WP8 Internet Explorer Lag

If you've been an early adopter of the WP8 platform, chances are you've been using it daily without too much trouble. There are different types of smartphone users but if you're like me and love to browse the internet a lot, you might have noticed a slight lag when a page loads. Previously I've tried clearing the cache and it didn't seem to help much so I continued to use the phone dealing with the slight lag that occurs when initially loading a page.

It's been a few months since then and I tried clearing the cache again and now Internet Explorer loads up nice and quick just like when I first acquired the phone. So this is just a quick PSA to try clearing your cache a few times if you experience any lag while browsing. It's pretty obvious but since it didn't work the first time around for me I didn't think much about it.

Lumia 920 LCD Vertical Line

So, after about 7 months of owning the Lumia 920 (pre-ordered to get it on launch day), the LCD suddenly developed a vertical cyan line on the left side of the LCD screen while I was browsing the internet. I was actually a bit surprised as I feel that Nokia makes quality products but searching online I've found lots of other users who have a similar problem.

WP8 Waze Beta Preview

On June 18th, the Waze Beta app for Windows Phone was finally released to select beta testers. Although Google's recent acquisition of Waze has brought on thoughts of concern for the app's future on the Windows Phone platform, the beta release shows a good start to the app's eventual release.

WP App Review : Tiny Space

Tiny Space (Version 1.0)
Redware
Free

Tiny Space is a simple strategic game where you must destroy  the bases of two opposing teams by controlling a regenerating squadron of tiny airships. As the name implies, the battlefield is small, consisting of your phone's screen. This makes for a faster paced game play and it doesn't take long to start getting into the game.

WP App Review : Tunes

NOTE: This review has been updated at the bottom.

Tunes (Version 1.1)
stain-sr
$1.29

Nowadays, the smartphone has become an integral part of the driving experience as different apps can be used for traffic, GPS, music, and more. One of the most common uses is music and having a solid gesture-based music app is something I rely on daily. There are currently only a handful of these apps and I've previously used CarTunes and Gesture Music Player. Both worked well with only a few faults but I eventually defaulted back to the OEM player or various reasons. With the new Tunes music app, there's a slick new gesture-based music player that I can happily use.

WP App Review : Monster Burner

Monster Burner (Version 1.0)
Ubisoft
$0.99

Monster Burner is a fun, arcade style, castle defense game in which you must "throw" fireballs at the incoming monsters before they reach the bottom of your screen. The game play is smooth, the graphics are clean, and the fun factor is addicting.

WP App Review : Instance

Instance (Version 1.1.5)
Daniel Gary
Free / $1.49

Instanceis a recently released third-party Instagram app which features uploading as well as viewing photos, commenting, and liking. As of this review, it's more fully featured than the other third-party Instagram app, Instagraph, although an update is upcoming for the latter.

WP App Review : Fotor

Fotor

Chengdu Everimaging Science and Technology Co Ltd

Free

As a photo enthusiast, several photo apps are loaded on my phone such as Camera 360, Creative Studio, Lazy Lens, Photo Shader, and more. But as of late, I gravitate to using Fotor the most for it's solid UI, performance, and editing tools. If I had to choose just one app to keep right now, it would definitely be Fotor.

WP App Review : Puzzle Craft

Puzzle Craft

SYZYGY Deutschland GmbH

Free

If you're a fan of role-playing/simulation and puzzles, you'll want to check out Puzzle Craft which is a game that incorporates a bit of all these genres. The game has you build a settlement and advance it by constructing buildings, hiring workers, mining, farming, and more. Straying from other similar types of games, Puzzle Craft has you complete mini-puzzles to obtain the necessary ingredients/materials which makes the overall game play fun and addicting.

WP App Review : Indigo

Indigo (Version 1.0.21)
ARTIFICIAL SOLUTIONS IBERIA SL
Free

Indigo is a voice-enabled personal assistant app, much like Siri on the iPhone. You can update social networks, play music and videos, get directions, set alarms, and more, all by voice - in theory. Although available in the marketplace, it's still in beta form and minor glitches may affect it's performance, although I didn't encounter any during my short trial of the app. Indigo shows a lot of potential but unfortunately fails to deliver.

