Microsoft may be playing a Samsung game when it comes to Windows Phone 7 sales and shipments, but just having handsets in stores should make a big difference to market penetration. According to TmoNews, T-Mobile USA is about to announce availability of the HTC 7 Mozart, joining the HTC HD7 and doubling the options for magenta-loving would-be WP7 shoppers.

The Mozart won our approval by virtue of its excellent build quality and above-average camera, offering 8-megapixels, autofocus and a proper Xenon flash. That’s unique among Windows Phone 7 devices and relatively unique among smartphones in general. No word on exact availability or pricing, but rumor has it T-Mobile will be offering both 8GB and 16GB versions.

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J’accuse… ! Remember the unnamed third party that Microsoft had found to be abusing 3G data on Windows Phone 7? Secret’s out, and the culprit is none other than Yahoo Mail. According to a statement obtained by Microsoft guru Paul Thurrott, a fix is expected in the “coming weeks,” but in the interim, you can mitigate the pain by going into settings and choosing less taxing options for “Download new content” and “Download email from” — say, for example, “manually” and “the last 7 days,” respectively. At least now you know exactly at whom you should wag your finger.

Windows Phone 7 ‘phantom data’ leaker unmasked as Yahoo Mail, fix due in ‘coming weeks’ originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 01 Feb 2011 00:25:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Had enough of seeing grids and folders of static (Calendar app excluded, of course) icons on your iDevice? Well, here’s one option to relieving your tedium: a Windows Phone 7 theme for the iPhone and iPod touch. You’ll naturally need to jailbreak your iOS handheld in order to restyle it quite so dramatically, but once you do, you’ll have all your precious apps sorted in a neat alphabetical pile on one screen, with the other waiting patiently for your customizations and live tile choices. It’s a good looking little mod, we have to say, and it’s currently going through beta testing, so why not grab your iPhone and see if it can survive a lick of Microsoft paint without self-combusting?

Continue reading Windows Phone 7′s live tiles turned into a pretty convincing iOS theme (video)

Windows Phone 7′s live tiles turned into a pretty convincing iOS theme (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 31 Jan 2011 03:46:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Microsoft is saying that over two million Windows Phone 7 devices have been sold to carriers and manufacturers as of this last quarter.  No solid numbers were given out on exactly how many have been sold to customers.  “We’re still in the early stages,” Microsoft Senior Product Manager Greg Sullivan said to Mobilized magazine,”when people use this phone, they really, really like it.”

He also added that 93% of the early customers said they are “satisfied” or “very satisfied” with the experience of Windows Phone 7.  AT&T, who carries a series of the new Windows Phone 7 line has also said that sales are steadily growing and that 90% of customers would recommend a Windows Phone to others.

With numbers like the ridiculous 16.2 million iPhones sold over the holiday season, the paltry two million Windows Phone 7 numbers are very representative consumer visibility right now.  Microsoft’s Windows Phone 7 is slowly building steam but have you actually seen many around? Keep at it Redmond.

[Via All Things Digital]

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• Microsoft projects Windows Mobile sales at 20 million for 2008
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• Over One Million AMD Fusion APUs Shipped

A new jailbreaking system for Windows Phone 7 devices is promised, though the developer is waiting until after the first official update is released so as to avoid Microsoft patching the exploit. According to Windows Phone dev Julien Schapman, his Windows Phone 7 Device Manager app works in a way “similar to that of ChevronWP7 in the way they both use a fake registration server, but my method is different and more reliable” according to WinRumors wrote Schapman in an email to WinRumors.

“For example it automatically detects when a WP7 is plugged in and will check if this is a registered developer phone,” he continues, “if not it will register it once and for all, so the device will never re-lock like with ChevronWP7.” The previous tool was the handiwork of the ChevronWP7 team, who agreed to pull the app at Microsoft’s request and who are now working with the company on ways to engage with the homebrew community.

[via The Inquirer]

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• iPod touch 2G redsn0w beta released: easier jailbreaking

Microsoft continues its surprisingly sensible approach to Windows Phone 7 hacking, offering notorious Sony and Apple hacker George “Geohot” Hotz a free WP7 handset. Hotz had expressed his disillusion with Sony after the company sued him for his work hacking the PS3′s copy protection, and suggested that he might look instead to Windows Phone 7; Microsoft “entrepreneur on loan” Brandon Watson promptly tweeted him with the offer of a free phone to “let dev creativity flourish.”

“#geohot if you want to build cool stuff on #wp7, send me email and the team will give you a phone – let dev creativity flourish #wp7dev” Brandon Watson

According to Watson’s Twitter profile, he is working with Microsoft to help the company restore its “developer mojo”; it’s not clear whether Hotz took the exec up on his offer. Microsoft recently met with the ChevronWP7 team responsible for the Windows Phone 7 unlocking tool which turned regular handsets into developer-friendly models, in an attempt to embrace the homebrew community rather than fight against it.

