Outlook Groups for Windows Phone gets updated with new features

Outlook Groups for Windows Phone has picked up yet another update in the Windows Store. With the latest update, Microsoft is adding the ability to create events for Groups on the app, which is a very nice addition. The update also allows users to create events which can have multiple participants, as well as groups. Here is the changelog:

Ability to create group events now.

Create events can have multiple participants and multiple groups.

Performance improvements for calendar sync.

Bug fixes in compose and reply.

The latest update for Outlook Groups on Windows Phone, version 2.9.8.0 is now live on the Windows Store and you can get Outlook Groups for Windows Phone from the link below.

Developer: Microsoft Corporation

Source: Outlook Groups for Windows Phone gets updated with new features

Canceled Nokia Devices Spotted Online: Lumia 2020, Lumia 650XL

A photo showing some of Nokia's Windows and Android devices has appeared online. Renowned Nokia fan and leaker @nokibar has posted the image on Baidu.

The image includes company's hotly awaited tablet, the Lumia 2020 and other devices that were canceled to cut down losses.

Conceived as the younger sibling of Lumia 2520, the Nokia Lumia 2020 was one of the only few devices to run Windows RT out-of-the-box.

The 8.3-inch tablet has a 1080p IPS display and is equipped with Qualcomm's Snapdragon 800 SoC with 2GB of RAM. It was originally expected to launch at the Mobile World Congress 2014, but never made an official appearance.

Other Canceled Nokia and Microsoft Devices

In addition to the green Lumia 2020, today's image also showcases the canceled Lumia 650XL (in White) and a Nokia XL 2 prototype, which we have never heard about. There are more prototypes in the image some of which you can identify with Microsoft branding and others with Nokia branding.

After buying Nokia's Devices and Services division, Microsoft canceled many scheduled smartphones, tablets and smartwatches. Since then, we have seen more leaks from old projects, presumably from ex-employees. Nokia Moonraker, McLaren, Lumia 650 XL were also recently spotted from the archives.

In fact, this isn't the first time the Lumia 2020 has been caught on camera. Another photo appeared last year showing the tablet's unusual rear camera arrangement, mounted in the center of the device. The Previous leak also indicated that the camera had ZEISS optics and PureView enhancements.

Source: Canceled Nokia Devices Spotted Online: Lumia 2020, Lumia 650XL

Windows 10 Mobile news recap: Amazon returning soon, Hitbox arrives, HP Elite X3 bonanza and more

Welcome back to our weekly "Windows 10 Mobile news recap" series, where we go over the top stories of the past week in the world of Microsoft's mobile operating system. Let's get started.

Amazon says it is working on a new app for Windows 10 Mobile

Not too long ago, Amazon announced that it is retiring its current Windows Phone app on August 15th. At the time, it didn't release any further details, such as if it was working on a new app for Microsoft's mobile platform, however, we reached out to an internal apps team at the company, who confirmed that they are indeed working on a new Amazon app for Windows 10 Mobile, in order to provide the best customer experience.

A developer is working to bring Discord to Windows 10 Mobile

Discord is an ever-growing communication app, being built for gamers as a replacement for Skype and TeamSpeak. Unfortunately, there's no official Discord app on Windows 10 Mobile but fear not, a third-party developer is working on bringing Discord to Windows 10 Mobile and has shown off some screenshots of the progress so far. The app will be called Clamour.

Control your Windows 10 Mobile remotely via your PC

When it comes to Windows 10 Mobile, we're spoilt for choice on how to connect our mobile devices to other devices, such as computers. We have Continuum, Connect and Project My Screen, but TeamViewer is working on an alternative to most of these, called TeamViewer QuickSupport. It enables a Windows 10 Mobile device to be remotely controlled from any other PC or tablet that can run TeamViewer's desktop program. In fact, it even allows the device to be controlled from a web browser using TeamViewer's web interface.

