Is This What Microsoft's Flagship Killer Will Look Like

Capacitive buttons are nowhere in sight, which means that the Microsoft Lumia 850, much like its predecessor, will treat users to onscreen navigation. 

Packed with new features like Cortana and Microsoft Edge, the new OS is an attempt from Microsoft to lure back consumers who gave up on Windows for mobile devices. It of course remains to be seen if their success with Surface can be replicated in the smartphone market, but it is clear that the same playbook is once again in action. 

Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ: MSFT) have their phones focused on business people. 

Microsoft has previously stated it will update Windows Phones without carrier involvement, then retracted the statement later. The idea is to make sure that vulnerabilities and exposures get patched ASAP, and that upgrades and enhancements to the OS can be pushed out incrementally, rather than waiting for Service Pack level updates (or even the next upcoming "Update Tuesday" on the current calendar). 

We were also told that the phone can create this kind of connection wirelessly via Miracast which is included in certain TV's or added with a dongle. It also offers some quite interesting new features. 

This functionality is totally unique to the 950 and its bigger brother the 950 XL and lets you transform the phone into a desktop computer in a couple of easy steps. He thinks Microsoft will be able to counter this in the future by releasing its next generation of smartphones. Going through the training process on your supported device helps Cortana respond to you better when you say the "Hey Cortana" phrase. 

Lumia 950XL sports a bigger 5.7-inch display and 3,340mAh battery. It may also be built with metal chassis, possibly it will just have the common mobile phone look - or, a combination of both. Microsoft is taking its Windows 10 Mobile Insider program to the hardware level and it's bringing along some participants for the ride. 

It was reported that everything will be completed in the middle of 2016. 

Like the Surface line, Microsoft's target is Apple's lucrative margins and products. 

However, there is very limited information about its specs, as they haven't finalized its features and haven't disclosed its price range yet either.

Windows 10 mobile update delayed to 2016

Windows 10 Mobile build 10586.36 was released earlier this week for members of the Insider program, but it turns out that no major bug has been found and it can run very smoothly on Microsoft's new flagship phones. 

It remains unclear which existing Windows Phones will get the upgrade and which will not although if you purchased in the a year ago you are likely to have an upgradeable phone. 

Microsoft has silently starting shipping the latest version of Windows 10 Mobile to Lumia 950 and 950 XL devices, regardless of whether they are enrolled in the Windows Insider program or not. The update then would not be for all older Lumia smart phones, but only a select number of models would be up for update. The company has officially confirmed that the Microsoft Lumia 550 that is already selling in Europe and the U.S. is now coming to India. 

As announced, only the Lumia 950 and Lumia 950XL have Windows 10 Mobile for the Lumia line. $142). The Windows 10 phone will be available in Matte Black and Glassy White variants. 

The Lumia 550 does not support the Continuum feature that we've seen in the two top-end Lumia phones.

How to get Star Wars BB-8 ringtones onto your Windows 10 Mobile device

If you are a true Star Wars nerd like me, you can celebrate the theatrical release of Star Wars: The Force Awakens with these cool new BB-8 sounds that were just made available. BB-8, for those that didn’t know, is a new robot character in the saga. 

Here’s how you can get BB-8 ringtones onto your Windows 10 Mobile device, like the recently released Lumia 950 or Lumia 950 XL. First, head over here and download the ringtones. The ringtones are in .m4r format and will be converted once you transfer them over to your Windows 10 Mobile device. 

Plug in your Lumia device (in this example, we used the Lumia 950). Copy the ringtones into the ringtone folder via File Explorer (Open the phone in File Explorer, double click on Ringtones). Windows will ask you to convert the files before copying, select yes for each ringtone. 

Now that you have copied over the ringtones, head over to Settings on your phone. Tap on Personalization and then tap on Sounds. Under the Ringtone drop-down, select one of your new BB-8 sounds. 

