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Microsoft’s big Mango update to Windows Phone brought the platform to version 7.5. It has over 500 new features, most aimed at the consumer, but some of these features will also help professionals.

Connecting to a hidden SSID

Some people use a hidden SSID under the illusion that it provides some level of security, even though it doesn’t. Windows Phone 7 originally wouldn’t connect to a hidden Wi-Fi access point at all. Now it will, but there is a caveat. The manufacturer or carrier also has to ensure the phone is running an updated Wi-Fi driver. If you have Mango and still cannot connect to a hidden SSID, contact your carrier. Mango has the capability and Microsoft has done all it can on this front.

Threaded email conversations

This is one of those love it or hate it features and some people love it. If you fall into that camp, then do nothing. Mango enables this by default. You can easily turn it off on a per-mailbox basis though.

Linked inboxes

If you have to manage multiple mailboxes, you can now see them all at once. Mango keeps the databases separate, but visually it looks like one big mailbox with all of your mail. A reply is sent from the mailbox it was sent to and all preferences are kept separate, so things like how long an email is retained and signatures are on a per-mailbox basis. You can link all, some, or none of your mailboxes, depending on your preferences.

Better live tiles

Live tiles in Windows Phone 7 were nice but didn’t always function properly, especially third-party tiles. The more you had enabled, the more likely you were to run into problems. Once you had 15, you were maxed out. Additional live tiles were static. Mango upped the limit to 30 live tiles and improved the performance of all of them. They work best when a third-party developer redoes its tile to support multitasking. So feel free to add as many inboxes, people, and weather tiles to your homescreen. Having multiple weather tiles, with apps like WeatherLive, makes traveling easier as you can see the weather conditions at all of your travel destinations at a glance.

Contact history

This has been greatly improved. Simply pull up a contact in the people hub, or tap on a person if they are pinned to your homescreen, and swipe to the history section. You will be able to see all of your recent interactions with them via phone, SMS, and email. Tapping on any of those will bring you to that item. You could reply to an email right there, for instance. An additional swipe to the What’s New section will show you their social interactions on Twitter and Facebook, including things like @replies to you.

Task switching

If you are like most professionals, you are doing multiple things at once. Twitter, email, checking out an Excel document, looking for directions, etc. Now you can seamlessly move through these by pressing and holding the back button. A task window showing thumbnails of recent apps pops up that will allow you to go directly to any of them. This works with all apps, but the experience is faster and more likely to return you to exactly where you were if it has been rewritten to support this feature. If you have ever used or seen the app-switching cards in WebOS, then you know exactly what this looks like.

This barely scratches the surface, but it gives you a hint of some of the improvements in Mango that makes the life of a professional, especially one that travels, a bit easier.

Posted by Ed Hansberry http://www.informationweek.com/blog/mobility/231901839

October 31st 2011 | Read the rest of this article »

The Nokia Lumia 800 is “the first real Windows Phone”. Nokia unveiled the new smart phone, previously known as the Sea Ray, in London today.

Nokia boss Stephen Elop called the Lumia “the first real Windows Phone”. Which will no doubt be news to HTC and everyone else making Windows Phones.

Elop also introduced Kevin Shields. He showed off the dynamic tiles of Windows Phone, as opposed to a “lame grid of icons that sit there doing nothing“. Take that, Apple!

The press conference also highlighted the phone’s camera, Xbox Live integration and Microsoft Office. Woo, Office! The phone also includes Nokia Drive turn-by-turn navigation, making it a smart sat-nav when you’re going for a drive.

The Lumia 800 is powered by the latest version of Windows Phone, known as Mango. Windows Phone is based around big colourful squares that update with the latest information, from the weather and headlines to your friends’ status updates.

The Lumia is based on the ill-fated Nokia N9. It’s shorn of buttons and includes a 3.7-inch AMOLED touchscreen, 1.4Ghz processor and 16GB of memory.

We will be looking more indepth at the Office 365 capabilities when we get our hands on the kit.

Taken from cNet.co.uk

October 28th 2011 | Read the rest of this article »

Vodafone launches new tariffs for sole traders and SMEs which allow customers to purchase Vodafone One Net Express and Microsoft Office 365 as add-ons

Vodafone will this week launch a new set of business tariffs for sole traders and SMEs.