WP App Review : tumblr.

tumblr. (Version 1.0)
Tumblr
Free

Tumblr, the popular blogging platform, has officially arrived on WP8, adding yet another mainstream app to the marketplace and further proving that the Windows Phone platform is gaining more popularity and that developers are starting to take the platform more seriously. For those not familiar with Tumblr, it is as mentioned, a blogging platform which has gained it's popularity as a photo-blogging site where users share random photos. Searching tags will yield several image results as well as any other related material posted on Tumblr blogs.

Coming Soon : Waze

Slowly but surely, Windows Phone seems to be gaining marketshare, which in turn relates to more of the popular apps hitting the WP8 ecosystem. Waze is an extremely popular navigation app and one I used extensively back on iOS. I was a bit disappointed by the lack of support the developers seemed to show for the Windows platform and have been using Nokia's Here as a replacement. But the social and interactive features of Waze is what makes it such a great app, especially in metropolitan areas like San Francisco where a lot of users update in real time. The live traffic updates and quick performance made it a must-use while driving in the city.

Now, it seems that the Israeli-based company is ready to launch Waze on WP8 as early as June. Whether you're a fan or not, this is another good step for the WP platform as more and more popular apps hit the marketplace.

Source : WPCentral

WP App Review : Camera360

Camera 360 (Version 0.9)
成都品果科技有限公司
Free

Camera 360 is a nice and simple photo app which gives you the ability to view real-time photos effects on-screen. These effects are your usual photo filters found in various other photo apps, just with slight variations and various "names" for the filters. However, the user interface is one selling point in using this app as it provides a very intuitive and clean layout.

WP App Review : Instagraph

Instagraph (Version 1.0)
Venetasoft
$2.49

After a long wait, there's finally a Windows Phone app which lets you upload photos to Instagram. The initial release was plagued by two main problems. First, uploading a photo would send it into a queue, causing it not to be so "insta" in terms of sharing your photo. It would take anywhere from 5 minutes to up to 30 minutes for the photo to show up on your photostream. Second, the photo that actually appears on your photostream would sometimes not be yours. Venetasoft quickly pulled the app and shut down the servers to work on a fix and have recently updated it.

Nokia "1314" Firmware Update

Nokia has pushed out another firmware update (1314) today for AT&T users, just over a week after it's "1308" firmware update was rolled out. Many users were complaining of connectivity issues and the change log Nokia has provided seems to address this issue. The official firmware release is 1232.5962.1314.0001.

WP App Review : LazyLens

LazyLens (Version 1.9)

Capsule Digital

Free

There's no question that there are a handful of these photo filter apps available and LazyLens can be added to that growing list. It provides you the option of applying several different filters to your photograph in a simple and effective user interface and if you're a fan of this style, LazyLens is certainly one of the better ones out there.

WP App Preview : Instagraph

The long-awaited third-party Instagram application, Instagraph, finally hit the marketplace, but in less than a day has already failed miserably. Linking your pre-existing Instagram account was easy enough (sorry, no new account creation for now) and I would've loved to test out the app more thoroughly, but  the developers turned off the upload and have temporarily removed the app from the marketplace.

Lumia 920 Firmware Update for AT&T

AT&T rolled out the newest firmware update for Nokia Lumia 920 users (firmware 1308) on March 26th, 2013. Included in this firmware are a bunch of fixes including but not limited to "proximity sensor parameters, improved automatic display brightness adjustment, and performance improvements." Camera performance is also said to be improved and as seen in the image above, a storage tool is now included.

WP App Review : SophieLens for Nokia

SophieLens for Nokia (Version 1.0.0.3)

Nokia Corporation

Free

SophieLens for Nokia is a photo app which adds the current fad of "photo filters" to your snapshots. SophieLens is available in a PRO version for $0.99 but Nokia provides it's users with a free version. The default "Standard" filter pack includes Cinematic, Flare, Mayfair, Roid, and XPro filters. But Nokia offers an additional "Lomo" filter pack for it's users for free.

WP App Review : #2InstaWithLove

#2InstaWithLove (Version 2.0)

Nokia Corporation

Free

A majority of current WP8 users as well as those contemplating on switching to a WP8 device usually want one major app in the Windows Phone ecoysystem - Instagram. Instagram is obviously a popular service and the lack of it's availability on WP8 deters new users. Sure, there are those who couldn't care less. They don't use the service and often argue that there are several alternatives in adding these "hipster" photo filters. But the reality is that it's not the mainstream photo filters that makes Instagram what it is, but the social aspect of connecting with your friends just like Facebook. If your friends aren't using whatever alternative you decide to use, then it would be pointless.