After unveiling the Focus 2 for AT&T last week, Samsung has announced yet another Windows Phone - the Omnia M. Unlike the Focus 2, the Omnia M will be a low-end Windows Phone.

The Omnia M comes with a 1 GHz processor, a 5 Megapixel camera with single-LED flash, and a secondary VGA camera for video calling. It also features a 4.0" Super AMOLED display. The device is 10.5 mm thick and the design is similar to its predecessor, the Omnia 7.

The phone has 384 MB of RAM and the storage capacity is limited to only 4 GB. There are some Samsung exclusives such as SmartDJ, AllShare and Samsung's own messaging app - ChatOn.

Judging by the specs, it's most likely that the Omnia M won't be eligible for the "Apollo" update. This phone will be available starting in Europe and will be gradually available in other regions.

Tags: mango · omnia m · samsung · wp7

Significant changes were done to SkyDrive in the month of April, one of them being the release of desktop apps for Windows and OS X. One may think that SkyDrive being a Microsoft product may not perform better in Apple's ecosystem as compared to Apple's own cloud solution - iCloud. Microsoft thinks different.

Microsoft has created a promotional page explaining the benefits of using SkyDrive to iCloud users. Here's the video:

iCloud has its fair share of disadvantages, so to speak. Where iCloud sticks to iWork documents and photos, SkyDrive will sync any sort of file you throw at it across your all your iDevices. Also, SkyDrive's integration with Office for Mac and the web is flawless.

On iCloud, users can access notes across devices but can't share them. SkyDrive and OneNote work hand-in-hand to tackle this problem.

Microsoft has also put up a tutorial for moving files from iDisk to SkyDrive.

Tags: icloud · skydrive

Lately there have been a lot of changes with regards to the Windows Phone Marketplace.

The most important change is that users can no longer install apps or games from the Zune PC software. You will need to use the Marketplace on the web or phone.

The web Marketplace is now available in the following countries: Bahrain, Bulgaria, Costa Rica, Croatia, Estonia, Iceland, Iraq, Israel, Kazakhstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Qatar, Romania, Saudi Arabia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Thailand, Turkey, UAE, Ukraine, Venezuela and Vietnam.

Also, starting from this month you'll need Windows Phone 7.5 to download apps from the Marketplace. Pre-Mango users will be able to browse the Marketplace but won't be able to download any new apps or update existing ones.

Microsoft is striving hard to make the Marketplace better. In an initiative to keep the Marketplace clean, Microsoft has chalked out a four-point plan. Here's a short summary:

1. Microsoft will investigate and pull apps which misuse trademarks.

2. Action will be taken against bulk publishers and developers who publish the same app to multiple Marketplace categories.

3. A five-keywords-only rule will be enforced and irrelevant keywords will be deleted. This will result in refined and relevant search results.

4. Apps that are racy or sexual in nature will be evaluated.

If things work out as planned, then we can hope to see a better Marketplace experience in the near future.

Tags: mango · windows phone marketplace · wp7 · zune

Microsoft's open source project hosting web site - CodePlex - has had a Metro UI-inspired transformation.

CodePlex describes itself as a site that you can use to "create new projects to share with the world, join others who have already started their own projects, or download open source software", and already hosts over 20,000 projects, 6 years since its launch in June 2006.

This is how the home page looked before the update:

And here's the new CodePlex in full Metro glory:

The minimal backgrounds, large fonts and big tiles have certainly given the somewhat dated-looking site a new lease of life. The improvements aren't just skin-deep however. Creating a new project, for instance, is now simply a single-step process, and more is promised to come.

What's your take on the redesign? You can send in your feedback here.

Tags: codeplex · metro ui

Microsoft has decided to discontinue using the "Windows Live" branding from its suite of personal cloud-based services. First announced in November 2005, today Windows Live services are used by over 500 million people each month, and comprise web-based products such as Hotmail, SkyDrive and Messenger, as well as the Windows Live Essentials PC software, among other things.

