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.

Windows 10 for phone and actionable-notifications in the new Alarms app

For some time now there have been reports that so-called 'actionable notifications' were headed for Windows and Windows Phone. That feature is finally here with Windows 10.

Actionable notifications are Toast alerts that a user can interact with instead of just dismissing. For instance, we already know that Skype and Messaging are merging in Windows 10 as an updatable app. When a message comes in from a user, you can respond inline to that message without having to launch the app. That app is not yet present in Windows 10 Technical Preview 2 for phones, but the new Alarms app is and we'll show you how it works.

Everything you wanted to know about Operator Billing in India

It was the end of 2014 when we reported that Idea Cellular subscribers in India can now buy app and games from the Windows Phone Store via operator billing (or carrier billing). Idea Cellular is India's 3rd largest mobile operator, with over 150 million subscribers.

Microsoft slams Siri again in two new Cortana-themed Valentine's Day videos

After taking a few months off, Microsoft is going after Apple's Siri digital assistant once again with two new videos posted on its Lumia YouTube channel. Both of them have a Valentine's Day theme and show people who have "broken up" with Siri in favor of their new love, Microsoft's Cortana.

One clip shows a man and other focuses on a woman, but both have the same story thread. They are unhappy with Siri's features but prefer Cortana's way of reminding them of events, keeping track of their schedules and even like Cortana's way of entertaining them with songs and jokes.

The new videos also promote the Lumia 635, which can not only be bought for less than $50 at the moment, but can also run the current Windows 10 phone preview.

Windows Central

The impressive Calculator in Windows 10 for phones will convert all the things

One of the less glamorous, yet still essential, new apps in the Windows 10 Preview for phones is the Calculator. It's one of those apps we just assume will be there when we need it, but with Windows 10 it's becoming immensely more useful. Gone is the simplistic Calculator of old from Windows Phone 8.1, and in comes a new, feature packed version with scientific calculators and conversions galore.