Category: Reviews

Over the course of the last week I’ve had a chance to use and put through its paces the Lumia 635, the budget friendly entry Windows Phone from Nokia.  I have to admit that when I first got it, I wasn’t sure what to expect given the low price point of £119.99 but as I indicated in my first impressions, I have nothing but good things to say about this Windows Phone.  It snappy and the display is excellent and if there is only one knock on it it would be the low end 5MP camera.  But it isn’t terrible – I’ve seen far worse.  If you are looking for a solid phone at a great price, look no further than the Lumia 635.

If you know me or have followed me here or on AlliOSNews for any amount of time you know that I’m a big fan of Fitbit.  The wearable tracker helps me keep track of my activities for the day as well an integrating into MyFitnessPal, my diet tracking app.  Back in 2009 I started a weight loss program that would see me go from 290 lbs to my current weight (as of this morning) of 191.3 lbs.  Yes there was a lot of hard work involved by Fitbit helped me without a doubt.

One of the really exciting parts aspects of Windows Phone 8.1 is Bluetooth LE which allows things, like a Fitbit, to connect to your Windows Phone and sync automatically on-the-fly.  So it only makes sense that there would now be a full fledged Fitbit for Windows Phone 8.1 app available now that takes full advantage of this update.  If you have been a Fitbit user on Android or iOS, you will feel right at home with the app on Windows Phone.  It is identical in every way and even gives you up-to-the-minute updates thanks to the Live Tile for the app.

I have enjoyed getting back into the Windows Phone community and part of that enjoyment has come from listening to readers and colleagues in the community on all the devices that are out there today.  If there is a phone size with particular features or budget point, chances are there is a Windows Phone for you to fit the need.  I’ve been fortunate this week to not have just one but two Nokia Lumia phones in house to review.  The first is the Lumia 1320, the budget minded Phablet.  Make not mistake:  The 1320, like it’s big brother the 1520, is huge.  But it is also very feature rich, taking full advantage of that massive 6″ display and the battery life is unbelievable.

Having spent a few days with the Lumia 1320 I’ve got a good first impression of the device and while a full review will be coming next week, I wanted to give readers a preview and my overall impressions after a few days.

As the holiday season kicks into full swing, the chances of you needing recipes for anything from cookies to making a killer smoked turkey have likely increased.  One of the best apps out there for this is Epicurious Recipes & Shopping List for Windows Phone.  The app, brought to you by Epicurious.com, gives you not only holiday related recipes but great meal, desert and cocktail ideas throughout the year.  If you are not familiar with the website, Epicurious brings you recipes and cooking ideas from fellow “foodies”.  It is a great site and is essentially driven by users and their feedback.  If you haven’t check it out you need to do so as this app is simply an extension of the site.

To use the Epicurious app you will need to make sure you have about 6MB of storage space available on your Windows Phone.  You do not necessarily have to be running Windows Phone 7.5 (Mango) to use this app.  To use the app you will also need data access via 3G or WiFi as this app is essentially a wrapper for the Epicurious website.  The app itself is free and in the Marketplace.  Once you start the app you will first be brought to the recipes type page.  Here you will see a listing of the various categories of recipes that are in the app.  Since I’m doing this review in December you will see a lot of recipes that are holiday – both Christmas and Hanukkah – related but as you scroll down this list you will see non-holiday meal types from sides to entrees.  It is a complete app in this since and given that it is continually being updated on the web, you can expect the content to change as we pass through the seasons.

If you are looking at navigation apps for your Windows Phone, go over to Smartphonegurus for a great summary review of two of the leading apps.  The review covers Navigon and the new Nokia Drive (new to Windows Phone at least) and has a huge number of screen shots to give you a good idea of how each of the apps look and feel.

An important aspect of this review is that it covers the installation and performance from a task switching perspective.  It also covers how these apps perform in real world use.  As you will see, both have some strengths and weaknesses.

Check out the full review at Smartphonegurus

The Pocketnow.com team is the latest to weigh in with a review of the Samsung Focus S.  The extensive review covers all aspects of the latest Windows Phone offering from Samsung and includes a huge number of device shots, a couple of videos and some good photo comparison shots from the Focus S and other Windows Phones.

The 4.3-inch screen is absolutely gorgeous, the speed increase is extremely welcome in the processor intensive games, and the camera works very nicely. The excellent battery life is sure to make your Android and iPhone friends jealous as well.

Check out the full review over at Pocketnow.com