Hotmail Exchange push Email, Contacts, Calendar available now
Microsoft have finally flipped the switch on Exchange Push for their Mail, Contacts and Calendar services. Competitor Google has offered this for months, and like many other iPhone owners who want all their info on the go, I switched to gmail to achieve this.
To enable the services simply insert your credentials and use m.hotmail.com as the server address.
So now push email, contacts and calendar is available to Windows Live users, question is, how many people will switch from Google. While Gmail is beloved by tech darlings, the reality is there’s a lot more users on Windows Live. My contact list on Windows Live Messenger is many multiple times the length of that of Google Chat.
Personally I need to run both emails for different services like Google Reader / analytics and Skydrive, but may switch Windows Live Contacts and Calendar. As shown above, I now have exchange accounts defined, Google, Work and Hotmail.
Prior to today’s launch, users would be met with a looping Password prompt, now the service has launched, this no longer occurs. Its also important to note that Exchange activesync for Hotmail supports multiple calendars that can be turned on or off in settings. These individual calendars appear as different colour calendar entries on most mobile devices.
This move is critical in preparation for Microsoft’s launch of Windows Phone 7 later this year to achieve their target of hitting both personal and business users.
iPhone 4 photos suffering from a blue tint
Over time you will use the iPhone 4 in a number of different conditions. It turns out there may be an issue that hasn’t been widely reported and its certainly a strange one. It seems photos taken with the rear facing camera of the iPhone 4 under florescent indoor lighting causes photos to have a blue tint that appears as a circle from the centre of the photo. The tint is so bad it renders photos under these conditions effectively useless.
Shooting in other lighting conditions like sunlight, incandescent or LED lighting results in normal happy, healthy photos with no sign of the blues. If your wondering about video.. it happens there as well.
As for the front-facing camera, it also happens but not as severe. After consulting twitter for feedback, a number of other iPhone owners have confirmed it happens for them as well. It’s probably not a deal breaker that would prevent you from buying the phone, but rather something to keep in mind. Make sure you review your photos afterwards to ensure the photos aren’t ruined from the tint.
Some people have suggested it is caused by the rear camera being recessed and getting some kind of reflection. Leave a comment if you’ve experienced the same thing. How much does this issue annoy you ?
Xbox Live on Windows Phone 7: killer feature ?
In a press release today, Microsoft took the wraps of what the Xbox Live experience would be like on Windows Phone 7. Playing to one of the companies strongest assets, at least in mind share, Xbox Live is looks to be shaping up to be a strong aspect of the new Windows Phone 7 OS.
Included in the announcement is what to expect from Xbox Live on WP7:
- Be omnipotent. View, access and launch your full game library from one easy-to-navigate hub.
- Get mad props. Earn, view and track Achievements, view Xbox LIVE leaderboards and build your Gamerscore every time you play an Xbox LIVE title.
- Release your inner Mini Me.Connect to your Xbox LIVE profile and Avatar, or easily create a new one right from the phone.
- Get tricky. Access Spotlight feeds, including the latest game titles, breaking news from Xbox LIVE, game tips and tricks, and more.
- Play before you pay. Easily find, try and buy the games you want, either in the Marketplace or Games hub.
- Flaunt your skills. Invite, connect and play against friends on other Windows Phone 7 phones or PCs with turn-based (asynchronous) multiplayer gaming.
Along with features, Microsoft also announced launch titles for Xbox Live on Windows Phone. The list includes many casual games, as well as some more impressive 3D games in what Microsoft say is a line-up that will have something for everyone. The full list of titles can be seen at Xbox.com. Australians should remember this is the US launch line-up and Windows Phone content may vary per country, so treat this as indicative, not definitive for WP7 in Australia.
Engadget has a great run down of the announcement complete with hands on videos, if your interested in Xbox Live on WP7 I strongly recommend you take the time. Personally I’d love this feature on my iPhone and while the Bing app made it across the pond, I think Microsoft will keep this feature close to home as a point of difference.
Register your iPhone 4 interest with Optus
The US has it, but we’re still waiting… iPhone 4 is on its way and Optus want to know if your interested. Launching a new site today http://optus.com.au/iphone4 Optus want to know how much liquid nitrogen they should pour on their servers to keep them up on launch day. Note, this is not pre-ordering, just registering your interest. If you do complete the form, you should be hearing from Optus shortly.
I went for the black 32GB iPhone 4.. which one are you after ?
29% of Domino’s customers order online
See that big red ‘Order Online’ button on the top-right of Domino’s site ? Well apparently it’s working ! Combined the Domino’s iPhone app, Domino’s say that online ordering now accounts for almost 30% of their business. It’s clear consumers like this method of placing an order, but the benefits could be more than easy of use and convenience. Should this trend continue, it’ll mean they can spend less time answering your calls and more time making pizzas, potentially resulting in a reduced delivery time.
The free Domino’s iPhone app has reportedly had 300,000 downloads, if your a fast food company, pay attention. Domino’s, you should get to work expanding your mobile applications to even more platform in an effort to drive even more business online.
More @ Lifehacker
Windows Phone 7 Podcast interface
Been wondering how your Favourite podcast might look on Windows Phone 7 ? While it’s certainly not complete here’s how the current screens look. There’s really a couple ways of accessing content, the first is browsing (top screens), the second is searching (bottom screens). The interface is straight forward and intuitive to use, behaving just as you’d expect.
Just like the iPhone’s iPod application, podcasts can be played in the background while using the other features of the devices. This is in-line with Microsoft’s announcement of selective background processes. My only criticism of the UI is that it cuts off the podcast episode titles, sure this is not unlike the iPhone, but it could be solved by simply scrolling the text. Who knows it may be adjusted before the final release, which keep in mind is still between 7-9 months away.
10 minutes with Windows Phone 7 simulator unlocked [video]
Many of us who tried out the Windows Phone 7 simulator were disappointed to discover the simulator didn’t contain a lot of the functionality that was being shown off at Mix10. It turns out Dan Ardelean has published a modified or ‘unlocked’ version of the simulator that contains virtually everything that was displayed. The front page is now full of apps that work, the settings menu is a long list of options for those apps.
Unfortunately the download of the .bin file has now been pulled, but I was lucky enough to get a copy. Check out the 10 minute video of Windows Phone 7.
Update
I’ve also spent some time going through all the settings screens. Check out the 2nd video for all the details.
Update 2
Ina Fried from cnet spoke to Microsoft about the unlock and got the following response, saying that they expected this to happen.
We are extremely pleased with the level of excitement we’re seeing for Windows Phone Developer Tools. When we decided to provide a Windows Phone 7 Series Emulator as part of the tools, we anticipated that people would attempt to unlock and explore the code. We have been very clear that the emulator is based on early code and is not reflective of the final user experience. Windows Phone 7 Series is still under development. The UI has been disabled to avoid confusion and allow developers to focus on testing applications on the underlying platform. We continue to recommend that developers use the emulator as provided to avoid any issues and unpredictability that may be introduced by an unlocked version."
Update 3
Dan has posted the Windows Phone 7 unlock ‘How to’ now.
More @ istartedsomething
