updates

Groupon and Foursquare apps get Windows Phone 8 updates. Kind of.

Apps

By Daniel Rubino, Thursday, Nov 1, 2012 a 6:47 pm

The official Foursquare app for Windows Phone just got bumped to version 2.12 and includes “bug fixes, Thai and Indonesian languages added and application compatibility with Windows Phone 8”. All of that sounds good and people may be wondering what “compatibility with Windows Phone 8” actually means. Turns out, not much.

What we mean by that is there are no new functions here—no fast app resume, no doublewide tile, nothing for the Lockscreen, etc. It just means it should work properly on Windows Phone 8 and indeed, it does. We’re not knocking Foursquare as we’re sure they’ll release a WP8 version in the near future, but as of right now, this is quite minor.

Nokia's ESPN app updated, beefs up notifications

Apps

By George Ponder, Monday, Oct 29, 2012 a 5:41 pm

While the big news today was definitely the official launch of Windows Phone 8, Nokia was able to slide in an update to their ESPN app over the weekend. The update mainly deals with increasing how you can be notified on scoring and news updates through the Live tile and toast notifications.

The update adds the ability to save and pin your favorite teams and sports to your Windows Phone Start Screen, customize the Live Tile score updates and you can now receive toast notifications for news and score updates.

Windows Phone 8 brings new features to Skype

By George Ponder, Monday, Oct 29, 2012 a 2:45 pm

If you are a Skype user, you'll like some of the new features Windows Phone 8 brings to the table.

First, and maybe the most important improvement, is that Skype can keep you signed-in and reachable even when you've closed out the Skype app. Skype stays asleep in the background until an incoming call or message is received. Not only can you receive calls just like you would through your wireless carrier but staying dormant, you save battery life.

Xbox Extras bumped to version 2.0 fixes sign in issues

Apps

By Robert Brand, Sunday, Oct 28, 2012 a 8:35 am

Microsoft recently updated Xbox Extras but unfortunately it created a severe issue where the user was unable to log into Xbox live.

Good news is here for those that like to play with their mini-me while on the move, the app has now been bumped to version 1.5 and we’re back on track.

Dodonpachi Maximum update now live but partially broken

Games

By Paul Acevedo, Friday, Oct 26, 2012 a 5:22 pm

Earlier this week, CAVE revealed that former Windows Phone 7-exclusive shoot-em-up Dodonpachi Maximum would be coming to iOS today. While I fretted about that, as I always do when our platform loses a precious exclusive game, I also noted that the WP7 version would soon receive a patch adding the same new features promised in the iOS game. And now it has; the Dodonpachi Maximum version 1.2 patch launched today, the same day the game went multiplatform. There's just one little problem...

129

Xbox Companion updated, is now Xbox Smartglass

By George Ponder, Thursday, Oct 25, 2012 a 3:46 pm

An update is being pushed through for your Windows Phone Xbox Companion app that transforms things into the Xbox Smartglass app. You get a change in layout too boot.

Xbox Smartglass continues to allow you to interact with your Xbox 360 console through your Windows Phone. Not only will it allow you to control your console but it also delivers unique content about what you are watching or playing to your Windows Phone.

Lots of updates going out and Amazon Mobile picks up Windows Phone 8 support

By Robert Brand, Wednesday, Oct 24, 2012 a 6:55 am

Just like our London busses, you wait around for ages and then they all come at once. It seems that someone has flicked a switch somewhere and released a few updates today for Windows Phone.

Of particular note, Amazon Mobile on its way up to version 1.9.1 and picks up support for the oh-so close Windows Phone 8. It’s good to see some developers with early access readying their apps for the shiny new operating system which is only days away.

MonsterUp Adventures gets a major update, plus a Windows 8 game

Games

By Paul Acevedo, Monday, Oct 22, 2012 a 7:39 am

The original MonsterUp, an endless jumping game from Karios Games, received a ton of updates over its lifetime. Its sequel MonsterUp Adventures has long been due for an update, and now it’s finally gotten one. We’re pleased to have had a hand in the features list for this update, not unlike our contributions to the recent Gerbil Physics patch. That aside, this one in particular really tightens up MonsterUp Adventures and makes it a much more enjoyable game.

Check out our impressions and two scoops of MonsterUp Windows 8 news after the break.

Xbox on Windows Phone: Gerbil Physics update details and mini-interview

By Paul Acevedo, Thursday, Oct 18, 2012 a 3:29 pm

Way back in June, Windows Phone Central teased that Xbox game Gerbil Physics would be receiving a substantial update. In fact, we even suggested some of the changes that made it into the update, which is now live. Head past the break for update details and exclusive screenshots, plus a mini-interview with Pencel Games.

NewsSpot Version 2.7 released to marketplace

By Robert Brand, Thursday, Oct 18, 2012 a 6:04 am

We looked at NewsSpot back in September and have since been contacted by the developer to advise that version 2.7 is now available.

The Google Reader client was well received by us and we were looking forward to seeing the updates trickle through so we’re glad things are now on track. To get the update you will need to hit a new link in the marketplace which you can find below.

