MixRadio to suspend in-app music purchases in March

In an email sent out to users today, the team behind the popular Lumia-only music streaming app MixRadio said that it will be dropping support for purchasing music through the app in March.

From the MixRadio team:

"From March 2015 we'll be suspending all operator billing and credit/debit card payments.

This means you won't be able to purchase any new tracks or albums from our music store. Not to worry though, you'll still be able to listen to all your purchased music and you can enjoy 100's of mixes available for free with MixRadio."

A reason for the change wasn't given, but it likely has something to do with Line's acquisition of the service from Microsoft in December. However, it sounds as though purchasing options may return to the app in the near future, as the team mentions that it paid downloads are being suspended in preparation for new features set to roll out in an update later this year.

Are you a MixRadio user who has purchased a lot of songs through the service? Let us know what you think of the change in the comments below.

Image & News Courtesy Windows Central

There are reportedly 60,000 users of the Windows 10 phone preview

Microsoft's Windows Insider program has been pretty successful thus far, but according to a new report only a small percentage of those signed up are currently using the Windows 10 preview for phones. According to Neowin, these figures come with another significant bump in the total number of Insiders.

"According to an internal source who has had a good track record in the past, there are roughly 60,000 devices currently testing Windows 10 for phones. That figure includes Microsoft employees too, which means that the testing base, as of right now for the OS, is quite small."

That's 60,000 out of a now reported 2.8 million total signed up to the Windows Insider program. It's not overly surprising, given the initial list of supported devices. With the Lumia 830 being the 'highest end' phone to be included on the current build, the platform enthusiasts carrying 'flagship' class devices from the past and present are left out right now.

We'd expect to see that number increase pretty sharply once the number of supported phones opens up. And with Windows 10 on the agenda for this weeks upcoming Mobile World Congress, who knows what we might soon see.

Image & News Courtesy Windows Central

DirectX 12 for Windows 10 could allow GPUs from NVIDIA and AMD to work in one PC

A new rumor about DirectX 12, the upcoming graphics API from Microsoft that will be include with the launch of Windows 10, suggests that it will allow graphics cards from both NVIDIA and AMD to be used in one PC gaming rig.

The budget friendly Lumia 435, 530 and Lumia 535 can now use 6tag for Instagram

If you have managed to pick up one of those new ultra-cheap Lumias, you will be glad to know that you can now use the third-party Instagram client 6tag on those phones.

Huyn has pushed our version 4.0.2.0 of the popular Instagram app to all users, but only those with some new entry-level Lumia will be interested.

6tag 4.0.2.0

• Support Lumia 435/530/532/535

Most of those phones have only been released in the last few weeks and represent the new wave of affordable Lumias. It is not clear exactly why compatibility needed to be added for those specific devices, but presumably something is different. Huyn did recently ask other developers about Silverlight video-support values on the Lumia 535, indicating a connection.Regardless, you can now download the app and use it on your budget Lumia.

Download 6tag for Windows Phones (Free)

Image & News courtesy Windows Central

Unannounced Microsoft Lumia 640 Dual SIM with Digtal TV is headed to Brazil

Earlier today, evidence came forward for an unreleased RM-1109 Lumia phone destined for Brazil. Unfortunately, no other information about the device was found except something related to battery size. Speculation suggested it could be the rumored 'Lumia 1330'.

Now, the same site that trekked through Anatel's documents have churned up another record connecting RM-1109 to the unannounced Lumia 640. Janela Tech is reporting that this device is dual SIM and sports integrated digital television (DTV), something that is increasingly popular in that region.

It is currently unknown if the Lumia 640 is an exclusive to Brazil, which seems likely, or another mass-market lower-midrange Lumia. More information about the phone is under embargo at Brazil's regulatory agency, Anatel, until after Mobile World Congress in March. The timing suggests we will hear more about this device during Microsoft's conference. Alternatively, it may only receive a local announcement, due to the smaller market involved.

Regardless, if the thought of a smaller battery for your Lumia 1320 replacement made you upset, you can rest a little more comfortably tonight.

Microsoft will be at Mobile World Congress March 2 through the 5th and Windows Central will be there to cover their announcement.

Image & News Courtesy Windows Central

Leak reveals new location-sharing app from Microsoft called 'People Sense'

It appears that Microsoft is working on a new app that will allow users to chat and share their location with friends and family. Called People Sense, the app was detailed by Spanish site Microsoft Place, which managed to get a short hands-on with it, seen in the video above.

Microsoft Place notes that People Sense, currently codenamed Buddy Aware, will allow you to specify a group of people with which to share your location, and will even offer integration with third-party applications for communication and navigation purposes.

The leaked build is dated February 17, which points to something that is under active development. Given the timing of this leak, along with the included features of the app itself, it will be interesting to see if this turns into a replacement for Rooms, which Microsoft recently announced it was dropping support for. In any event, you can find more from Microsoft Place at the source link below.

Image & News Courtesy Windows Central

Source: Microsoft Place

Evidence points to a Lumia 635 with 1GB of RAM heading to some carriers

The Lumia 635 is nearly a perfect budget phone. It has an excellent display with ClearBlack, a modern design with replaceable covers, and it even handles Windows 10 with ease. However, it does have a few faults, including the lack of a front-facing camera and 1GB of RAM. Indeed, the 512 MB currently found on the Lumia 635 seems antiquated and too little for modern phones.

An early report cited a Lumia 635 with 1GB of RAM on Telenor's website in Hungary. However, it does not take long to find carriers mislabeling devices – even with the wrong OS – to cast some skepticism on the hardware change. However, corroborating evidence has now been found to suggest that indeed, Microsoft is set to fix the Lumia 635 that was previously released under Nokia.

The site WindowsPhoneApps.es has found numerous references to a Lumia 635 with 1GB of RAM on Microsoft's servers that house various ROMs.

Lumia 635 software referencing 1GB versions was found for Movistar in Spain, one for Vodafone in Spain, and one for the Spanish country-variant, suggesting that the Telenor listing in Hungary was not in error.

Previously, Nokia would release a new phone with a new Lumia model number if it had more RAM, much like the Lumia 525. However, Microsoft has increasingly stepped away from releasing devices with 512 MB of RAM due to customer backlash. The drawback with less RAM is the inability to run some big-ticket games, and presumably the forthcoming Windows 10 OS works better with more RAM as well.

Microsoft so far has been quiet about the hardware refresh, although we are reaching out to them for comment. It is not clear how widespread the hardware refresh will go, if accurate, though it is something we will be following closely.