Microsoft has frequently come under fire in the past for their product-naming choices, which some in the tech industry think have created confusion between consumers. With the impending launch of Windows 8, the folks at Redmond have gone in favor of simplicity and consistency by doing away with the Windows Live naming.

As the change rolls out over the next few months, these Microsoft services will simply lose the "Windows Live" prefix - the features and functionality will stay - and users will be able to sign in using a Microsoft account (previously called a Windows Live ID.)

Windows 8 will come installed with the Calendar, Mail, Messaging, People, Photos and SkyDrive apps. Windows Phone 7 also already comes with these features built-in. These cloud-powered apps will keep your files, media and settings in sync across all the computers and devices associated with your Microsoft account.

So for example, if you have customized your Windows 8 computer's PC settings and you log in to any other Windows 8 PC with your Microsoft account, the settings will be set likewise on that PC. Or if you add a contact to your Windows Phone, it's added automatically to your Hotmail and Messenger contacts.

The following table from the Building Windows 8 blog will give you a good idea about what's old and what's new:

Tags: windows 8 · windows live

The smartphone industry is evolving at an extraordinary rate. Your brand new smartphone could be outdated in a year or so. To keep up with the competition, the operating system must be constantly updated with competitive features.

Although Windows Phone is very young compared to its competition, it has the potential to be on top. Even though the last major update - Mango - added about 500 new features to the OS, Windows Phone still lacks the luster in some areas.

I've prepared a list of features which I feel the OS just has to have in its next version:

• Dual-core/quad-core processor support

  None of the 1^st-gen and 2^nd-gen phones feature a multi-core processor. The market is flooded with dual-core Android smartphones and already, a phone featuring a quad-core processor has arrived. Though the current Windows Phones don't feel slow, the addition of faster hardware is always better.

• Removable memory support

  In this age of high-definition, the built-in memory offered in Windows Phones falls short very often. You have no option but to stick with what the manufacturer offers. This can be a deal breaker for many users who like to carry their whole media library with them. Microsoft can take a clue from the iPhones, which also have no support for memory cards, but offer higher built-in memory.

• High-resolution support

  480x800 seems to be the maximum resolution for all Windows Phones. Even the giants like HTC Titan, Titan II and Nokia Lumia 900 have the same resolution. 720p displays are the norm in the high-end smartphone segment and there is no reason for the new Windows Phones to have low-res displays.

• Notification center

  Currently, there is no central place to see notifications except for the tiles on the Start screen. The notification center/drawer should display notifications for recent missed calls, messages, emails and app updates.

• Repeated alerts for missed calls, messages and emails

  There should be an option for repeated alerts if you miss calls, messages or emails. Presently, if you miss a call while you are away from your phone, you won't be aware unless you manually unlock and check the phone. The phone should repeatedly alert you with short beeps at regular intervals to notify you of what you've missed.

• Quick switch for enabling/disabling Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and data connectivity

  At present, there is no quick way to enable/disable Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and 3G/EDGE. A quick switch can be neatly incorporated into the notification drawer, saving the user a lot of hassle.

• Consistent landscape orientation support

  As of now, there is no consistent support for landscape orientation in Mango. The Start screen, Phone tile, People hub, Pictures hub, Marketplace, Zune and Xbox Live apps don't support landscape, but on the other hand, the Me tile and the messaging, mail and calendar apps work in landscape mode. This inconsistency should be ironed out in the next iteration.

• Complete backup and restore

  There is no way to completely backup and restore data on the phone directly from the OS. There should be an option to backup data and dump it into a single file on the inbuilt/removable memory.

• True multitasking

  Mango has multitasking but it's more like app switching rather than true multitasking. Apps are just temporarily suspended and go into hibernation until resumed. True multitasking will enable apps to execute in the background. For example, you'll be able to listen to 3^rd-party music apps or take calls from Skype while doing other tasks.

