Microsoft might skip the Lumia 940 generation, go straight to Lumia 950/950XL

"If nobody wants to make Windows phones, we will make them ourselves." This doesn't really sound like pep talk from Microsoft's CEO Satya Nadella, but that's exactly what he said in an interview yesterday. 

Microsoft is certainly capable of pulling this off, and, given that it already wrote off the Nokia purchase as a loss, whatever Lumias it churns out from now on, are only going to benefit the Windows ecosphere, even if they are not widely successful in the market. In fact, a Chinese tech blog dedicated to Windows Phone that has often broken credible leaks before, claims that Microsoft will skip a flagship Lumia generation, and go from the current Lumia 930 straight to the Lumia 950 and Lumia 950XL as titles for its upcoming top-shelf Windows Phone gear.

If this name switcheroo materializes, we could be looking at a Lumia 950 with a 5.2-inch screen with a resolution of 1080 x 1920. That works out to a 424ppi pixel density. A Snapdragon 808 is under the hood with a hexagon CPU and the Adreno 418 GPU handling graphics. 3GB of RAM is inside along with 32GB of internal-expandable storage. A 20MP PureView camera adorns the back while a 5MP front-facing snapper handles selfies and video chats. A triple LED flash allows you to take well-lit pictures in low-light conditions.

The Microsoft Lumia 950XL in its turn is tipped to feature a 5.7-inch glass with a 1440 x 2560 resolution. That gives the screen a 515ppi pixel density. The 64-bit Snapdragon 810 chipset drives the phone, carrying an octa-core CPU and the Adreno 430 GPU. 3GB of RAM is inside along with 32GB of native expandable storage. Like the Lumia 950, the camera on the 950 XL is said to come with a 20MP PureView snapper on the back, and a 5MP camera on the front. Both phones are expected to arrive in the fall, carrying the new Windows 10 Mobile out of the box.

source: WPXap (Weibo)

Lumia 535 lands in the UK tomorrow, will be cheap

Lumia 535 lands in the UK tomorrow, will be cheap

Microsoft will apparently release the Lumia 535 in the UK tomorrow. We've known for quite a while that it was headed over there eventually, and now we may be very close to its actual availability. The phone has already been out in other markets, and it's ready to take its affordability to the UK too.

Speaking of which, Amazon has priced the Lumia 535 at exactly £97.32. That amount is pretty much in line with the pricing we've seen in other parts of Europe, and we're talking about a SIM-free and unlocked smartphone that you'll be purchasing for this much.

The retailer says the Microsoft Lumia 535 is due to be released on January 14, 2015, and we're taking its word for it. However, the Lumia 535 seems to already be in stock at a couple of other online retailers, namely Clove and Unlocked Mobiles. Pricing never goes above £100 whichever company you buy from, so it looks like that might be Microsoft's recommended level for the UK.

The Lumia 535 comes with a 5-inch 540x960 touchscreen, a couple of 5 MP cameras (one on the back, which has a LED flash too, and one on the front), 1GB of RAM, 8GB of storage that's expandable via microSD, and 42 Mbps HSPA support. It's powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 200 chipset with a 1.2 GHz quad-core Cortex-A7 CPU, and it has a 1,905 mAh battery. It runs Windows Phone 8.1.

Via

Windows and Windows Phone Stores combine for well over 500,000 apps

Last year, Microsoft's Joe Belfiore made the bold proclamation that the "app gap" between Windows Phone and other platforms would be closed in 2014. We're only one and a half months from the end of the year, and although the app gap still exists, Microsoft has announced new numbers that show promise. The Windows and Windows Phone Stores now combine for well over 500,000 apps.

Microsoft Lumia 535 goes official with 5” qHD display

Microsoft Lumia 535 goes official with 5” qHD display

The first Windows Phone smartphone to carry the Microsoft name is now a fact. The already leaked, entry-level Microsoft Lumia 535 will being rolling out to key markets this month in single or

Nokia Lumia 735 spotted at the FCC on its way to Verizon

Nokia Lumia 735 spotted at the FCC on its way to Verizon

The Nokia Lumia 735 has been through the FCC's process, it's been revealed today. The device got certified recently and it's got Verizon's cellular frequencies on board, as well as support for Big Red's LTE. So it's pretty clear that this variation will be headed to Verizon at some point in the future.

Nokia brand to be replaced with Microsoft Lumia

If you've seen Microsoft's recent articles about Lumia you know it was coming. The Nokia brand has been phased out by calling the phones just "Lumia" and redirecting Nokia online properties to Microsoft.com. This rebranding effort will expand and soon the lineup will become "Microsoft Lumia".

Lumia is already the de facto face of Windows Phone – it accounts for about 90% of the market. Microsoft has been busy signing up new vendors but they will struggle to gain significant market share as the big names have mostly neglected WP.

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella: We Need To Win The Battle For Human Attention

“Can Satya Nadella save Microsoft?” That’s the question asked in Vanity Fair's November profile of the Microsoft CEO. While he has a challenging road ahead of him, the path laid by former CEOs Bill Gates and Steve Ballmer up to that point has been an even bumpier one.

Microsoft To Discontinue Support For Skype Calls To Phones Within India

Account holders of Skype in India will not be able to use the Internet phone service to make calls to local landlines or mobile phones as Microsoft Corp., which owns Skype, will stop supporting such calls from early next month.

