Tag Archives: Windows Phone 7 Mango

40 Best Windows Phone Apps Of 2012

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A lot of people thought that if Windows Phone 7 failed to make an impact in the smartphone market, this might spell the end of Microsoft’s mobile adventure. Contrary to this belief though, 2012 saw the announcement and release of Windows Phone 8. While WP8 is pretty much a whole new OS, you can’t say that it is fundamentally different from its predecessor. Unfortunately, even WP8 hasn’t fared significantly better than Mango so far, but that isn’t from lack of trying on the part of its manufacturers and people who develop apps for the Windows Phone Store. During the course of the year, the platform's app collection grew past the 100,000 mark and is now on its way to even bigger milestones. While some of the releases were rather disappointing, the overall quality of apps in the WP Store definitely seems to have improved compared to what we saw in 2011. Here is a list of the best free Windows Phone apps that were covered here on Addictive Tips in 2012. Read More

Stream Photos From Windows Phone Lumia To Any Device With PhotoBeamer

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Nokia Lumia owners already have Play To, an app that lets them stream media to any DLNA-enabled device, so a few might label the new PhotoBeamer as redundant. However, you have to bear in mind that not everyone wants to go through the rather lengthy and complicated procedure of setting up DLNA on a computer just to stream a couple of photos. PhotoBeamer on the other hand requires no configuration, and can be used with any internet-enabled computer or TV to show photos from your Lumia device to a larger audience. Just point your phone at the display, select the album you want to stream, and the images will start appearing on the other screen without any noticeable delay! Sounds almost magical, doesn't it? Read More

Windows Phone 8 Announced: Here’s A Summary Of Its New Features

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Until yesterday, only the most enthusiastic Windows Phone 7 fans (or Microsoft execs) could have compared the Mango platform to iOS or Android, but today, things have taken a rather sudden and welcome turn for the folks over at Redmond. Microsoft just announced Windows Phone 8 for 180 countries and in 50 languages. It is an absolutely gorgeous variant of their mobile platform, but the announcement could be termed as a true example of mixed emotions. WP8 sounds just about perfect, but the bad news is that it will not be compatible with any of the existing WP7 devices (you read that right; not even the exalted Lumia series made the cut). Although Microsoft has got a set of sound reasons for this exclusion (which will be discussed past the break), the news won’t be pleasant for current Mango users. Having said that, maybe you will forgive MS once you hear about the awesomeness that constitutes Windows Phone 8. Plus, Mango users haven't been completely forsaken either, thanks to Windows Phone 7.8. Read More

How To Interop Unlock Nokia Lumia 710/800 & Flash A Custom ROM

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In the opinion of most Windows Phone 7 users, the Nokia Lumia series represents the best breed of WP7 devices. The awesome camera, form-factor and display of the Lumia 800 and 710 have gone a long way towards endearing Nokia’s Mango phones to the masses. Given the popularity of these devices, it makes sense that the developer community has been taking an active interest in finding an interop unlock method (or in simple terms, jailbreak) for the Lumia series. Fortunately, they seem to have stricken gold (or silver, for that matter). If you are lucky, Nokia sold you your device with an unlocked bootloader, paving the way for flashing custom ROMs and attaining interop unlock. Such bootloader is not to be found in all Lumia 800s, but the owners of Lumia 710 might be a whole lot more fortunate than that. Confused? Read on, and we will try to explain matters. Read More

Lumia Highlights: Get Tips, Tricks & Tutorials For Nokia Windows Phone

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Before the Lumia series was released, many people were calling it Windows Phone 7’s last hope. Although this is something of an exaggeration, as things weren’t that bad for the Mango phone, it is still nice to see how popular Nokia Windows Phone devices have become. The increase in any platform’s popularity always means one thing - there are a lot of new WP7 users, and many of them have never used a smartphone before. If you have been using WP7 for a considerably long time, you might be used to the workings of the Mango platform, but things can seem tricky for a lot of new users. Just a few days back, I had to explain to one of our readers, in great detail, the method for transferring songs to the device via Zune. Keeping such new users in mind, Nokia has launched a help app (much like Microsoft’s official Help+How-to) named Lumia Highlights. Even for experienced WP7 users, the app holds the charm of coming up with some really cool tips every once in a while. Read on to learn more. Read More

XapHandler: Directly Install, Manage & Update Homebrews On Unlocked WP7 Without Connecting To PC

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Windows Phone 7 is trying to follow the example set by iOS when it comes to jailbreaking. Like the Cydia store, unlocked Mango phones have got access to Bazaar. There is still a lot of room for improvement, though. Just take a closer look at Bazaar for instance. Unlike Cydia, there is no way you can manage, or even view, the tweaks and homebrews you have already installed to your WP7 device. It will be cool if Bazaar gets an update which lets you do that, but for now, homebrew fans will have to be contented with XapHandler, a homebrew to manage, well, homebrews. Using this app, you will be able to update any XAP file you have already got on your phone, and it will also let you perform a clean install on homebrews, making sure that they function properly. However, the most useful feature of XapHandler is its ability to show users the data and relevant information associated with XAP files before you flash them to your phone. All these features might be great for users with custom ROMs, and access to Bazaar, but the best thing about XapHandler is that, with it, users having unlocked stock ROMs will be finally able to install homebrews directly from Internet Explorer, email or any other method without even having to connect your device to a PC. Read More