• USB tethering

  In the US, it's usually the carriers who decide whether to enable USB tethering on phones. USB tethering enables users to use their phone's data connection on their PC. The lack of it can be a huge deal breaker for some people.

• Support for VPNs

  VPN (Virtual Private Network) support is essential for business users. Mango has support for Exchange and RPC-over-HTTPS, but not all businesses use them. The addition of VPNs will make Windows Phone more business-friendly.

• Native app/interface for video calling

  Skype and Tango are the only known apps for video calling on Windows Phone. Though most of the 2^nd-generation Windows Phones have a front-facing camera for video calling, there is no native app to take advantage of it.

There's no guarantee that the inclusion of the above features will make Windows Phone a killer smartphone operating system, but it will definitely give its competition a tough time. If you feel any other features must also be a part of WP vNext, leave a comment below.

Tags: mango · wp7

If you're a Bing user, you most likely look forward to seeing the beautiful new photo that appears on the Bing home page every day. And you've probably also wanted to use the photos as your desktop wallpaper. Microsoft has earlier released the Best of Bing series of themes for Windows 7, which included a limited set of these images.

With Bing Desktop coming out of beta, now there's an even better way to get those lovely pictures. Bing Desktop downloads a high-resolution version of Bing's home page background to your Windows 7 desktop daily.

In addition to this, it adds a search box that you can use to search the Web using Bing straight from your desktop. The search bar provides suggestions and displays results in your default browser.

You might not like the default configuration though. The application takes up its own icon on the taskbar, and the search box cannot be moved from the center of your screen.

So here's a tip - remember to select the Pin the search box to the top of your screen setting from Options, like this:

And voila, the taskbar icon is gone, and the search box is docked to the top of your screen and slides out of view. When you want to search, just move your mouse pointer to the top of your screen, or better yet, use the Windows + H shortcut key, and the search bar pops out again.

Microsoft has made Bing Desktop available as an optional update for Windows 7 (US English only) via Windows Update. If you're not receiving this update, you can download Bing Desktop here.

Tags: bing desktop · windows 7 · windows update

SkyDrive, Microsoft's cloud storage offering, has undergone major improvements. New features include the launch of desktop apps, upgraded apps for a number of devices, a new subscription model and remote file access. Many of these features, first announced in February, are now live.

Here's a look at what's new:

• New apps for desktop and mobile

  Microsoft has released new preview apps for Windows 7, Vista, Mac OS X Lion, and the iPad. Existing apps for Windows 8, Windows Phone 7 and the iPhone will get an upgrade. And of course, if you are on any other device, you can always access SkyDrive from your browser.

• Integration with Windows Explorer

  The app lets you create a special folder for SkyDrive which is integrated with Windows Explorer (and Finder on the Mac.) You can then add, edit and delete files in this folder the same way you would with a normal folder, and all changes get synced to the cloud, as well as all other devices on which you have the app installed.

• 7 GB of free storage

  SkyDrive is now offering 7 GB of free storage for new users, and you can now upload files as large as 2 GB.

  Now if you've used SkyDrive before, you probably know that SkyDrive previously offered 25 GB. Fear not, because for a limited time, existing users will be allowed to upgrade to 25 GB for free.

• Storage plans

  If you need even more space though, three paid storage plans are available for an annual fee: +20 GB for $10, +50 GB for $25 and +100 GB for $50.

• Remote access

  Users can now fetch files from a remote Windows PC directly from SkyDrive.com. All you have to do is to install the app and keep the remote PC powered on, and you can browse that computer's entire hard drive from your current device.

Get the new SkyDrive apps.

Tags: skydrive

Beginning this month, we're doing a new series of posts where we quickly feature five great free apps across all categories that we think your Windows Phone should have. So here are this month's picks:

1. Adobe Reader

   Adobe Reader is an absolutely essential application for a true smartphone experience. It allows you to open PDF documents in email attachments, on the Web, or from the phone.