WhatsApp is working to add more Windows 10 Mobile-like design adjustments

Many people criticise WhatsApp for sticking to its design roots that originated from Windows Phone 8, however, over time the team behind WhatsApp are incorporating more Windows 10 Mobile design features – and this trend is set to continue, with it being rumoured that the app will soon have an improved camera experience and date display to match the design that users of the Windows 10 Mobile platform will be akin to.

Windows Camera gets the long-awaited Panorama feature

It's been a long time in the waiting but panorama functionality has finally made its way into the Windows Camera app for Windows 10 and Windows 10 Mobile, allowing people to take much wider images by tying multiple images together.

Skype Preview makes its way to Windows 10 Mobile for Windows Insiders

Microsoft has finally brought its all-new Skype experience to Windows 10 Mobile for Windows Insiders, allowing Insiders to make use of the new Skype Cloud backend which powers Skype communications through Azure, as well as bringing Skype Bots to the mobile platform.

Plex will be coming to Windows 10 Mobile soon

Following the launch of Plex on Windows 10 for PCs, the company behind the media streaming app has announced it is also working on bringing Plex to Windows 10 Mobile, which is said to be coming "soon".

Third-party Hitbox app adds support for Windows phones

While not a Windows 10 Mobile specific app, the third-party Hitbox app for Windows has been updated to add support for Windows Phone 8, 8.1 and Windows 10 Mobile, allowing users of those platforms to watch live streams of games and eSports on the Twitch-like service.

IMO.IM releases its app for Windows phones

IMO.IM is a popular communications app on other mobile platforms but until now it did not offer an app for Windows phones. This week it finally released its app, with support for Windows Phone 8, 8.1 and Windows 10 Mobile, although, several users have reported having issues getting past the phone number verification page.

Atom Bank confirms that it still plans on releasing a Windows 10 Mobile app

Atom Bank, an internet-only bank, part of a growing trend, has confirmed to us that it still has plans to release a Windows 10 Moble app in the future and asks interested users to register their interest via the website.

A Microsoft employee claims that pulled Windows Phone apps are being rebuilt as UWA

Following the announcement that Amazon is retiring its current Windows Phone app, subsequently followed up by it saying that it is working on a new app, a Microsoft employee sent out a tweet claiming that pulled apps from Windows Phone are being rebuilt under the new Universal Windows Platform.

Microsoft Portugal claims Pokemon Go is coming to Windows phones

The latest big trend has yet again been missed out on for those of us running Windows phones, however, Microsoft Portugal gave a little bit of hope when they replied to a comment on their Facebook page stating that Pokemon Go is coming to Windows phones.

Lumia 950XL receives firmware update via Windows Device Recovery Tool

A new firmware update for the Microsoft Lumia 950XL has appeared on the Windows Device Recovery tool, providing fixes and improvements for WiFi, battery life and more.

Windows phone business revenue down by 71%

As Microsoft comes towards the end of its mobile retrenchment phase, the latest figures for its Windows phone business show that its revenue dropped by 71%.

Kayak drops support for Windows phones

A popular travel search engine, Kayak, has said that its Mobile Team is no longer supporting its app for Windows phones and advises users to make use of its mobile optimised website instead.

There's also been plenty of information on HP's upcoming Windows 10 Mobile superphone, the HP Elite x3:

A HP associate also took to Reddit to answer many questions on the HP Elite x3.

In terms of new builds, here's what we got this week:

We've got 2 deals on Lumia handsets for you this week:

That's it for this week! Let us know your thoughts on what's going on with Windows 10 Mobile in the comments below.

AmazonDiscordHitboxHP Elite x3IMO.IMMicrosoftSkypeWhatsAppWindows 10 MobileWindows CameraWindows Phone

Source: Windows 10 Mobile news recap: Amazon returning soon, Hitbox arrives, HP Elite X3 bonanza and more

Cancelled Lumia 2020, Lumia 650 Xl, Nokia XL 2 & others shows up in an image

Microsoft cancelled many tablets, smartphones and even smartwatches planned by Nokia after buying the Nokia D&S division. Many of these cancelled devices show up at times and make fans to contemplate the "what if they were not cancelled scenario". We have recently seen leaks of cancelled Nokia Moonraker, McLaren, Lumia 650 XL and more.

