If you're old enough to remember the iconic Nokia phones of the late 1990s then you will probably remember the classic came Snake game above all other features that the phones possessed. That's probably fair, because if you are anything like us you probably spent more time playing Snake on your phone than making or receiving calls. We loved Snake.
Microsoft has just released Halo: Spartan Strike for Windows 8.1, Windows Phone and iOS, and for the first time ever, a Halo spinoff has been brought to Apple's mobile platform.
The latest installment of Call of Duty is almost upon us once more, and in anticipation of that all-important release, the supplementary companion apps have been released for iOS, Android and Windows Phone. Details, as well as download links, can be found after the leap.
With Apple touting HealthKit and Google also joining the fold with Google Fit, it was inevitable that Microsoft would join the fold at some point, and having taken the wraps off its fitness-related Microsoft Band wearable, the accompanying health and fitness platform - aptly named Microsoft Health - was also launched alongside the wrist worn gadget. Designed for the Microsoft Band, there's an app for iOS, Android and Windows Phone right off the bat, and as ever, we've all of the details under one roof.
When it comes to apps - even the big ones - it's fair to say that Microsoft's Windows Phone platform often gets left behind. It took an age for Instagram, for instance, to make its way over to the WP Store, and even when apps do finally manifest themselves, updates can be few and far between. Spotify is another prime example, and although an official app has been around for a while now, the ability to shuffle songs for free with ads has not. Now, though WP users can listen for free thanks to a new update, and if you don't mind the occasional advertisement, it's a great way to enjoy free music.
Microsoft's Windows Phone platform gets a pretty raw deal when it comes to apps, with developers favoring iOS and Android for the most part. The fact that Instagram only recently made its way to the Windows Phone Store is a testament to this, and with the BlackBerry Messenger app having dropped some time ago for Google and Apple's mobile ecosystems, it has finally manifested itself for Windows Phone. As usual, we've got all of the details right here.
Microsoft's Windows Phone is still playing catch-up with the competition, but it does have some benefits that even iOS and Android can't quite manage to put together. Windows Phone's Joe Belfiore has tweeted about one new feature that is on its way to Windows Phone and that can now be added to any Windows Phone 8.1 smartphone via a downloadable app.
Gaming doesn't get more mobile than the folks at Gameloft. The company has been making mobile games for what seems like forever, and with the arrival of high-end smartphones and tablets, it has become the go-to place for highly realistic, highly fun games.
Moving files around on smartphones is the kind of thing we've been arguing over for years. There are two schools of thought; one group of people think that seeing as our smartphones are basically little computers, we should treat them as such. That means file systems, directory structures and a file manager just like our computers. The other group of people thinks that we should take the opportunity to dump all that nonsense, hiding the whole thing.
Even though the tiled nature of Windows Phone serves as a quirk, it's also a hindrance to those who like their traditional wallpapers. Recognizing this, Microsoft has come through with a compromise in Windows Phone 8.1, allowing wallpapers to be spread across tiles in a neat, mosaic fashion. But there is still a conflict of interests between tiles and wallpapers thanks to fixed-color tiles, and with everything appearing a little too busy and cluttered, one developer has decided to create an app that renders these stubborn tiles completely transparent.