Root Tools: Run All XAP Files On WP7 Without Full Unlock [Homebrew]

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If you own a Windows Phone 7 device and are interested in getting the most out of it, then surely you know about the three root access levels in WP7, namely developer unlock, interop unlock and full unlock (which is accessible only via custom Mango ROMs). You can run a lot of XAP files if you have a device with interop unlock, but some of the most juiciest homebrews could only be used on custom ROMs. Until now that is! WP7 Root Tools have been released, and the homebrew brings full root access to devices which only have interop unlock so far. Previously it was possible to flash any XAP file to an interop unlocked device, but if it was intended for custom ROMs, the app did not do anything. With Root Tools, this is no longer the case, as you just have to install the homebrew to get all homebrews running. Read More

How To Get Visual Voicemail (VVM) Working On AT&T Windows Phone 7

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We are quite heavily dependent upon our carriers, specially if you own a smartphone. At times some carriers might exploit these dependencies and users end up with limited functionalities, as seen with the whole AT&T data throttling issue a few months back. However, data throttling is not the only issue faced by Windows Phone 7 users on AT&T, there is also the lack of VVM (Visual Voicemail) support. If you are used to having a full menu for managing your voicemail, then this can prove to be a considerable inconvenience. It's not that Windows Phone 7 devices lack any hardware or feature necessary for Visual Voicemail support, the issue appears to be there due to a pure oversight on the part of the carrier. Fortunately, there is a way of getting VVM enabled on your Mango phone, and you can learn all about it by reading on. Read More

Custom Slideshows & Dynamic Bing Wallpapers For WP7 Lockscreen [Homebrew]

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On the surface, it might seem like developers are not really interested in Windows Phone 7, but the truth of the matter is that the Mango platform does have its band of dedicated developers, not the least of whom is Jaxbot from Windows Phone Hacker. The WP7 wizard has done it again, and after Orientation Lock, Folders, Windows Break and various other groundbreaking homebrews, now you can apply dynamic images as the wallpaper of your Windows Phone. I am a big fan of new wallpapers personally, and that’s why I like to change the background of my phone’s lockscreen daily (computer as well). With the new homebrew (Dynamic Background), however, that problem has been solved, and I won’t have to change the wallpapers manually again. Dynamic Background can be used to set up a slideshow for the lockscreen, and it also comes with the option to tap into the dynamic Bing wallpapers, and your lockscreen will reflect the search engine’s background automatically. Read More

Share Files via Bluetooth On Your Unlocked Windows Phone 7 [Homebrew]

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The Dark Force Team has really taken it upon itself to make Windows Phone 7 the platform it should have been all along. After their release of the awesome custom Mango ROMs, they have brought one of the most wanted feature to WP7; Bluetooth file transfer. Whenever you introduce WP7 to a new user, one of the first missing features they comment on is file sharing via Bluetooth. Microsoft might have enhanced the Mango platform’s security by taking this measure, but it proves to be a huge drawback for an average user. Fortunately, if you have a fully unlocked device (that is, if your phone has a custom ROM on it), now it is possible to send and receive any type of data on your device. Read on to know more about this useful homebrew. Read More

Messaging Emoticons: Send SMS Using The Full Range Of WP7 Emoticons

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Mango is pretty old now, but you might recall that Windows Phone 7’s fruity update caused quite a stir when it was released. In addition to some major changes in Mango, a few minor, but equally welcome, features were introduced as well. Once such feature was the introduction of graphical emoticons to WP7. There is a minor problem though, the stock keyboard does not list all the available emoticons, and it is almost impossible to memorize all of them (despite Microsoft’s release of WP7 emoticon cheat sheet). That’s where an app like Messaging Emoticons can prove to be really useful. Using this free app you can copy all Mango-supported smileys, and the app also has the option to let its users compose their SMS within it and then export to the Messaging hub. Read More

Bazaar For PC: Manage & Get Windows Phone 7 Homebrews From Your Desktop

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If you have a Windows Phone 7 device, and you like to stay up to date with the latest developments going on for Mango, then you must be aware of Bazaar, the Cydia store for WP7. Bazaar is the app which lets users having a fully unlocked device to install homebrews to their phone. It is a Marketplace for XAPs, and replicated the official Marketplace’s features pretty accurately. However, if your device is not fully unlocked, i.e. you don’t have a custom ROM, then Bazaar is of no use to you. That situation has just changed, with the release of the desktop client for the homebrew store, titled Bazaar for PC. Using the application you can manage, browse, share and download XAP files available in the Bazaar store. Read More

Reinstaller: Backup & Recover Deleted Apps To Your WP7 Account

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It might not be a very common occurrence for Windows Phone 7 users, but there are times you are forced to wipe out all data from your device (by performing a factory reset). With the release of custom ROMs for WP7, it has become more likely that many people will opt to lose all their data in order to get a taste of the customized versions of Mango. Fortunately, you don’t have to lose your apps at least, because there is the amazingly useful app named Reinstaller out now. Even if you weren’t using the app before you wiped your phone, you can still recover all your apps via Reinstaller later. Sounds unbelievable? Read on to learn more. Read More

