Windows Phone 7 Marketplace adds YouTube, Twitter and more
They might not have been there at the start of day one, but by the end a number of “flagship” apps hit the Windows Phone 7 Marketplace.
Those who’ve picked up a new HTC, LG or Samsung device powered by Microsoft’s new operating system can now watch YouTube videos, tweet on the official Twitter app and chat with their mates via a Windows Live Messenger app.
If you are giddy by the excitement, then brace yourself for the news that Adobe has released Acrobat Reader for Windows Phone 7, allowing you to read pdf files on the go. Whoop!
All the above apps are free.
Sadly the YouTube app is only half the story, as it only allows you to view content on YouTube’s mobile site and doesn’t support embedded YouTube content, like the sorts of videos you’ll find on lots of websites.
Others now in the Marketplace include Shazam and GoVoice – a Google Voice app costing a couple of quid.
The new high-profile additions add to the bevy of big names like Facebook, Ebay and Foursquare, all of which are already available.
HP Slate 500, rings up at $799
Nope, you’re not dreaming, but feel free to pinch yourself, rub your eyes or take a cold shower! You’ve read right — the HP Slate is finally official, and after all the teasing, back and forth, and (very recent) leaks, the Atom-powered, Windows 7 Slate will finally see the light of day — though in a different way than originally intended. While the first videos released by HP may have made it seem like it would be for consumers, HP’s tactfully changed its tune (don’t forget it’s got Palm / WebOS tablets on the way) and is now aiming the Slate at the enterprise and business market. Still, it will be available on HP’s site for $799 to anyone who wishes to purchase one.
So, what does $800 of your hard earned cash buy you? Well, in addition to the dock and case, which are included in the box, the tablet packs pretty much everything we’d heard over the last year — it’s powered by a 1.86GHz Intel Atom Z540 processor, 2GB of RAM, 64GB SSD and packs Broadcom’s Crystal HD accelerator for handling 1080p video. (The included dock has an HDMI-out port if you want to hook it up to the big screen.) Obviously, the 8.9-inch capacitive touch Slate runs Windows 7 Professional, but it’s got a Wacom active digitizer for taking notes, which certainly sets it apart from the other Win 7 tablets we’ve seen over the last couple of weeks. Oh, and don’t forget its front facing VGA cam and 3 megapixel camera on its back. We got a chance to finally grope the tablet earlier this week, so hit the break for our early impressions and a short video.
Lumigon T1 with ICEpower amplifiers officially unveiled, to arrive 'by the very end of this year'
Just as promised, Denmark-based Lumigon has finally lifted the curtains over its much hyped T1 Android handset. Specs include an 800MHz Freescale i.MX515 chipset with an optional Qualcomm HSDPA modem, along with a 3.5-inch 480 x 800 capacitive touchscreen LCD, 5 megapixel autofocus camera, A-GPS, Bluetooth and FM radio. What the Scandinavian company’s really selling here, though, is the phone’s multimedia features: not only does it have a FM transmitter, a HDMI dock and Bang & Olufsen’s renowned ICEpower audio amplifiers, but it also doubles up as an “innovative” universal remote control for your various AV devices — pretty unique for an Android device, we’ll give you that. Interestingly, the press release omits any mention of Froyo, so here’s a glimmer of hope that Lumigon will manage to skin whatever the latest version of Android will be in time for the launch — a few lucky outlets will receive the phones “by the very end of this year,” just in time for your Christmas refunds.
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