SkyDrive renamed to OneDrive and gets new features.

Today Microsoft has released the re-branded SkyDrive app which is now known as OneDrive. The change in name was driven by the loss in court of a trademark claim by a British company. Microsoft did not appeal the verdict and decided instead to rename its cloud storage service. After the update is installed, the app will move from the "S" grouping to the "O" grouping in the app list. But that's not all.

Microsoft did not content itself with just a re-branding here. The app has also been updated with new features, including the ability to share multiple files at once. See the full change log below:

New in version 3.5:
• New thumbnail view
• Improved view of shared files 
• Share multiple items at once
• Pin folders to your Start screen
• Open your OneDrive files in other apps
• Bug fixes and performance improvements

Download the free update in the Windows Phone Store.

Outlook.com thanks early adopters with gifts.

A year already since Outlook.com was launched as Microsoft moved away from the the good old Hotmail.com. The designed from scratch metro based online service boasts 400 million users since it went public last year. To celebrate its first year of existence, the Outlook.com team is offering gifts to its early adopters in the form of an additional 3GB SkyDrive storage for one year and one month of free video on Skype. The latter lets you get up to 10 people together on the same video call; a feature available to premium skype users.

Early adopters may have already got email with these offers and accompanying code. So make sure to check your inbox. For the others check, watch the thank you video from the Outlook.com team.

Happy birthday Outlook.com.

Backup/Restore your Twabbit settings/Cached tweets into Skydrive.

Twabbit, the $1.49 Twitter client for Windows Phone, got an update that supports backing up to and restoring to Skydrive. Basically, once this feature is enabled after you download the update, Twabbit will save your accounts, settings and cached tweets (including DMs) to Microsoft cloud solution. After you press "upload", these settings will be saved on Skydrive in a folder of its own.

I gave it a try on my lovely HTC 8X by deleting my account and went to check on Skydrive. The folder did indeed had my Twabbit's settings data in it. To restore your settings, simply press Download. A restore requires a restart of the app.

Change log for V 1.3.1.61:--
1. Skydrive backup/restore
2. White theme for System Dark theme
3. Black theme for System Light theme
4. Gray theme
5. Modified User Profile page for banner image
6. Easy switching of account
7. Youtube image inline preview
8. Youtube in-App player (supports youtu.be only)

A trial version of Twabbit is available in the Windows Phone Store.

Rowi Twitter client update adds support for Skydrive image previews.

In an update posted to the Windows Phone Store, Rowi Twitter client adds support for image previews on Skydrive, Microsoft free cloud hosting solution. Skydrive allows users to upload files to the cloud and then access them on any devices. By adding the Skydrive image preview, users of Rowi will be able to preview the image from within the app instead of having to open it in a separate window, normally the web browser. 
The bug fixes and improved performance are also part of the change log:

-Bug fixes
-Improved network performance
-Live Tile behavior change that clears mentions and direct messages counts when Rowi loads
-Profile followers/following lists are in correct order
-Instructions in settings on how to access multiple accounts
-Support for SkyDrive image previews
-Setting to show user display names instead of Twitter usernames

Not using Rowi yet? Download the free lite version or the paid version.