Facebook For WP7 Updated To Bring Cover Photos, Like Details & Privacy Controls

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If you go by the news coming in these days, the Facebook app for Windows Phone 7 is pretty popular, and has amassed more than 1.2 million active users. However, that doesn’t mean that everything about the app is perfect. While using it, I, for one, felt the need to go to the web version of Facebook for doing stuff like viewing Likes on my posts and applying privacy settings to anything. Also, the app didn’t replicate the changes Facebook has gone through with the release of Timeline. Now, all that has changed, with the latest update (released just yesterday) to the official Facebook app for Window Phone 7, you get all the functionality which was missing in the older version of Facebook for Mango. Read More

Find The Online Popularity Of Anything With Social Mints For WP7

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A few days back, we covered a Windows Phone 7 app which went by the name of Webmaster. That app was all about keeping track of ay website’s popularity by viewing its usage statistics and page ranks. However, online popularity is a concept which is not exclusive to just webpages, and a lot of users want to know which topics are being discussed all over the web these days. Social Mints is a search engine app for Mango, but it is unique because using it, you don’t search for meanings of terms, but rather their popularity. The app will let you know exactly which topics are trending these days, and which celebrities & movies are most discussed right now. Read More

How To Flash MAGLDR & Custom ROMs To Samsung Omnia 7 And Samsung Focus

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The concept for Windows Phone 7 custom ROMs is nothing new, the Dark Force Team has developed ROMs for first-gen HTC phones using Mango (as discussed here), but now it appears that they are taking things a step further, and Samsung users can enjoy their work as well! Just yesterday, DFT released Sammy Rainbow, which is the MAGLDR for Samsung Omnia 7 and Samsung Focus (first-gen Samsung WP7 devices). If you are wondering what MAGLDR is, read our detailed guide on the subject. This release has paved the way for custom ROM development for Samsung WP7 devices, and even presently you can flash the Freedom custom ROM, which is pretty awesome to say the least. Read on to learn how to install MAGLDR on your Samsung WP7, and then flash a custom ROM through MAGLDR. Read More

Pictomaphone: One Of The Most Comprehensive WP7 Photo Editors Out There

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Windows Phone 7 might not be able to compete with Android and iOS in amount of apps any time soon, but there are a few apps in the Marketplace that keep reminding users of the perks of owning a Mango phone. There might not be many options for editing images in the Pictures hub, but there are many third-party apps which will let you do that, and out of all those apps, Pictomaphone might be the best in the Marketplace yet.  The app offers a staggering number of filters and photo effects, but that is not where its biggest strength lies. The app is really good as it does not make its users do too much work, and all the editing options can be applied with just a few touches. Having said that, advanced users can use Pictomaphone as well, as there are a quite a few thorough editing options available in the app. Read More

InstaCam: View/ Download Instagram Images & Apply Photo Effects [WP7]

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Rumors might be abundant about the expected release of the official Instagram client for Windows Phone 7, but for now, Mango users have to make do with the unofficial clients available for the popular photo sharing service. However, the options available thus far do have their limitations, like the recently covered Metrogram, which lacked many of the key features which make Instagram a success. We might not have received the official app just yet, but finally, we have got the next best thing. InstaCam is a new WP7 app, which will let you do just about anything on Instagram, with the only drawback being that you won’t be able to upload photos to the official service. Apart from that, InstaCam lets you view, download and share photos, and you can apply photo effects to images on your phone as well. Read More

Device Reset: Get A Reboot & Reset Menu On Your WP7 [Homebrew]

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If you are a Windows Phone 7 user, then you should know that there is just one option to reboot your device, and that is to hold down the power button. If you want a streamlined method of restarting or resetting your device, then you are in luck if you have an unlocked Mango phone. Device Reset is a homebrew app that has been developed in a pretty minimalistic fashion, but it could prove to be a nice addition to your WP7 arsenal. The app provides a pretty easy and convenient way of replicating the functionality of the Power button on your device, without having to mess with any of the actual hardware buttons. This new Homebrew ensures that users get an on-device method for resetting their WP7. Read More

Transfer Office Files To WP7 With A Single Click Using This Homebrew

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The Office hub in Windows Phone 7 is pretty awesome, and is the perfect place for anyone wishing to create documents on the go. The integration with SkyDrive makes it even better. However, there is always room for improvement in everything. Most people still have majority of their documents on their desktop systems, and there is no streamlined way of getting Word files to your WP7 device, other than emailing it to yourself, or using SkyDrive. Both these methods are not good if you don’t have an active data connection on your mobile device. BookUploader is a tool for devices having interop unlock, and using it, you can transfer Word and PDF files to your WP7 with a single click. The method used by BookUploader is pretty similar to flashing XAP files to your Windows Phone, with the only difference being the fact that you get to flash Office files to your device rather than apps. Read More