   

   Download

2. WP Bench

   WP Bench is a performance benchmarking application for Windows Phone devices. It tests your CPU, GPU, memory, storage, display and battery, and lets you publish your score to the online charts to compare with other users. It's the first benchmarking app for WP7.

   

   Download

3. Wunderlist

   Wunderlist is a very popular multi-platform task manager and to-do app, and is now available for Windows Phone. It comes with free cloud sync.

   

   Download

4. Skype

   Just like its desktop counterpart, you can make and receive voice/video calls and instant messages for free from anyone using Skype, or call and text any phone number with Skype Credit.

   

   Download

5. Contact Sender

   If you've ever gotten into a situation where you have to share details of a contact with someone, you know it's very time-consuming. Contact Sender finishes the task in seconds. Just select the details and send it via SMS or email.

   

   Download

Note: This post is part of the Top Free Apps series. Click here to see other posts in this series.

Tags: adobe reader · contact sender · mango · skype · top free apps series · wp bench · wp7 · wunderlist

The Indian Premier League has begun and if you're one of those savvy Windows Phone users looking to keep up while travelling, then we've got some free apps lined up for you. There are official IPL apps available for iOS, Android and BlackBerry, but it's a bit unfortunate that there is no official app for Windows Phone. Luckily, there are a few good alternatives.

• Yahoo! Cricket

  Currently, this is the best cricket app on the Windows Phone Marketplace. It is a full-fledged app that covers international cricket matches as well as the IPL series. It has features like live scorecard, ball-by-ball commentary, upcoming matches, news, photo gallery, team and player profiles etc.

  

  Download

• Live Cricket

  This is the 2^nd-best offering on the Marketplace at the moment. It offers live scorecard, team rankings, news and fixtures for international matches and the IPL. Though it lacks a photo gallery and team/player profiles, it makes up by adding a Cricket Basics section that gives the user detailed information about the sport.

  

  Download

• IPL 2012

  This app also gives you a live scorecard, team/player profiles, season schedule, and news and gallery sections. A unique feature of this app is that it lets you set a reminder for your favorite matches.

  

  Some users have reported that the live score does not work sometimes, but the developer states that the issue has been fixed in the latest update.

  Download

Update: At the time of writing this article, the apps mentioned above were the only ones worth noting. But recently, one significant app hit the Marketplace.

• ESPNcricinfo

  Many cricket fans use ESPNcricinfo's website to check the live scores of cricket matches. ESPNcricinfo also has apps for many platforms and it is very fortunate that Windows Phone is now one of them. Just like Yahoo! Cricket, ESPNcricinfo is a full-fledged app which has features like live score card, commentary, fixtures, news, videos and photo gallery.

  

  Apart from the standard features, it also has these unique features which no other cricket app on Windows Phone currently offers:

  • Push notifications: The app will push alerts for batsman milestones, wickets etc.
  • Live tiles: Pin a game and get updates on your home screen.
  • Personalization: Customize the app to your favorite team.
  • 'Lean Back' mode: This mode will show the live score in full screen. A nice feature where you can place the phone on a desk and get updates while working.

  In my opinion, this beats the Yahoo! Cricket app in many ways.

  Download

Note: Indiatimes also offers an IPL app, but it is limited to viewing videos from their IPL channel on YouTube.

Tags: espncricinfo · ipl 2012 · live cricket · mango · wp7 · yahoo cricket

The Microsoft Touch Mouse is crafted specially for Windows 7. It is equipped with features that make navigation on Windows 7 super-fast, but it lacks the middle-click function - a feature so basic that almost every mouse on the market has it. This can be very annoying to those who use the middle-click button very often. There are many applications which can be nearly unusable if your mouse lacked the middle-click function.

Currently, there are many workarounds. Many applications and AutoHotKey scripts claim to enable middle-click on the Touch Mouse, but people may take time to get used to most of them. Out of these, the one that works brilliantly and as advertised is Touch Mouse Mate.