Nokia Lumia 1020 (with its still excellent 41 MP PureView camera) now costs just $339

There’s no denying that the Nokia Lumia 1020 is one of the best camera phones money can buy at the moment - despite the fact that it was released in July last year, and lots of newer flagships have been introduced since then.

Although it’s more than 1 year old, the Lumia 1020 was pretty expensive until recently, costing over $500 unlocked. However, as of now, you can buy the handset for just $339, off contract, both via Microsoft Store, and Amazon.

Bill Gates is a fan of Apple Pay, hints at fingerprint scanners coming to Windows Phone?

There has been a lot of discussion about Apple Pay ever since the announcement last month, and debate over whether or not it'll be good. Of course, that debate mostly exists because the service hasn't been released yet, and no one knows exactly how it will perform. Either way, it seems Apple Pay has a fan in an unlikely source - Bill Gates.

Of course, Gates isn't praising Apple in the way you might think, he actually shares our opinion on Apple Pay, which is that it's a good idea because it will help the entire mobile payment

Microsoft to drop Windows Phone and Nokia brands

A leaked confidential document reveals that Microsoft is slowly weaning itself off of the Nokia name, and will stop using it on handsets following the Nokia Lumia 730 and Nokia Lumia 830 models. Future devices will most likely be called Microsoft Lumia phones. In addition, Windows Phone handsets are being referred to as Windows, most likely to help smooth the way for the unified Windows experience that Microsoft has long been talking about.

Charger sets Nokia Lumia 920 on fire; phone still works after the flames are gone

n Brazil, the Nokia Lumia 920 is red hot. In fact, it's smoking. Actually, we are talking about just one Lumia 920 that caught on fire after being left to recharge overnight. The owner of the device, a gentleman named Fabricio, says that not only does the phone still work, it actually continues to recharge. But Fabricio is a bit worried. He is concerned that the device might catch on fire again, or explode.

Now, you might be asking about the warranty. Why doesn't Fabricio simply return the phone? Well, it turns out that the warranty on his

Microsoft Lumia 730 ‘selfie phone’ is coming, and even its teaser is a selfie

The selfie craze has taken over the world in the past couple of years, and Microsoft thinks that it’s about time it delivered a product for all those people taking a picture of themselves. That product will be the Lumia 730, a phone that will put a lot of focus on the front-facing camera used to take selfies. Even the invitation for the official

Xiaomi's Android handsets resemble Windows Phone's Start screen with Lite Mode

Xiaomi's Android phones run using the manufacturer's MIUI UI. For Xiaomi customers who find Android to be confusing, there is the Lite Mode that offers a "simplified Home screen and menus." If the Lite Mode look seems familiar, that is because it somewhat resembles the Windows Phone Start screen. To enable Lite Mode on your Xiaomi device, go to Settings > Lite Mode. Tap the Lite Mode

Lumia 920 receiving the Windows Phone 8.1 and Lumia Cyan update almost everywhere

Those that have been wondering when, or if, their trusty Lumia 920 would get an official Windows Phone 8.1 and Lumia Cyan update, it is in the works. Lumia 920s in much of Western Europe have seen the update.  Now, for nearly the rest of the world, the update is now available.

We say "for nearly the rest of the world" because Lumia 920 users in Africa, South America, the Middle East, the rest of Europe, Asia Pacific, and Canada should be getting notifications.  The Lumia 920

10 cool new icon packs for your Android launcher: MIUI 6, Android L, Win 8 and Steampunk-themed

If you are wondering how your phone will look like if it had the new MIUI 6 or Android L interface, and even Windows 8, look no further than a couple of new or refreshed icon packs that popped up in the Play Store recently. Which one do you like the most?

10 cool new icon packs for Android - MIUI 6, Android L themed

With the same battery, HTC One (M8) for Windows listed to have nearly double the battery life of the One (M8) for Android

The HTC One (M8) for Windows might feature an uncanny resemblance to the Android-based One (M8), down to the looks, camera and battery size, but interestingly, despite its equally sized, 2600mAh battery, the Windows Phone 8.1 device has longer battery life.

At least according to the officially listed specs for both devices: the One (M8) for Windows is listed as

HTC 8S won't receive WP8.1 GDR1, but 8X will

On its official support forum, HTC has shared its plans for its latest duo of Windows Phone devices - HTC 8X and HTC 8S. Sadly for HTC 8S users, the company will not release Windows Phone 8.1 GDR1 update for the phone. The reason is it doesn't meet the update's hardware requirements

 While those aren't clear, the low internal memory of the phone is the major suspect. The Nokia Lumia 530 also sports 4GB of internal

Hands-on with the first update to Windows Phone 8.1

Hands-on with the first update to Windows Phone 8.1

Last week, Microsoft announced details about the first update to Windows Phone 8.1 which included the official expansion of the Cortana beta to the United Kingdom and China. On top of that, Canada, India, and Australia were announced as newly established “alpha” markets where the language packs from the US and UK will be utilized.

Cortana had a few enhancements in the US which include hands-free Bluetooth integration with your car’s system. To access your contacts, simply tell the

How to make Android look like Windows Phone 8

One of the greatest things about Android is that it allows you to thoroughly customize its appearance - even if this means that your device ends up looking like one that runs a totally different (read: competing) OS.

Today, we’ll show you how to make an Android handset look like a Windows Phone 8 one (only when it comes to software, of course). Why would anyone want to do that? Well, maybe because they’re bored of the way their Android UI looks. Or