[via MCVUK]

Whether Microsoft thought the “phantom data” situation was news worthy enough or not, it seems the Redmond-based company has chosen a low-key method of fixing the situation. Answering a question by Nick Eaton from Seattle PI, which asked the company directly about the situation, the company actually told him that they’ve not only figured out what’s causing it, but that they’re currently working on a fix for the problem.

The problem was originally reported about at the beginning of January. Windows Phone 7 owners were reporting large amounts of 3G data being gobbled up, even when they were connected to a WiFi network. So, Microsoft says that they’ve figured out what the cause is, and they’re taking the necessary steps to fix it. However, what they’re not saying, is what actually caused the issue. They company is being vague about the whole thing:

“We have determined that a third-party solution commonly accessed from Windows Phones is configured in a manner that potentially cause larger than expected data downloads. We are in contact with the third party to assist them in making the necessary fixes, and are also pursuing potential workarounds to address the configuration issue in case those are needed. At this point in our investigation, we believe this is responsible for most of the reported incidents.

We are investigating additional potential root causes for the remainder of the reports. A small (low single-digit) percentage of Windows Phone customers have reported being affected.

We are continuing to investigate this issue and will update with additional information and guidance as it becomes available.”

A “third-party solution” that “commonly accessed from Windows Phones.” That’s what’s causing the larger than expected data downloads. There could be some additional root causes, but Microsoft isn’t sure about that. It’s currently being investigated. The company also added that they will “update with additional information and guidance.” That seems odd, considering they weren’t doing that in the first place, nor did they send out this report that they had discovered the cause of the problem to anyone, other than Eaton after being directly asked about it.

Whatever the reason Microsoft has decided to stay quiet about this, as long as it gets fixed, it’s probably not a big deal to most customers. However, with how open the company has been about updates and other issues, it seems strange that they would stay quiet regarding something like this. Hopefully, if we stay tuned, Microsoft will let us know what’s going on before too long.

[via WindowsPhoneSecrets]

When hackers are playing with your platform, you can either try to thwart them – leading to a cat & mouse situation as with Apple and the iOS jailbreakers – or you can work with them; sensibly, Microsoft is apparently doing the latter when it comes to Windows Phone 7. According to WinRumors, the company recently met with part of the ChevronWP7 team, responsible for the Windows Phone 7 Unlocker tool, to discuss how homebrew application developers can co-exist with Microsoft’s existing official developers.

The Windows Phone 7 Unlocker made it possible for unofficial apps to be sideloaded to a regular WP7 handset, rather than demanding that developers pay Microsoft’s $99 annual developer registration fee. At the time it was heralded as the first step toward an unofficial Windows Phone Marketplace, similar to the iOS Cydia app store; however, ChevronWP7 later pulled the tool at Microsoft’s request, and the company plans to close the loophole that facilitated it in the upcoming WP7 software update.

Instead, it seems Microsoft wants to look at more legitimate ways to enable the homebrew community, and given the amount of catch-up it has to do to compete with Android and iPhone that seems the sensible route. According to Microsoft’s Windows Phone 7 group product manager Greg Sullivan, the company will have more to announce about homebrew on the platform “in the coming months.”

[Image credit: ChevronWP7 member Long Zheng]

To be a jailbreaker means different things depending on the device that you’re busy hacking preinstalled walls from. If you’re fiddling with consoles, a legal team would come highly recommended, but if you’re tweaking mobile code, at least Windows Phone mobile code, you’re in for a much sweeter ride. The ChevronWP7 guys that brought us the first jailbreak of Microsoft’s Windows Phone 7 are currently in Redmond having a sitdown and a frank exchange of views with WP7 dev experience director Brandon Watson, and the amicable nature of their discourse has been evidenced by the image above. Microsoft is clearly taking a light-hearted and community-friendly approach to handling the (now inevitable) efforts at disabling limitations to its software and we can only congratulate its mobile team for doing so.

[Thanks, Tasos]

Update: Looks like Microsoft’s softie approach really is working. Shortly after the jolly news, notorious hacker Geohot announced on Twitter that he’s going to treat himself to a WP7 device; but before long, Redmond’s already reached out to offer him a free handset. Any bets on MuscleNerd hitting the tweet button next? [Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Visualized: the glamorous lifestyles of WP7 jailbreakers (update: Geohot crashes the party) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 18 Jan 2011 03:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Not that we had any reason to doubt O2 Germany’s Twitter account, but a formal press release does help ease our few concerns. The HTC 7 Pro is now official on the European carrier for the asking price of €29 down and 24 months of €22.50. If you want to rip the proverbial band-aid off faster, it’s also available for a €599 flat fee — both of those without SIM lock. The rest of the world? We imagine it’s just a matter of time before HTC offers this through its other channels.

HTC 7 Pro now available on O2 Germany, €22 monthly or €599 up front originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 17 Jan 2011 14:21:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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