Touch Mouse Mate (TMM) is a project started by Lex Li. It is based on a utility released by J5, an Italian developer, and has many new features and improvements made by Lex and other contributors.

TMM has three features:

• Middle-click: It triggers the middle-click function when the left touch area and the right touch area are tapped at the same time.
• Touch-over-click: This function translates your touch gesture to physical clicks.
• Left hand: It has support for left-handed users.

At the time of writing this article, the latest version of TMM was 1.5 beta and had no option to start TMM with Windows, but expect a lot of improvements in the coming months.

Download TMM from CodePlex.

Note: For Windows 8 users, Microsoft has released Device Center, which gives you an option to enable middle-click, but you have to sacrifice left- or right-click.

Tags: touch mouse · touch mouse mate

The problem with purchasing a branded PC is the bloat that comes bundled with it. OEMs don't really think of it as bloatware that bogs down the machine and ruins the out-of-the-box experience. The Microsoft Signature program is a brilliant solution to this problem.

Trials of anti-virus software, browser toolbars, image editing programs, program docks etc. are a few of the countless applications which come installed on some manufacturers' machines these days. Most consumers hate these big-on-nuisance performance killers and prefer the vanilla experience. Microsoft took a note of this and upon entering the retail scene, made sure that a Microsoft Store gave their customers the pure Windows experience.

Microsoft Signature PCs are sold sans bloat, fully optimized for performance by Microsoft Store. The Signature PCs come with Microsoft Security Essentials, IE9, Zune, Silverlight, Adobe Reader, Adobe Flash and the Windows Live Essentials suite pre-installed. They also offer phone support, free for the first 90 days.

Want more? Microsoft also offers a Signature Premium service where you get the following for an annual fee of $99:

• Theft recovery with automatic tracking and remote locking
• One full year of technical support from Microsoft experts
• In-store training sessions
• Discounts on future purchases
• Priority access to events and workshops

Visit signature.microsoft.com for more details.

Tags: microsoft store · signature · signature premium

Many people these days assume their PC is safe just because they are subscribed to a free or paid anti-virus. And often, most of them don't take advantage of some important built-in Windows features. This article lists three super-simple steps to ensure your Windows 7 PC is protected.

1. Turn on Windows Firewall

   Microsoft started shipping Windows with a built-in firewall starting from XP. Windows Firewall is always on by default unless you or some other program has turned it off. Windows Firewall secures your PC from viruses, spyware and unauthorized access.

   To turn on Windows Firewall:
   • Open Control Panel from the Start Menu
   • Go to System and Security, then Windows Firewall
   • Click Turn Windows Firewall on or off in the sidebar
   • Select Turn on Windows Firewall for both private and public networks and click OK

2. Turn on Windows Update

   Microsoft pushes its latest security patches and important updates through Windows Update at regular intervals. Yet, many people have the updates turned off. The most common excuse I get to hear is "I have turned them off because the updates make my PC slow". The truth is that by turning the updates on, you also get performance improvement upgrades which help keep your PC running smooth and fast.

   To turn on Windows Update:
   • Open Control Panel from the Start Menu
   • Go to System and Security, then Windows Update
   • Click Change settings in the sidebar
   • Select Install updates automatically from the list and click OK

3. Install Microsoft Security Essentials

   Microsoft Security Essentials is a free anti-virus that offers real-time protection against virus, spyware and malware attacks. First released back in September 2009, it has a far lower resource usage compared to other anti-virus software, which makes it fast and doesn't hamper the performance of your PC. Visit windows.microsoft.com/mse for more details and the download link.

   Note: This article assumes that you have a genuine copy of Windows and are logged on as an administrator.

Tags: security essentials · windows firewall · windows update

Jailbreaking or unlocking is simply the process of removing the limitations your phone's manufacturer has imposed. Jailbreaking is a boon for users and developers as it allows the user to sideload homebrew apps, gain root access etc.