Crimson Dragon Side Story update cures save data and GPS woes

Games

By Paul Acevedo, Wednesday, Oct 17, 2012 a 9:57 am

The Crimson Dragon Side Story update we promised a while back finally went live over the weekend. Now we have full details and impressions to share with you. Does the update make an already great game even better? You bet!

Official Xbox 360 dashboard update starts rolling out

By Seth Brodeur, Tuesday, Oct 16, 2012 a 3:10 pm

For those of you who weren't lucky enough to land a spot in the public beta test of the new Xbox 360 dashboard, fear not. The official version has begun rolling out to about 3 million consoles around the world and will continue for the next week. Once that first batch is finished, more and more LIVE subscribers will be added to the rollout over the next couple of weeks. Much like Windows Phone updates, the deployment was spread out over time and across different regions to make it go as smoothly as possible.

Reinstaller bumped to version 1.7 with improved interface

News

By Rich Edmonds, Monday, Oct 15, 2012 a 7:45 am

Reinstaller is a free little app available for Windows Phone that aids consumers in starting fresh on a new handset, or when reseting a Windows Phone. The app essentially does exactly what the name suggests - it reinstalls apps already purchased by connecting to windowsphone.com.

Once the user has logged in and connected Reinstaller to the official Windows Phone website, Reinstaller pulls down all previously installed apps (both paid and free downloads). Instead of searching the Store for each and every app you've previously owned, Reinstaller provides a useful shortcut.

Note+ updated to v2, multiple notes added

Apps

By George Ponder, Monday, Oct 8, 2012 a 7:55 pm

If you recall, Note+ is a simple, yet effective, note taking app for your Windows Phone. The developer, Aälejandro Díazs, is based in the Dominican Republic where the Windows Phone Store isn't supported. But with the help of Nokia Developer Ambassador Rich Dunbar, Díazs was able to get the app published.

Well...Díazs took in all the feedback from Note+ users and basically re-wrote the app. The premise of the app is the same in that Note+ allows you jot down quick notes while on the go but it now supports multiple notes and Live Tile support for each note you generate.

Track My Life updated, time machine feature added

Apps

By George Ponder, Monday, Oct 8, 2012 a 8:06 am

We took a look the Windows Phone app Track My Life a while ago and found it to be a decent GPS tracking app for your Windows Phone. Track My Life charts your travels to give you an idea of where you've been and where you spend the most time at. The developers have been busy updating the app to improve things and incorporate suggestions from users. The latest version is 3.0 and adds a Time Machine feature to the app.

What is the Time Machine you ask? The Time Machine feature lets you select what data range you want to display on Track My Life. You have options to look at the past week, past month or a custom setting where you can go back months.

Metrotube updated to v3.4, HD streaming bug fixed

Apps

By George Ponder, Thursday, Oct 4, 2012 a 9:30 am

The popular Windows Phone YouTube client Metrotube has been updated. Version 3.4 appears to be primarily a maintenance update covering fixes for HD streaming bug that we mentioned a few weeks ago as well as other performance tweaks.

You also now have the ability to disable the main tile from flipping. The update has passed certification and you should be seeing it live shortly.

Navigon Europe updated, adds UK postcode navigation and more

Apps

By George Ponder, Tuesday, Oct 2, 2012 a 3:44 pm

The Windows Phone navigation app NAVIGON Europe was recently bumped to version 4.2 and brings a few new features to the table. For those not familiar, NAVIGON is a fully functional navigation system that lets you download maps to your Windows Phone to reduce the dependency on a data connection.

The Quote updated, search feature added

Apps

By George Ponder, Sunday, Sep 30, 2012 a 7:03 pm

We took a look at the Windows Phone app The Quote a while back and found it to be a nice app for our Windows Phone but with room for improvement. Improvements that the latest update, version 2.8, brings to the table.

Version 2.8 brings a search feature and performance tweaks that improves load speeds. The Search feature is your basic keyword search to hunt for a particular author or topic. It's a nice feature when you're looking for a specific quote and don't have the time to surf through the library.

ARMED!, Farm Frenzy 2, Adobe Reader and USA Today all updated in the Windows Phone Store

By Rich Edmonds, Friday, Sep 28, 2012 a 5:31 pm

There have been a number of updates being pushed through the Windows Phone Store today, including new versions for ARMED!, Farm Frenzy 2, Adobe Reader and USA Today. While we've only managed to obtain changes for ARMED!, we'll still fire up the alert that you can look forward to update notifications for both USA Today, Adobe Reader and Farm Frenzy 2.

Microsoft updates Dev Center with many fixes, adds translation feature

Developers

By Daniel Rubino, Friday, Sep 28, 2012 a 4:34 pm

The Microsoft Dev Center has been a thorny issue for many developers lately with some app submissions having been held up for weeks, odd rejections and slow propagation of updates. While we can’t attest to whether or not those have all been fixed, Microsoft has evidently been rolling out many tweaks to make it better.