Author: Clinton

Twitter has just updated their app for Windows Phone which now makes it compatible with Mango’s task switching (multitasking) functionality.  Unfortunately… that’s about it.  There is still no Live Tile support or Push update support which is a bit of a letdown honestly.  Still, the new version seems a good bit faster than the previous build but beyond that, not much has changed.

You can update Twitter on your Windows Phone by going to Marketplace on your device or by clicking this link.

Over the course of the last two years I have on a non-stop path to health.  I’ve lost nearly 70 lbs through watching my diet, regular exercise and just generally taking better care of myself.  Part of that exercise plan has been walking.  I try to walk at least 10 miles per week along with other with other types of exercise (Dance Central on XBox anyone?).

The app I have been using to help me keep track of my walking has been RunKeeper.  I started using it when I was using an iPhone as my daily phone and now that I’ve moved back to Windows Phone, it was one of the first apps that I downloaded from Marketplace.  The app, which ties into the RunKeeper website, uses my phone’s GPS to track my walking while I’m on the go then stores the information on the RunKeeper site so I have a historical record of my walks and overall progress.  Frankly I loved this app on my iPhone and after using the app on my Windows Phone, I have to say that I like it even better.

The app, like the RunKeeper service itself, is free and provides you real time information as you walk, run, bike, hike, ski, skate, mountain bike or allows you to enter information as you work on an elliptical amongst other activities.  It is both accurate in the calorie count and distances measured, something that is a must have in this type of app.  Add that to an impressive Live Tile function and you have a winning app that will help you track your exercise and keep you motivated.

So the headline probably says it all.  There is a huge sale going on at the Microsoft Store.  There are a wide range of PCs available at up to $700 off in some cases.  All of the PCs come to you via free shipping and all are Microsoft Certified meaning they don’t come loaded down with a bunch of trialware.  Yep, good enough for me.

How good are the discounts?  The Lenovo G560 and G570 laptops are only $299.  Yes. Big. Savings.

To get the promotions you must use the link below.

PC Clearance is now live at the Microsoft Store! Deep discounts on top PCs! Act Fast!

[Update] – Microsoft has informed me that the quantity of laptops for sale has been reached so the offers are no longer valid.  If you didn’t get in on this one, don’t worry.  With Black Friday coming next week I’m confident there will be more sales.

Earlier this week I posted a link to Paul Thurrott’s review of the Samsung Focus S on his site, SuperSite for Windows.  Now he has reviewed the new and lesser expensive new Windows Phone from Samsung, the Focus Flash.  The Focus Flash is smaller and slightly less powerful than the Focus S but it has a fantastic price point at just $49.95 with a new 2-year contract.

I won’t steal any of his thunder but Paul points out that this Windows Phone isn’t for everyone, especially those who need a little more storage or a little more screen real estate.  But if price is a major consideration, you have to take a hard look at the Focus Flash.

Read Paul’s full review

It has been about a week since the development team at ChevronWP7 stopped selling their unlocking tokens due to a bug that they discovered in their latest update.  As of this morning however things appear to be back to normal.

ChevronWP7 is a service that allows you to Developer Unlock (or as it is known in the Android world, “root”) your Windows Phone 7 device.  Why would you want to do this?  It allows you to “side load” applications outside of Marketplace to bring functionality or features to your phone which are not approved by Microsoft.  This is also a great tool for developers to try out their apps on a phone before submitting it to Microsoft for approval.

To Developer Unlock your Windows Phone, you will need a token from ChevronWP7 which is $9 per phone.  You will also need to sign up with your Windows Live account that you use on your Windows Phone and will need a PC to download and run the application required to actually unlock the device.

Is ChevronWP7 for everyone?  No, of course not.  If you are not comfortable with this process then stay away.  It is very much for advanced users.

Check out more information on the ChevronWP7 site.

For those of you on AT&T Wireless, the Dallas-based carrier has released a major and much needed update to their myWireless app for Windows Phone.  I say it was much needed because frankly, the first release was so buggy and provided such little information when it did run that the app was useless.  That is not the case any longer.

The new 2.0 version brings significant stability to the app along with providing more granular information about your billing, minutes and data usage.  Plus you can pay your bill and review the features that you have set on your AT&T account.