ChevronWP7 Labs were the first to jailbreak Windows Phone 7 and offered the unlocking tool for free. Soon after, Microsoft and ChevronWP7 Labs joined hands, making them the official third-party tool to jailbreak WP7 phones. ChevronWP7 Labs charged users $9 per device for unlocking. But currently they are out of stock and have no plans of restocking (for now).

Those looking for a free alternative can rejoice; a new unlocking tool has surfaced on the Internet. The WindowBreak project, which debuted a week ago, is completely free and offers easy unlocking. The project is more of an experiment and is in its trial stages. WindowBreak exploits a vulnerability in the Zipview application.

This unlocking method works flawlessly with Samsung devices. Though this method doesn't support HTC and Nokia devices as of now, the developer behind this project has stated that it is in the works. The developer has also released a video demonstrating the unlock process.

For more information, head over to www.windowsphonehacker.com.

Tags: chevronwp7 · mango · windowbreak · wp7

Many of you may know about Gmail's plus trick. It's a relatively old but effective trick for spam prevention. You'll be surprised to know that this trick also works in Hotmail.

Suppose you have an email address like happynewyear@hotmail.com. If you add a '+' sign after your email username, Hotmail will disregard anything between the + and @ signs. Emails sent to happynewyear+anything@hotmail.com will still reach your Hotmail inbox (happynewyear@hotmail.com).

This is a very good method for tracking spammers. Let's say you used an email alias like happynewyear+forum@hotmail.com for signing up for a forum. Now whenever you receive spam addressed to the above alias, you'll know the exact site which sold your email address to the spammers.

To get rid of the spam coming from the alias, you can use Hotmail's Sweep feature to delete all the messages addressed from that source and automatically block them from appearing in your inbox in the future.

Tags: hotmail

Internet Explorer is the most used browser in the world. But the problem is that many people are stuck with older versions. To combat this, Microsoft has decided to start automatic upgrades for IE across Windows XP, Windows Vista and Windows 7. Starting from this month, the upgrades will roll out to each and every genuine Windows user starting from Australia and Brazil.

An up-to-date browser is a win-win situation for both developers and users. Malware is generally targeted towards outdated software such as a web browser. An updated browser ensures the safest browsing experience to users by protecting them against malware. Declaring the death of IE6 highlights the efforts Microsoft has taken towards the betterment of the Web.

In my opinion, IE9 is the best version of IE to date, and the statistics also reflect this. Recently it was reported that in the US, the usage of IE9 has reached the top and it's the most used browser on Windows 7. The worldwide usage of IE9 on Windows 7 is now second only to IE8 and is set to overtake it very soon.

Microsoft has released IE8 and IE9 automatic update blocker kits for those individuals and organizations who would like to update IE as per their own schedule. Also, users who have declined previous installations of IE8 or IE9 through Windows Update will not be updated automatically.

Tags: ie6 · ie7 · ie8 · ie9 · internet explorer · windows 7 · windows vista · windows xp

HTC Radar is the latest Windows Phone from the HTC stable. Dubbed as the little brother of the HTC Titan, it comes with a 3.8 inch SLCD display, 5 MP Camera and a sturdy metal unibody design. It is also one of the few phones to come out pre-loaded with WP7.5 Mango.

Hardware

HTC Radar is a beautiful looking phone and is sturdy and well-built. The metal design adds to its weight but it feels very solid in the hands and has a very rich and elegant look, all thanks to its metal unibody design. Gorilla glass sits on top of 3.8 inch multi-touch display. The WVGA resolution of the display makes the text and images look very crisp and sharp. The performance is decent in bright sunlight. The black levels are deep enough if the display is set on auto-brightness mode.

The front features a proximity sensor, ambient light sensor and a front facing VGA camera for video calling. Down below there are three standard Windows Phone control touch-sensitive buttons (back, home and search).

The left side of the phone doesn't have any buttons; just a micro-USB port for charging and sync. The right side features volume controls and a dedicated camera button. On the top, you have a lock-screen button and a standard 3.5mm audio jack.

