The Verge - Windows Phone Tango: lower cost, fewer capabilities

AT&T confirms Windows Phone 7.5 Refresh update for Lumia 900 in the 'coming weeks'

2012-07-10T01:12:49Z

The Nokia Lumia 900 may not be getting upgraded to Windows Phone 8, but that doesn't mean AT&T is ignoring it before the transition to Microsoft's latest mobile OS. Yesterday saw the announcement of a pink Lumia 900, and today the carrier has confirmed that the phone will be getting the Windows Phone 7.5 Refresh update "in the coming weeks." There'll also be a usage tracking counter and what AT&T calls a "new contact sharing feature" coming to Nokia's flagship device soon. We'd previously heard that a Lumia 900 update of some sort was on the way, but it's good to have final confirmation — hopefully we won't have to wait so long for the Windows Phone 8-aping upgrade to 7.8.

Microsoft lists Windows Phone Tango update details, due for existing devices soon?

2012-06-18T13:09:17Z

Microsoft has started to list its Windows Phone Tango upgrade as part of the company's history page for its mobile operating system updates. Build 8773.98, which is currently shipping on European Nokia Lumia 900 handsets, is listed as an update that includes messaging, SIM card contacts, and other improvements.

The software giant does not indicate when the update will be available to existing devices, but Microsoft previously promised it would "start the process of working with mobile operators to bring an update to current customers" after its range of Windows Phone Tango phones launched. The update is a fairly minor one from our experience with the Lumia 900, adding MMS improvements and a new GPS location icon. We have asked Microsoft...

6.4 percent of most popular Windows Phone apps are incompatible with low-end Tango devices

2012-05-29T22:11:24Z

We've already seen several instances where low-memory Windows Phone devices like the Lumia 610, which has just 256MB of RAM, simply can't run certain high-profile apps. But just how bad is the problem? AAWP crunched the numbers and found that of the 86,292 apps currently available in the Windows Phone Marketplace, only 1.6 percent aren't compatible with 256MB phones — which is less than Microsoft's claim of five percent. However, that number does increase a bit when you look at the more popular apps. Of the top 10,000 downloads in the UK, 4.6 percent are incompatible with low-memory devices, while 6.4 percent of the top 1,000 apps won't work.

Unsurprisingly, a large number of the incompatible apps are games, with likes of Plants vs....

Nokia says 'Angry Birds' will be optimized for Windows Phone Tango's 256MB of RAM

2012-05-28T20:48:05Z

If you thought it was a little odd that Nokia's Lumia 610 wouldn't support the hottest mobile game ever to be produced in its native Finland, your hunch was spot-on. Nokia says that a version of Angry Birds specifically optimized for Windows Phone Tango's 256MB memory constraint will be released in the near future. Heidi Lemmetyinen, editor-in-chief of the company's official Nokia Conversations blog, says that while the app isn't available yet, it's definitely on the way, and that she hopes to be able to announce a release date ASAP. Of course, while Angry Birds is the highest profile app incompatible with RAM-limited budget Windows Phone devices, it's not the only one: Skype, Tango, and Pro Evolution Soccer 2012 also don't work at the...

'Angry Birds', Tango, and 'PES 2012' refuse to install on Windows Phones with 256MB RAM

2012-05-28T08:23:25Z

Microsoft first unveiled its low-cost 256MB of RAM Windows Phone devices at Mobile World Congress earlier this year. Although Microsoft warned parts of Windows Phone would be restricted on handsets with 256MB of RAM, the company said it expected 95 percent of apps would still install and run just fine. Nokia's Lumia 610 has started to ship in Europe and a Windows Phone fan site in Spain has discovered that a number of popular apps refuse to install on the handset.

Skype, Tango, Angry Birds, and PES 2012 all refuse to install at the moment, presenting a RAM warning in the Windows Phone Marketplace. It's too early to say whether the app developers involved will be pushing out updates to support 256MB of RAM devices, but the restrictions on...

Nokia removes Skype from Marketplace on Lumia 610, blames poor user experience

2012-05-22T19:06:50Z

Only weeks after saying Skype "worked well" on the Lumia 610, Nokia Hong Kong announced today that it has decided to remove Skype from the Windows Phone Marketplace on the device, because the app's experience doesn't live up to the company's expectations. The likeliest culprit seems to be the 256MB of RAM inside the Lumia 610 — the Skype app listing says it requires 512MB of memory. Nokia Hong Kong released an official statement on the matter, as reported by welovewp.hk:

Nokia attaches great importance to the launch of products and services to bring the user experience, so even if the Skype Windows Phone version on the Nokia Lumia 610 does, but after intensive testing, we found the user experience does not guarantee to Nokia and Skype...

Nokia says Skype for Windows Phone is 'working well' on the low-end Lumia 610

2012-04-24T10:30:28Z

While Microsoft warned that Skype for Windows Phone users would require a 512MB of RAM handset to install the app, Nokia says its Lumia 610 device with 256MB of RAM is 'working well' with Skype installed. Citing internal testing with the Lumia 610 and Skype, a Nokia spokesperson tells us that "Skype is available for the Lumia 610 in Marketplace and actually works just fine in the latest round of testing that has been done."

Although Nokia says there were "some challenges early on," these are being worked on and Skype is "working well on the Lumia 610." When we asked Microsoft about the situation earlier this week, the company said Skype for Windows Phone "currently requires devices with Windows Phone 7.5 and higher 512 MB of memory," but...

First version of Skype for Windows Phone doesn't support low-end 'Tango' devices

2012-04-23T08:14:11Z

The first version of Skype for Windows Phone will not support low-end "Tango" devices, Microsoft has revealed. Although the company delivered a 1.0 release of Skype for Windows Phone over the weekend, Microsoft says it will only install and run on devices with 512MB of memory. The majority of Windows Phone devices include 512MB of RAM, but Microsoft's latest "Tango" handsets only feature 256MB of memory.

Described as a "known issue," it appears that Microsoft's Skype team may be planning to support Tango devices, like the ZTE Tania or Nokia Lumia 610, in a future release of the software. The company also lists a number of other known issues, including an app foreground limitation for receiving communications and the lack of SMS send...