9 EA games titles for Windows Phone on sale for up to 40% off

9 popular games from Electronic Arts are on sale with up to 40% off for one week only. The 9 games are Battleship, Bejeweled Live, Contre Jour, Mirror's edge, Monopoly, Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit, Plants vs. Zombies, The Sims 3 and Tetris. All of them popular titles to add to your collection. So hurry up.

Source: Windows Phone Blog

Skype for Windows Phone 8 gets People hub integration and high def video support.

In an update published this morning, Skype for Windows Phone 8 now supports People hub integration. It is now possible to initiate a Skype call or chat right in the People hub. Applying that update did cause a little mess in my contacts list with duplicates that required linking my Skype friends to existing contact cards. People with lots of Skype contacts will not appreciate.

Unfortunately it is not the kind of integration I was hoping for. Managing Skype contacts must still be done in Skype app on the phone, tablet or PC. It is not possible to delete a Skype contact for example. While the Skype app does use the metro app, initiating a call via the people bub launches the Skype app instead of using the built-in caller app. It's better than nothing.

Support for high definition video calls will make you look better and, possibly, feel better. In case the latter does not work for you, the update also adds support for switching between front and rear camera during a call to show your friends what's around you. Finally, Skype for Windows Phone 8 is now capable of doing video calls in portrait and landscape mode. Overall, the latest Skype app for our beloved phones just got better.

If you have not got the download notification yet on your phone, go to Windows Phone Store to speed things up and enjoys those new features. Note that Skype for Windows Phone 8 is still a preview, so you may still find some glitch during use.

Photosynth panoramas contest winners announced.

For this month photo challenge, participants were asked to make panoramas with the recently released Photosynth app for Windows Phone 8. The Windows Phone team has published the 10 winning panoramas on their blog and I must say they're really cool. Check them out and maybe you'll be inspired to create your own. The challenge may be over, but you can still snap your own pictures and post to Twitter with the #WPphoto hashtag. Check out the 10 winning Photosynth challenge panoramas on the Windows Phone blog.

Xbox new titles: The Amazing Spider-Man and Real Soccer 2013

Gameloft strikes again. After the release of Asphalt 7: Heat last week, two new titles from the games developer has been added to the Xbox titles. The Amazing  Spider-Man is a $6.99 game that offers 25 immersive missions with all the climbing, web slinging and bounding across rooftops that only the Spider-Man is capable of. Download it here.

The second title will make soccer fans happy with the release of Real Soccer 2013. The game is free and has "more than 700 motion-capture animations in this new edition also bring players to life on your phone like never before. Finally, an official FIFPro license means you’ll see names and portraits of over 3,000 top athletes—a first for a Real Soccer title. Future game updates will account for any unexpected roster changes." Download your free copy.

Source: Windows Phone Blog

Nokia releases app for Windows Phone users to "petition" Instagram.

I can't figure why everyone is craving so much for Instagram on Windows Phone. I personally do not use it on Android and nor do I know anyone around me who does. And most of these people have Android phones, for now. I definitely use my phone to snap pictures on the go and I do not apply filters to them. But for sharing, I use Facebook and Twitter. No need to have another social network. That's why I question the very existence of Instagram. With that we're soon going to have a social network for about everything.

But again, it seems nowadays that a phone without Instagram is not a phone. Nokia is serious about that to the point of creating an app to help Windows Phone users to communicate with Instagram team to petition them to make an app for their Windows Phones. "The app allows Windows Phone users to have their voice heard so that instead of letters, chocolates, mix tapes or petitions (although very effective in some cases), the community can speak directly to Instagram and the Instagram community in a way they can respect…through the use of beautiful photography." 

The app lets you take pictures and apply a "classic polaroid filter" and share it to your favorite social network with the hashtag #2InstaWithLove. The hashtag is also the name of the free app. If you want to join the Instagram-on-Windows phone campaign, download a free copy of the app from the Windows Phone Store.

Source: Conversations by Nokia

Mehdoh merges Windows Phones code base.

In an update published today, Mehdoh, the popular Twitter client for Windows Phone, merged the code base for Windows Phone 7.8 and 8. Another noteworthy change is the ability to use Mehdoh without a Twitter account.
Checkout the full change log below:

+ Re-enabled support for different themes in WP8
+ Popup menu on retweet button
+ SkyDrive images now uploaded to sub-folders
+ Better handling of marketplace links
+ Removed requirement for a Twitter account (can now just be used for Soundcloud or Instagram!)
+ Merged WP7 and WP8 code bases
+ WP7 version also contains updates from version 8.7

Update link: Windows Phone Store

Windows Phone Photo Challenge: Photosynth.

Last week, Microsoft released Photosynth for Windows Phone 8, an app that goes beyond just taking panoramic pictures by letting you stitch pictures together to get a 360 degree image. Since the app is unique to Windows Phone 8, the Windows Phone team decided to make it the tool you need to participate for this month photo challenge. 
There are two ways to submit your pictures. The app lets you save photos you take to the phone in the JPG format. If you choose to go that way, simply attached the picture to an email and send it to windowsphone@microsoft.com or you can choose to upload your picture to photosynth.net and send the url only. 

No matter which you decide to go, the rules below applies. They are the same as previous challenges.

• To enter, please e-mail your entry to windowsphone@microsoft.com.
• In the subject line of your e-mail, please write “CHALLENGE: PHOTOSYNTH”.
• The photo you send must have been taken with (and edited, if you prefer to edit) on a Windows Phone. Please attach the original JPEG file to your e-mail, with metadata included, OR send us a Photosynth.net URL where your photo may be viewed and experienced. If the photo has been edited, please let us know which phone/apps/settings you used.
• Please name your image file using your first and last name, followed by the theme of the contest (this month it’s “Photosynth”). So, for instance, my e-mail would include a photograph named DavidChenPhotosynth.JPG or DavidChenPhotosynth.JPG.
• Please use the highest resolution possible when sending your photos.One entry per person, please.
• This challenge runs from now until 11:59 p.m. PDT on Wednesday, March 13th, 2013.
• After the contest deadline, we will look over all of your entries and choose our favorites. Entries will be judged on their creativity, resourcefulness, aesthetic beauty, and just the overall impression your photo makes on us.
• Winning entries may be posted on the blog, in our newsletter, as well as shared on our Twitter, Facebook, and Pinterest pages 1-2 weeks after the contest has ended.
• Read the full rules here.

Source: Windows Phone team blog

Photosynth for Windows Phone 8 released.

It is finally here, the app that lets you capture 360 degrees horizontally and vertically. "Photosynth for Windows phone is the panorama app that makes it easy and fun to capture and share interactive panoramas of the places, people, and events that are important to you."

The Windows Phone 8 release contains several handy new features including:

• Lens integration – Quickly capture and view panoramas by launching Photosynth directly from the camera.
• Ability to view shared panoramas—New sharing capabilities let other Windows Phone 8 users view your panoramas on their phone, and as always you can show off your panoramas by email, Facebook and Twitter.
• More camera controls – Adjust for various lighting conditions by using new exposure and white balance locking options

Download: Windows Phone Store

Source: Windows Phone Team blog