Category: Reviews

Whether you know it or not, as you read this you are viewing it on a WordPress powered blog.  I moved ClintonFitch.com to WordPress a few years ago as it brought me the power to add social media integration, easier management and much faster posting times.  I can actually thank Judie Stanford over at Gear Diary for first turning me on to WordPress.

As one who is constantly on the go, the ability to quickly edit posts here on the site is important as well as being able to monitor comments that come in as well.  Fortunately the official WordPress app for Windows Phone allows me to do that and more.  It is an amazingly powerful app, allowing me to edit posts and pages, monitor and approve comments and even view site stats.  Plus the app supports Mango so I can pin each of my blogs as a Live Tile on my Start screen.  It is by far more powerful than the iPhone version of the WordPress app and more stable.  If you have your own blog or are thinking about starting one, WordPress and the WordPress app for Windows Phone are the way to go.

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.

When Windows Phone 7 was release last year, along with the new Operating System and Phones came Marketplace, the on-device and now web based place for you to buy applications for your device.  At the time, the pickings in Marketplace were a bit thin but that has quickly changed.  Now there are over 35,000 apps in Marketplace and Windows Phone is quickly gaining the attention of developers worldwide.

One of the best apps, especially for those who are new to Windows Phone, is Insider, an app from Microsoft.  Insider brings a wealth of information to users as well as new and fresh content each month.  Late in October 2011 the app was updated to support Windows Phone 7.5 (Mango) with better task-switching functionality and general stability improvements.  Insider provides users with five primary areas of information and content:  Tips, Apps, Games, Ringtones and Wallpapers.

Insider App Main Menu

To navigate to a section of the app, slide left or right in the app or tap the name of the section you want to visit.  Each of these are updated nearly on a daily basis with the notable exception being Ringtones which is updated about every month.  The best part about Insider is that it along with its content are free.

Earlier this morning I posted a link the review of the Samsung Focus S that Paul Thurrott did over on his site, Supersite for Windows.  Keeping the Windows Phone and Samsung theme going, here is a link to the review that WPCentral did of the entry level offering from Samsung and AT&T, the Focus Flash.