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Friday, 2 January 2015

New videos reveal just how fast the Lumia Camera update is with Denim (Hint: Very fast)

Lumia Denim

With the Lumia Denim update slowly making its way to Microsoft's Windows Phone 8.1 devices around the world, some users have noticed that the Lumia Camera apps are loading much faster under the Denim update versus smartphones running the older Cyan firmware.
Indeed, Microsoft has promised such speed increases for newer Lumias like the Lumia 930, Lumia Icon, and Lumia 1520 due to their chipsets.
The NokiaWindowsPhone.pl website has posted up two new videos that show just how quick the Lumia Camera apps load on startup on Denim. Both of the videos show a Lumia 1520 running on Denim. The first video shows it trying to load Lumia Camera against a Lumia 930 on Cyan while the second shows the 1520 up against the Lumia 1020, again on Cyan.

As you can see, both videos show that the 1520 with the Denim update loads the Lumia Camera app much quicker. The difference is closer between the 1520 and the 930 on Cyan, but it is much more noticeable when the 1520 goes up against the 1020 on Cyan.
These videos show that the Denim update will be very helpful for photo fans who want to launch their camera apps to get that perfect shot.

Microsoft Band possibly back in stock Saturday at Microsoft's retail stores

Microsoft Band possibly back in stock Saturday at Microsoft's retail stores

If you're still looking to get your hands on a Microsoft Band, you may be in luck this weekend — if you make the trek to a Microsoft Store, that is. According to a tip from one of our readers, Microsoft Stores could have more of the wearables available for sale as early as this Saturday, January 3rd.
The news comes via an alert sent out to staff at one of the stores, pictured below.
Microsoft Band Availability
However, do note that, if true, this only appears to apply to retail Microsoft stores. Those hoping to score one of the bands from the online store might still be out of luck until Microsoft further replenishes its stock.
Image & News courtesy Windows Central

Remember to Drink, a Windows Phone app to help you hydrate

Remember to Drink

Remember to Drink is a Windows Phone app designed to help you drink the right amount of water during the day. Staying hydrated is an important aspect of good health and this app will not only remind you to drink but will also track your water intake and adjust your intake needs based on your weight, gender, sports activity, outdoor temperature and more.
The interface is straightforward with Remember to Drink making it almost effortless to record what you drink and after using the app for the past few days, it comes across as a useful health and fitness app for your Windows Phone.
When you first launch Remember to Drink, you will need to set up a few parameters such as your gender, weight and units of measurement. While you can always access the app's settings later to adjust your weight (and change your gender if necessary), I was not able to find a way to change your units of measurement. I'm not sure if this is an oversight by the developer but make sure you choose the correct measurement system at launch.
Remember to Drink Main Pages
Remember to Drink has just a trio of main pages that will outline your current status, list your daily intake and view you overall drinking history. Two control buttons line the bottom of these main pages to access the app's settings and view the FAQ section. You also have a host of options up under the three-dot menu that include removing the ad support, rate the app, contact the developer and view the disclaimer and developer credits.
Remember to Drink Settings
Settings for Remember to Drink cover a wide range of topics, spread out across a handful of pages, which include:
  • Personal Parameters: Here is where you can set your weight, gender, set your fluids with food and view your recommended daily intake of water.
  • Notifications: Not only can you turn on/off notifications to remember to drink but also the time period you want to receive these notifications and the type (strong, soft and normal).
  • Quiet Hours: If you have activities during the day when you don't want to be bothered with drinking water, you can set quit hours where the app will not pester you. You can also establish a daily time for a nap.
  • General: Only one option here and that is to set your language preference. I'm guessing choice of measurement systems should have gone on this page.
Your primary interface with Remember to Drink will occur on the Current Status main page. Here you will find options to add water you've consumed, change the default volume, adjust intake based on the temperature and adjust the intake base on exercise.
You will also have a bar graph displaying your current daily intake along with a running total and a cartoon water drop to illustrate your daily intake. The more water you drink during the day will eventually turn the water drop's frown into a smile

The Today and History main pages are fairly self-explanatory with options to delete intake records from your Today page and the ability to change the date range graphed on the History page.

Overall Impression

Remember to Drink is a nice water intake management app. It goes beyond the basics by allowing you to adjust your intake needs based on exercise, outdoor temperature and on any fluids the food you eat may contain.
The only nit I really can find with Remember to Drink is that while you can change a container's volume, the amounts are pre-set without the ability to fully customize a container. I don't think it is a deal breaker but it would be nice to have the ability to have a 16 oz. water bottle.You also have a slight glitch with the ad-support not displaying banners and the option to remove the ads yields a blank page. Neither impact the performance of the app though.
All in all, Remember to Drink is a Windows Phone app worth trying if you need to monitor and manage your water intake.
QR: Remember to Drink

Image & News courtesy Windows Central

Subway Surfers travel to Las Vegas in the game's latest update

Subway Surfers Ls Vegas

The popular endless-running game Subway Surfers received an update today that sees the World Tour heading to the lights and sounds of Las Vegas. That also means some new contests, themes and unlockable content to try out.
Here's the changelog for version 1.33.0:
  • Follow the Subway Surfers World Tour to glamorous Las Vegas
  • Surf beneath the star covered sky and explore the flashy subway
  • Add Rex, the amazing performer, to your character crew
  • Spice up your Board collection with the fancy Roller board
  • Collect shiny Spades in the Weekly Hunts to unlock cool prizes

512MB RAM devices supported
QR: Subway Surfers

News & Image Courtesy Windows Central

Momento+ photo app for Windows Phone is now free for a limited time

Momento

The developer behind the well-reviewed Momento and Momento+ camera apps for Windows Phone devices has announced that the 99 cent Momento+ app will now be free to download for a limited time to celebrate the app's first anniversary. The app will remain free until the end of Sunday, January 4.
Momento+ has a number of features that are not included in the regular Momento app. Here's a brief breakdown:
Users may add different details that depict the situation of a particular moment. Momento+ also supports two new categories of moments: Weather and Magazine to complement the previous categories offed by Momento. Users will also find various filter effects, frames, and even stickers that they can add to their captured moments. Photos that have been edited can be saved to users' mobile phones or OneDrive, which later enables them to be sent through various social media networks. Currently, Momento already supports 11 languages including English, Indonesian, Turkish, Spanish, Portuguese, Brazil, Russian, French, Italian, German, and Mandarin.
QR: Momento+
Image & News Courtesy Windows Central