Time for some more!! An image leaked in China via a well-known Nokia fan and leakster has many cancelled prototypes on display including a Green Nokia 2020. Nokia 2020 was a hotly awaited Nokia Tablet and like many of the scoops we were first to report about it as RX-115 and reveal some of the specs. It was supposed to come with 8.3 inch, 1080p resolution IPS LCD display and nano Sim card. It was also rumored to have stylus support. Lumia 2020 was the second planned WinRT Tablet after Lumia 2520 and was subsequently cancelled. The image below reveals it in green for the first time. There have been more leaks of the Nokia 2020 and you can read them here.

But the image also has the cancelled Lumia 650 XL (in White) and a Nokia XL 2 prototype, which we have never heard about. There are more prototypes, some of which you can identify with Microsoft branding and some of them come with Nokia branding.

Thanks Nokibar for the tip. Cheers!!

Source: Cancelled Lumia 2020, Lumia 650 Xl, Nokia XL 2 & others shows up in an image

Mobile Nations Weekly: Modular, mainstream, McLaren

Moto's modular masterpiece and Nokia's never known novelty.

Motorola's latest phones — the Moto Z and Moto Z Force have at long last arrived, but with a catch: they're Verizon "Droid"-brand exclusives for now. But give it a little while and the modular-backed smartphones will be available elsewhere. And even though the BlackBerry Security Summit was all about, well, security, we couldn't help but wander about new BlackBerry devices — word on that is coming next week.

Windows Mobile is going through something of a retrenchment period while a new path forward is plotted, but before things went south there was the Nokia McLaren. This highly impressive Windows Phone never saw the light of day until now, and we've got everything you need to know about its giant camera, all-metal body, and insane depth- and pressure-sensing display. Oh, and Microsoft made a bunch of money in the last quarter.

VR took a step into the mainstream with an impressive Mr. Robot tie-in and a new Star Wars game for HTC Vive. Speaking of the Vive, it's cropping up in the most unexpected places, like hospitals.

And, as you might expect, PokéGeddon continues, and we're all in. There's a new podcast — Go Time! — tips on throwing Pokémon Go curveballs, and a parent's guide to the insanity.

2. CrackBerry — Conditioning

For BlackBerry and CrackBerry readers, this week was all about the BlackBerry Security Summit. John Chen and crew kept things mostly related to security as one would expect from a security summit but we did get some hardware news and information to go along with all the other key announcements and demos.

3. iMore — Checkmarks and changes

It's been a surprisingly busy mid-July week for iMore: The Pokémon insanity continued apace, Apple started rolling out some pretty major changes to Apple Music, and Twitter now lets anyone apply for blue checkmark verification — though actually getting that verification is still a shot in the dark.

On the PokéFront, the folks at Android Central started a new podcast called Go Time!, Serenity shared her foolproof way for throwing curveballs, Lory worries about people playing the game in awkward places, and Georgia wrote an excellent guide for parents playing with their kids. We also have a pretty fantastic contest to win the ultimate Pokémon Go survival pack, so check that out!

Apple snuck between the Pokémon insanity to introduce a much-welcome change to the Apple Music: The company's iTunes Match service will now be offered as part of an Apple Music subscription. We've got everything you need to know about the change, as well as how-tos on cancelling iTunes Match, if you rock both services, and an update to our iCloud Music Library Ultimate Guide.

We also wrote about the iPad, your iPhone 7 wishes, and more how-tos than you could shake a stick at.

4. VR Heads — Medicine, magic, and mystery

We all love playing games in VR, and there's so many to choose from now it's amazing, but there are practical uses for this tech as well We spoke with a physical therapist using the HTC Vive for concussion treatment this week, and it opened the door to some incredible discussions about the positive effects of VR in the world.

