Windows Phone Summary of the Week: May 13-19, 2011

Phew, this week has been a relatively busy one has it not? We've got a massive list of articles you may have missed that are worth checking out to complete your weekend (or begin your week depending on time zone). We'll kick off by inserting a reminder of this week's interview with Lawrence Gripper.

Dropbox has been questioned by our George Ponder about just how secure is our data when hosted by them in the cloud, while the Windows Home Server WP7 connector has been released. Evernote has finally reached the Marketplace and is now readily available, although the reception has been fairly stale with the quality of the app when taking into account the horrendous wait.

Microsoft and a fan have both responded to more anti-WP7 retail bias, which appears to be a problem noticed by a majority of our readers. EIGHT, a desktop browser homepage styled with Metro in mind, has been given the "OH MY GAWD THIS IS OHSOME!" approval and transforms your boring web browser home pages into an array of customizable tiles.

Unfortunately, we've had to report on yet more spam finding its way into our clean Marketplace, we're all still praying Microsoft gets a grip. Verizon is offering an incredible prize in their Ultimate Game Sweepstakes, well worth a look by US residents. Speaking of providers (although not directly related), data use is on the rise for WP7 users.

Moving swiftly onto gaming, Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode I has arrived and is both incredible and expensive as ever - thank you SEGA. Our Paul Acevedo has looked into and published a detailed report covering broken Xbox Live achievements that don't seem to be possible to earn on the Windows Phone. A news Xbox Live game from E3, Hasta La Muerte, is seen to be demoed.

A yearly major release cycle for the Windows Phone platform has been indirectly confirmed by Microsoft in a recent job posting and we take a look at the comparisons between the recently announced iOS5 and Microsoft's upcoming Mango. Been waiting for IM+ since you got your WP7 device? It's here and we take a look at what's what.

On the hardware front, Samsung has been predicted to overtake Nokia as top smartphone manufacturer. We take a look at Verizon's HTC Trophy and provide our first impressions while Rogers takes $100 off their no-contract bound Focus device. Nokia have been boasting about their superior smartphone camera technology and implementation (rightly so!) and an LG Quantum survives being ran over by a vehicle. You want double the power? Well, you could with Windows Phone taking advantage of the dual-core Qualcomm chipset.

A spot of fun now and some off-topic related articles. Windows Phone was featured in Havana Brown's new music video and on Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution Hits Hollywood. Google seem to either be playing mind tricks on us or be using Metro tiles in their designs. If you're a Halo fan, fancy some Halo 4 wallpaper goodness?

Hectic week for developers too. We have the Essential User Interface Edition by Syncfusion being released, along with the WP7 advert rotator and Sketchflow template. Microsoft Gamefest program was announced and will be at London, Seattle and Tokyo. Windows Phone app advert impressions in May were up by a whopping 92% compared to April. Finally, Brandon Watson has said that only serious developers will have the opportunity in receiving a Mango device.

Get the low-down after the break.

Highlights