This has been a relatively busy week with some huge announcements being published - namely the purchase of Skype by Microsoft coupled by an analyst confirming the prediction of WP7 taking over Android by 2013. We've been following the Verizon Trophy with hawk eyes and have been relaying the teasing changes made at Best Buy's website and Xbox releasing the theme and gamer picture pack.
Gaming wise we've seen some issues with the Marketplace not updating quick enough for gamers to take advantage of the Harvest's sale and price drop of Monkey Ball. Oh, and Pac-Man is coming soon, or do you fancy Lunar Lander more?
More information has arisen surrounding Mango, specifically Bing and Windows Live Messenger and the rumor that Microsoft will bring video voice mail to the platform. Ah, aspiring Developers have also been in the spotlight for some love from an MVP and some hackathons/meetups being arranged.
Advertising wise with PPC/CTR, things have been looking up for publishers who take on in-app advertisements to gain some revenue with the click through rates for banners being above all other platforms. This still remains to be debated against charging for the app upfront, however. So a good week for our beloved OS, the only way is up, up and away.
Head on past the break for links to our highlights.
Highlights
- Microsoft close to buying Skype for $7 billion [Updated: It's Official]
- Analyst: WP7 to beat Android by 2013, not 2015
- Verizon Trophy for the 19th & now with free Xbox game? [Rumor]
- Facebook/AIM chat, Group Messaging and more coming to Windows Phone 7.5
Gaming
- Pac-Man Championship Edition DX is next week's Xbox Live game. Yes!!!
- The Harvest is now on sale, and Super Monkey Ball gets a price drop
Software
- Windows Live Messenger, Bing Image Search also on Windows Phone 7.5
- Birdsong v1.3 hits Marketplace, sports Live Tile & Notifications
- Microsoft's response to post-NoDo 16-bit banding issue
Hardware
- Sony Ericsson still has cold feet about Windows Phone 7
- Verizon Trophy available at Best Buy, dedicated theme at Xbox [Update]
Fun
- Microsoft to bring visual voicemail to WP7.5 [Rumor]
- Microsoft + Skype = OMG! [Humor]
- London Bikes hits the Marketplace
Developers
- Windows Phone User Group Cardiff meet-up on June 1st [Developers]
- Microsoft MVP offering advice for aspiring Windows Phone developers
- WP7 experiences higher CTR [Developers]
- Let's Jailbreak NoDo project begins
There's your round-up of this week's news! Be sure to stay up-to-date with our posts via Twitter, RSS and of course by checking the site regularly.