5. Windows Central — What could have been

Microsoft is in the final stages of preparing the big Windows 10 Anniversary Update for August 2. Insiders on the Slow Ring have now received the final bits with build 14393 going out this week. Speaking of Microsoft the company earned $22.6 billion (non-GAAP) for FY16 Q4 beating Wall Street estimates.

But perhaps our biggest story this week was our exclusive deep-dive into the canceled Nokia McLaren smartphone featuring some crazy 3D Touch technology. You have to see this phone in action to believe it.

Windows 10 Mobile finally picked up native panorama support. While it took a long time to get here the feature is likely one of the best implementations of panorama yet. We also played around with the new Acer Liquid Jade Primo smartphone in our unboxing video and came away impressed.

Source: Mobile Nations Weekly: Modular, mainstream, McLaren

Nokia set to make a comeback with two smartphones

The two unnamed devices will have premium metal designs complete with IP68 certification, which means they will be as water resistant as Samsung's Galaxy S7, The Inquirer reported.

The smartphones may come up with 5.2-inch and 5.5-inch QHD screens, along with fingerprint scanner and 'innovations' in the camera, the report noted.

Both the smartphones are expected to feature split-screen modes, enhanced notifications and improved gaming thanks to support for the Vulkan API and could bring elements of touch and hover interaction, hinting 3D Touch-like technology.

The struggling company revealed in May that it licensed Finland-based HMD to produce Nokia branded mobile phones and tablets.

After acquiring Nokia's phone business for USD 7.2 billion two years ago, Microsoft wrote off USD 7.6 billion last year and cut 7,800 jobs to refocus its phone efforts.

Microsoft's Lumia and Windows Phone strategy has failed as both sales and Windows Phone market share ha ve declined since the tech giant's mobile restructuring last year.

It is believed that the multinational technology company has been working on a plan B if Nokia wasn't successful with Windows Phone.

 

Source: Nokia set to make a comeback with two smartphones

‘Pokemon Go’ For Windows Phone Is In The Works Following Change.org Petition

The Change.org petition for a Windows Phone-compatible "Pokémon Go" has been answered, but there's a catch — Niantic will not be the one to develop this version of the super-successful augmented reality mobile game.

On Saturday, Phone Arena found out that a third-party developer, who goes by the name of ST-Apps, is already working on a "Pokémon Go" app for Windows 10 Mobile. 

ST-Apps uploaded online a proof of concept gif of the "Pokémon Go" app he was reportedly working on.

Windows Phone users will get the chance to play the ultra-successful "Pokémon Go" using their smartphones. Pokemon Go/Facebook

The gif, which can be viewed here, shows the interface of the game, and it's noticeable that this version does not come with the fancy augmented reality interface and features of Niantic's game, according to MSPowerUser.

Still, this version is worth a try because it works just like the real "Pokémon Go" and lets players walk around or even travel across the country to catch the virtual pocket monsters. 

The emergence of ST-Apps' proof of concept comes after a Change.org petition for Niantic to create a "Pokémon Go" app for Windows Phone earned 89,332 signatures.

Despite collecting a large number of signatures from Windows Phone users, Niantic still has no plans of creating a Windows Phone-compatible version of its successful game. The company is still focused on its apps for the Android OS and Apple's iOS.

Thus, ST-Apps' third-party app would most likely be the closest thing Windows Phone users could get to playing "Pokémon Go" using their devices. 

Nevertheless, there's still another big problem that's getting in the way for Windows Phone users to finally get what they want.

Unfortunately, ST-Apps is very preoccupied with another project, so he cannot focus on the third-party "Pokémon Go" app for now. 

There is also the possibility that Niantic will block the developer's access to the unencrypted connection to the "Pokémon Go" servers. 

However, ST-Apps has expressed that he is willing to release an open source version of the Windows Phone-compatible game next month if Niantic will not encrypt the connection to the servers by then.

Source: 'Pokemon Go' For Windows Phone Is In The Works Following Change.org Petition