using Nokia's "Pure" font style for the text as opposed to Microsoft's usual Segoe font originally designed for Windows Phone. As we know, Nokia has special privileges when it comes to modifying the Windows Phone operating system due to their deal with Microsoft. Changing the font to something more in tune with Nokia's branding is a subtle way to really differentiate Nokia's Windows Phones without fragmenting or deterioriating the Windows Phone design too much.

Nokia 800 SeaRay press shots emerge

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Although not exactly revealing, these high resolution renders are supposedly the final look of the Nokia 800 aka SeaRay, which is expected to be announced officially next week in London at Nokia World. The SeaRay, sporting a 3.7" AMOLED screen with a 1.4GHz CPU and 8MP camera, is expected to go on sale in various European countries as early as mid-November.

The renderings here don't show too much new outside of Nokia Navigation and Nokia Musik apps on board, which should be great OEM offerings to those who like the Nokia brand. Other than that, the devices look exactly like the Meego N9, including the same three color schemes of pink, grey and blue.

Steve Ballmer: A "Bunch of New" Nokia Windows Phones Next Week

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Nokia's World event is happening exactly one week from now and Steve Ballmer, while talking at the Web 2.0 Summit, is pretty excited about what the Finnish phone maker has up its sleeves.

Microsoft's CEO was excited to tell the world that Espoo "will have a chance at their Nokia World show next week to show a bunch of new devices running Windows Phone". "It should be pretty good", he said, and he definitely knows more than the rest of us who are expecting two Nokia Windows Phones to see the light of day.

ChevronWP7 Labs Coming In A Few Weeks

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We've heard about the $9 you'll have to pay in order to unlock your Windows Phone with Chevron WP7 (as a nice alternative to the much higher price of a developer account and device unlock). The solution will be called Chevron WP7 Labs and is officially landing soon.

According to the Chevron WP7 blog, Labs is only a few weeks away from launch. It will allow "hobbyist developers to install, run, and debug unsigned applications on their personal Windows Phone" and will cost $9 per token (one token equals one Windows Phone device registration).

Bing Maps On Windows Phone 7 Is Using New Map Scheme

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If you are a heavy Maps user on your Windows Phone you probably noticed that, after opening the application, you are greeted with a new scheme of displaying the map in the "Road" view.

The colors are now matching those on Bing Maps on the Internet (meaning purple for highways and major roads, dark grey for secondary roads, red road name badges, etc.) and the mapping data seems to have been updated with new information (though you might not notice this if you live in an area that was well covered before). Fire up your Maps app on your Windows Phone and let us know how you like the new maps.

Microsoft doles out the dough to Nokia and Samsung, plans Mango marketing bonanza for year's end

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Know who loves it when other OEMs call him big poppa? Ballmer, that's who. So much so that he's opened up the company's coffers to Nokia and Samsung for a holiday blitz of Mango marketing. Hold onto your hats though, it's no carte blanche access to Redmond's Gringotts. According to a report on Mobile Magazine, inside sources claim MS has set aside ₤28 million (about $44 million) for the endeavor, with about ₤20 million of that reserved for Nokia's first Windows Phone 7.5 handset. This joint marketing effort is reportedly a broader extension of the cooperative agreements all parties agreed to, ensuring future WP devices get the media saturation they deserve. So, keep your eyes peeled this upcoming winter. We have a feeling you won't be able to escape the commercial onslaught, anyway.

Microsoft officially launches Windows Phone in India with trio of Mango devices

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You may have already been able to get a Windows Phone device in India without too much trouble, but Microsoft has only just now made things fully official -- complete with Windows Phone Marketplace, voice recognition support, and a trio of Mango devices. That includes just the HTC Radar initially, which will be available next week for the local equivalent of $490, while the Samsung Omnia W and Acer Allegro (believed to be the same as the W4) are set to follow sometime in November. Of the three, the Allegro is said to be the cheapest of the lot, and there's also some reports that it will launch in Europe for €299 (or roughly $400) off-contract. Those curious about the Radar can check out our review from a few days ago.

iOS 5 vs the Windows Phone Mango update

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We'll just leave this funny little result here from Engadget. Looks like Cupertino has some problems on their hands with lots of "issues" going on tonight. See TiPB for more. (Of course we can't gloat too much, after all, having your servers hammered that much isn't necessarily a bad sign for your market share, is it?)

Oh and if you want, go vote now.