The new tariffs, called Vodafone Business, replace the operator’s Business Choice and Business Essential plans as well as standalone One Net Express tariffs, which are now available as an add-on.

Sole traders will be able to get 300 minutes, 500MB of data and 250 texts, as well as 3,000 Vodafone minutes and free voicemail for £25 a month.

For £35 a month they can also get 25MB a day of roaming data and 10 roaming texts, and for £45 this includes 30 roaming minutes.

One Net Express can be added for £10 per month per user, which includes 3,000 UK landline minutes and one selected geographic landline number.

SME tariffs start at £30 for a lead user and £20 per user, which gives 500 shared voice minutes, 500 shared texts, 500MB of data per user, 3,000 UK landline minutes, and free calls to other Vodafone numbers. All prices exclude VAT.

One Net Express can be added to the package for £20 a month for a lead user and £2.50 per month for additional users. Microsoft Office 365 can also be added from £4 per user. All tariffs include free BT OpenZone Wi-Fi.

Customers on existing Vodafone tariffs will be given the option to transfer to the new offerings.

Vodafone head of small business marketing Roger Berry said: “We have taken a lead here and by incorporating One Net Express into the offerings it means we have a much stronger product story than anyone else in the market. It takes us ahead of where the competition is.

“The SME sector is still a particularly big focus for us as well, and it’s a very profitable area of the market. Across the entire business sector, Vodafone has been extremely successful for a long period of time and we see that continuing.”

From http://www.mobilenewscwp.co.uk

October 27th 2011 | Read the rest of this article »

The Samsung Galaxy note doesn’t appear to be ‘just another tablet’. Its 6 inch screen comes with a stylus included on the device, making the device seem to be the next generation of PDA system.

The idea behind the device was the need for one handset to cover the usage of all devices.

Notepad’s free idea capturing

Smartphone’s 24 hour portability

Tablet’s large display

Camera’s for everyday use

Handheld entertainment

The Galaxy Note is released on the 17^th of November.

October 7th 2011 | Read the rest of this article »

BlackBerry Protect allows you the ability to wirelessly backup restore and locate your BlackBerry® smartphone.

To highlight some of the features, here is some examples.

BlackBerry Protect Setup

First, the user would need to download and install the BlackBerry Protect application on their BlackBerry smartphone. After completing the initial registration, you’ll be given the option to backup the data on your BlackBerry smartphone. You will be able to decide what you want to back up – contacts, calendar, memos, tasks, browser bookmarks, and/or text messages. You will even be able to choose how often your BlackBerry smartphone is automatically backed. Once the first back up is completed, only incremental data is backed up to reduce data usage.

Misplacing your BlackBerry Smartphone

When you have misplaced your blackberry, a fantastic feature is to access the Blackberry Portal and activate loud ring. Loud ring will override whatever settings are on your handset to make it ring loudly for one minute, making it easier to find. It also changes the default profile to ‘loud’, so you can call the BlackBerry to try to locate if you didn’t find it while it was initially ringing.

Dealing with a lost BlackBerry Smartphone

So, you have lost your Blackberry. Maybe you know you have left it at work overnight or even in the pub. We can block any usage on the phone remotely so there are no worries about security whilst the phone isn’t on you. First, log onto the BlackBerry Protect web portal, where you can lock the BlackBerry and set a password. Next, set the ‘lost and found’ screen with a message and contact information in case the device is found – this way they know who owns the device and can get a hold of you to let you know they found it. Next, still from within the BlackBerry Protect web portal,  the ‘view current location feature’, which will use the built-in GPS functionality in most BlackBerry smartphones to help show where the current location of the BlackBerry. Worst case scenario, the Blackberry has gone missing and hasn’t been found, the ‘remote wipe’ feature will delete all the information from the device, including data on the SD card.

Getting a new BlackBerry Smartphone

Once you receive a new Blackberry, whether it is a replacement or upgrade, you can wirelessly back up the device with all the information from your previous handset.

Blackberry Protect is free to download from The Blackberry App Store.

October 7th 2011 | Read the rest of this article »