You can also set one of these cool sounds as your default Messaging tone, simply scroll down until you see an option to “Manage App Sounds.” Tap on that and scroll down until you see the Messaging icon. Tap on that and you will be given the option to change your default sound for messaging notifications.

Windows 10 Mobile Update for old Microsoft Lumias delayed until 2016

The company has been on top of their game when it comes to most of their divisions, and have been performing quite well in the markets. However, that too, does not look quite apparent at the moment. "We continue to use the feedback we get from Windows Insiders to improve the upgrade experience and this update has some improvements to that experience", he said as he encouraged users to constantly check the Insider Hub for updates where they will start posting new announcements. Microsoft, which was expected to bring a new update for them in this month, has let down the users once again. 

Microsoft was planning to roll out the Windows 10 mobile upgrades to the Windows Phone 8.1 devices in December, but the users will need to wait until early 2016 to upgrade to the latest OS version. It has also not given out any list of the possible Lumia models that will upgrade to Windows 10 Mobile. 

The company has confirmed that the Lumia 550, unlike its high-end devices such as the Lumia 950 Dual SIM and Lumia 950 XL Dual SIM, will not support Windows 10 Continuum feature, which makes smartphones behave like computers with a desktop-style interface. Microsoft said in a statement. As you know, Windows 10 mobile came installed on the Lumia 950 and 950 XL devices that have been released in November and Microsoft has promised that soon enough, the rest of Windows Phone 8.1 devices will receive the upgrades. 

The unlocked Lumia 950 was briefly available for purchase at Microsoft Store US, but it now shows as out of stock and there's no telling when the next units will arrive.

Windows 10 Mobile news: Release of upgrade for users of older Windows phones delayed to early 2016

Patience would have to a be a virtue for owners of smartphones that use Windows Phone 8 or 8.1 as the release of Windows 10 for mobile has been delayed to early next year. 

According to a Windows Central report, the information came from an insider from Microsoft. 

"This November we introduced Windows 10 to phones including brand new features such as Continuum and Universal Windows Apps with the introduction of the Lumia 950 and 950 XL. The Windows 10 Mobile upgrade will begin rolling out early next year to select existing Windows 8 and 8.1 phones," the site quoted its source. 

This comes as a disappointment for owners of older smartphones who were expecting the upgrade to be available this month. 

Meanwhile, Microsoft Corporate Vice President for the Engineering Systems Team Gabe Aul posted on the official Windows blog that the company is releasing the Cumulative Update for Windows 10 Mobile Insider Preview Build 10586 through the Windows Insiders Fast and Slow ring. 

According to Aul, the update seeks to address issues reported to them by their users through Windows Insiders. He also said that the team also took into account the experiences of users of Windows 10 phones like Lumia 950 and Lumia 950 XL. 

The build, he said will be called 10586.36. 

"Windows Insiders have provided great feedback on the upgrade experience from Windows Phone 8.1. We continue to use the feedback we get from Windows Insiders to improve the upgrade experience and this update has some improvements to that experience," he said as he encouraged users to constantly check the Insider Hub for updates where they will start posting new announcements.

Hands-on with the Xiaomi Mi 4 running Windows 10 Mobile (video)

After some months of work the Windows 10 Mobile ROM for the Xiaomi Mi 4 is now available to download. WindowsPhoneApps.es managed to get a hands-on with the handset after the ROM was installed, and as can be seen in the video above the handset appears to be blazingly fast. 
The handset has a Snapdragon 801 processor, 3 GB RAM, a 13 megapixel camera and a 5 inch 1080P screen. 
WPA notes that the device does run somewhat hot, and that the ROM lacked features such as slow motion and apps like Extras and Infos, but that it seemed to make pretty good use of the Microsoft software, much like a native device. 
Do our readers see a future for Windows 10 Mobile running on Android hardware? I would certainly buy a Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge if I could install Windows 10 on it. What do our readers think?