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No Skype support for Windows Phone 7?

Citing a second-rate “user experience” compared to the iPhone and Android, Skype admits it has no immediate plans to release an app for Windows Phone 7.
Skype is working full steam ahead on an app for the iPad and the next-gen iPhone, but users of Windows Phone 7 will have to take a number and wait… and wait… and wait.

Skype’s Asia Pacific Vice-President Dan Neary says that Microsoft’s forthcoming smartphone OS is not a priority when it comes to mobile platforms.

“We try and focus not only where the need is but where the best experience is, and we feel that the best areas for us to develop are on the operating systems that we currently support – iPhone, Symbian, BlackBerry and now Android” Neary told APC during a press briefing in Sydney today. “We simply feel that those operating systems (have) a much better user experience”.

Neary said that while a Skype app for Windows Phone 7 “is on the roadmap, the question is how quickly we’re going to get to it. We feel that we are best best deployed on other operating systems (for now) and we’ll see how the space evolves.”

10 HD games for Android from Gameloft

Just in time for their tenth anniversary, Gameloft has announced the availability ten high-definition 3G games for Android and other smart phone platforms. According to the press release, Gameloft has custom created each game for individual handsets which should enhance the gaming experience.

“Our goal has always been to offer the best gaming experience for each device,” said Gonzague de Vallois, Senior Vice President, Publishing, Gameloft. “With the arrival of smartphones that allow the creation of high quality games, we are excited to bring consumers a unique line up of diverse titles combining rich 3D graphics and intense gameplay”

Here is the game list:

• Asphalt 5
• Let’s Golf!
• Assassin’s Creed
• Hero of Sparta
• Gangstar: West Coast Hustle
• Dungeon Hunter
• Real Football 2010
• N.O.V.A. Near Orbit Vanguard Alliance
• Modern Combat: Sandstorm
• Tom Clancy’s H.A.W.X.

Original source

No memory cards on Windows Phone 7 Series

We found out from Todd Brix of Microsoft that Windows Phone 7 Series will eschew user-replaceable memory. Memory cards may still be used by manufacturers and OEMs, but those won’t be easily or readily accessible to the end-user. This will allow, as Microsoft puts it, for a better user experience on the device, and we’re not sure that the primary motive for locking down storage memory is for a better experience – we’re guessing it has to do with DRM though the strategy would go well with Microsoft’s move to remove a file management system.

Close competitor Apple and Palm have both eschewed removable storage for built-in storage of varying capacities between 8 GB to 32 GB on current generation phone models, but that decision was met with upset users who may want to augment the storage capacity on their devices or swap memory cards. With the case of Apple, the iPhone’s lack of removable memory is probably due to the fact that the company doesn’t want users to access the file structure.

Original source

HTC HD Mini first look

Say hello to HD mini, the impressive experience of the HTC HD2 in a compact package.

What about multitasking in Windows Phone 7 Series?

So here’s the story on multitasking in Windows Phone 7. According to the director of Windows Phone:

The core operating system is a modern multitasking operating system. If you play music for example, the music will play back as you navigate around the experience…if you’re using email, we have great support for push email and that happens in the background.
For third party applications—we’ll get into a lot more detail on this in MIX—but we have a few ways we’re going to make sure that third parties can bring their value to the user even when the app is not running. Live tiles are an example. Data feeds in the hubs are another example for some apps.
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