Author: Clinton

The team over at WPCentral posted on this yesterday but I had to point it out as well.

One of the big complaints I’ve hard here at the site is the lack of functionality in the Bank of America app for Windows Phone.  Since the app was updated last month it has been, well, pretty much non-functional.  Seems that the update they did killed the ability for many customers to log in, especially those who had special characters in their username or password.  Bank of America finally got around to fixing this and all indications are that it is indeed fixed and you can once again log into your accounts.

Now we can go into a long laundry list of the whys and hows of this being completely unacceptable.  A month to update an app – an essential app for many – is completely ridiculous.  This should have been a 1 or 2 day fix at most.  Which leads me to two observations:

• Bank of America, if you want customers to actually use mobile banking you should keep your apps up-to-date and functional.
• Microsoft, if you are getting thousands of reports that an app isn’t working, it is time to step in.  Do you think Apple would have let something like this happen?  Seriously?  Really?

If you like bowling and shuffle board then you need to go hit up the Marketplace on your Windows Phone and get Shuffle Party.  The Xbox Live game is currently free and is well worth the price – did I mention it is free?

Click here to go to Marketplace

Shuffle Party brings you both bowling and shuffleboard as well as challenge games which allow you to earn Gamer Points on Xbox.  Having been playing it off-and-on most of this weekend I have to say I’m very impressed.  The touch action to slide the puck on the screen is super smooth and responsive.  On my LG Quantum I’ve seen no lag at all so I suspect other devices will have similar performance.

You can play in multiple different modes:  Bowling where you use the puck to knock down pins, Challenge mode where you slide the puck through various mazes to collect coins and points, traditional shuffle board and Pass Play shuffle board where you pass your Windows Phone between two players.  As you play these different modes you collect cash which can in turn be used to buy new pucks, pins and shuffle board tables in the game.

Give it a try and see what you think.  At the low, low price of FREE it is a tough deal to beat for some fun on your phone.

Click here to go to Marketplace

If there wasn’t enough pressure on Microsoft with Windows 8, RIM just gave them a reminder that they need to get their tablet strategy right on Day One.

This morning the Wall Street Journal reported that RIM is taking a $485 million charge for their lackluster tablet, the Playbook.  The charge comes by way of a markdown in the value of the massive inventor that RIM still has of the devices.  It is a brutal and costly reminder that if you kinda-sorta-maybe-woulda-shoulda your tablet strategy, the price can be steep.  Very steep.

Which turns my attention to Microsoft.  Redmond has made it clear that Windows 8 will be designed with tablets in mind.  It will have the Metro UI that us Windows Phone users have loved, will be touch input ready and looks to be the first real significant update to the flagship OS since, dare I say, Windows XP.  To this point Microsoft has been somewhat coy about what they ultimately will do with tablets – will they be x86?  Will they be ARM? Will they be both? – but it is clear that the company sees tablets as a part of their future.

The great team over at WPCentral have posted an update regarding the Dell Venue Pro getting the latest 7740 update.  The update has been available on most of the HTC line up as well as the Samsung Windows Phone and fixes issues related to Exchange 2003 sync issues and voicemail access.  If you remember, it was just yesterday that the Venue Pro saw the Mango update come to it – finally.

For you Venue Pro owners don’t get over excited if you are hoping the 7740 build gets your compass feature working.  It doesn’t and all indications are that it may be a long time if ever before this is addressed.

To get the update just connect your Venue Pro up to your PC via Zune and the update should be there ready to roll out to your phone.

If you have holiday parties to cook for and plan this year, let your Windows Phone help you out with some great apps that are available in the MarketPlace.  The Windows Phone Blog has outlined some of these apps in a blog post today that range from food planning and cooking to drinks and even entertainment.  It is a great and timely posting and really reflects some of the great apps that are in the Marketplace.

Along with the ones that the post mentions, there are plenty of other apps in the Marketplace to help you with your holiday party planning.  And don’t forget the great and powerful Bing maps that is built into Windows Phone to get you safely to and from those parties.

Check out the blog post at the Windows Phone Blog

The holiday specials continue from AT&T.  Now through Monday December 5th you can get free overnight shipping and all activation fees are waived for new customers and when existing customers add a line to their accounts.  Now you can get any of the new Windows Phones AT&T offers.

I did some checking on the AT&T site tonight and currently all of the Windows Phones with the exception of the HTC Titan are in stock and eligible for the offer.  For those who are not familiar with the lineup:

• Samsung Focus – $49.99
• Samsung Focus Flash – $49.99
• Samsung Focus S – $99.99
• HTC HD7S – $99.99
• HTC Titan (currently out of stock) – $199.99

There is no coupon code required, just click the here and you’ll get the promotion.