On the back you'll find the speaker and 5 MP Camera with single LED flash. Though the speaker is loud and clear indoors, you'll find that the sound gets muffled when the phone is placed on a table or covered in pouch. This happens due to the placement of the speaker on the back. It should have been placed on the top or bottom.

Due to the metal unibody design of the device, the battery is non-removable. This can pose a problem to frequent travelers and people who like to keep extra set of batteries. The battery life is decent. During the test, the battery lasted for about 1 and half day with some calls, downloading apps on Wi-Fi and not to mention that EDGE was always on for syncing. If you're low on battery, the all new battery saver feature will come to rescue. The outer skin of the device is not full metal; it also has some plastic bits for connectivity. HTC Radar has inbuilt A-GPS receiver, Stereo FM Radio, Wi-Fi b/g/n and Bluetooth 2.1 A2DP which is common in smartphones available these days.

Software

HTC Radar runs the latest flavor of the Windows Phone OS called Mango (WP7.5). Windows Phone 7.5 (Mango) was previewed in May last year. There are as many as 500 new features in Mango; some of the notable features include the new task switcher, voice search, Twitter and LinkedIn integration and improved messaging. HTC Radar comes loaded with some HTC apps such as HTC Hub, HTC Watch, Locations, Connected Media, Photo Enhancer, Flashlight and notes.

IE9 comes bundled with Mango. The page rendering is fast and the text looks good. Overall performance of the browser is very good. As a former Android user, the only thing that bugged me is that when you zoom-in, the text doesn't reflow or auto-align itself. Although it looks like a small issue but in my opinion it spoils the browsing experience as you have to flick left and right constantly to read the text. If you're one of those who often visit Flash sites then you'll be disappointed as there is no support for Adobe Flash and surprisingly there is no Silverlight support as well. The multiple tabs feature is great but there is no easy way to switch between tabs.

The Radar has a 5 Megapixel camera with autofocus and a single LED flash. The f/2.2 lens captures quality pictures and works well in low-light situations too. The camera app comes with a few extra features such as panorama, facial recognition and burst mode. The panorama mode allows you to take beautiful panoramic pictures. The panorama mode makes use of the phone's accelerometer and stitches the pictures to create a panoramic image. Unlocking the phone and going to the camera app takes time but HTC has added a neat little feature where the phone unlocks directly in to the camera app if you press the shutter button for 2 seconds. The camera is capable of recording 720p HD videos at 30fps. The quality of the captured video is very good and sharp. The continuous focus mode tends to blur the videos when the camera is panned. Camera takes some time to adjust to the light levels around you.

Social services like Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn are integrated in to the contacts. There is no option to import or export contacts. Windows Live, Gmail and Yahoo! Mail are supported right out of the box.

Performance

The Radar houses a 1GHz Scorpion CPU and Adreno 205 GPU. It has 512 MB of ROM and RAM. Although dual core CPUs are the norm these days, I felt the Radar was fast and snappy. I didn't experience any lag while using any application or playing games. Even after installing 10+ apps the performance was consistent. The inbuilt memory is 8GB and there is no room for expansion as there is no expandable memory slot. Also, the OS and the apps consume some memory so only 6.5GB is left for user consumption. This might be a deal breaker for music lovers who like to carry their whole library with them.

Verdict

The HTC Radar is a decent looking handset and fairly responsive. If you're on the lookout for a budget smartphone and won't settle for Apple or Android then this might be a good choice. Before buying it you might want to take a look at its competition. The Samsung Omnia W and Nokia Lumia 710 are both in the same bracket as the HTC Radar but are cheaper, faster and more or less better than the Radar. Both, Lumia 710 and Omnia W run on 1.4GHz processor and have their own proprietary AMOLED displays.

Thumbs Up

• Windows Phone 7.5
• Gorilla glass
• Metal unibody design
• Good battery life

Thumbs Down

• No expansion slot
• Non-removable battery
• No Flash support

Tags: htc · htc radar · mango · review · wp7