Just two days separate us from the next release in Gameloft’s Asphalt series of games. It’s going to be called Asphalt Overdrive (and not Asphalt 9, as you may have expected), and it will be out this Thursday, September 25, on Android, iOS, Windows Phone, and Windows 8. It will be free to download, but will feature in-app purchases.

This won’t be an arcade-style racer, but an endless racer. It’s like an endless runner, but with cars. Interestingly, you’ll play this one by holding your phone or tablet in a vertical, portrait orientation, and not landscape as you’re used to (hence the two screenshots above). Read more »

A new and adorable ad for the Lumia 930 has come out of a Microsoft social media contest. The video features adorable cats using the Lumia 930 and is made by Mia Mullarkey.

We sure hope Microsoft doesn’t think it has to resort to cats in order to charm customers in buying a Lumia 930. Nevertheless, the video is cool and, let’s be frank, dressing up kittens in shirts isn’t an easy job. Read more »

Microsoft has increased the amount of free space you get if you use OneDrive on your phone. Previously the free space used to be 15GB but now you’ll get 30GB instead.

To get the additional space, you will have to install the OneDrive application, if you haven’t already, and enable camera uploads, which will automatically upload the photos taken by your phone to OneDrive. This works on iOS, Android, and of course Windows Phone. Read more »

It’s started. The oft-rumored move by Microsoft to get rid of the Nokia brand for mobile devices seems to have begun today. If you go to Nokia.com’s website for the UK, you’re met with the following message: “Nokia devices and services have moved to a new website”.

Unsurprisingly, that new home is under the Microsoft.com domain. This seems to have only happened for the UK regional site, but undoubtedly more will follow. Read more »

Microsoft has released a new version of Skype for Windows Phone 8 and Windows Phone 8.1 today. Skype 2.22 for Windows Phone has a new feature built-in: location sharing.

It also allows you to save pictures people send you, and control notifications for individual conversations. Read more »

The first public beta version of the Opera Mini browser for Windows Phone is now out in Microsoft’s dedicated app store. You can grab it and test it on your device, as long as it runs Windows Phone 8.x.

The beta was announced last week, when Opera prompted people to sign up in order to join its “beta testing group”. That seemed to imply that only those who signed up would be able to play with the Opera Mini beta, but that’s not the case – anyone can get it from the Windows Phone store. Read more »

Microsoft aims to bring new life into its aging MSN portal with a shiny new homepage alongside plan to rebrand several of its Bing-powered applications.

Not only will Windows Phone apps like News, Finance, Travel, Sports and Weather be rebranded to MSN, but Microsoft is also planning to release iOS and Android versions as well. Read more »

The just-announced Lumia 830 and Lumia 735 are the latest Nokia devices to run Windows 8.1 with Microsofts new Lumia Denim update.

We were able to get our hands on them for some quick camera samples fresh off the IFA 2014 showroom floor. Read more »

Nokia released three new Windows Phone smartphones (Lumia 830, Lumia 735 and Lumia 730) along with a software update in the face of the Lumia Denim and now it’s time to check out the promo videos.

Nokia has always been very good at this stuff, releasing colorful, upbeat videos to showcase its devices and luckily that has remained intact even after the acquisition by Microsoft. Read more »

Opera Mini beta is now available for Windows Phone devices. The developers behind the popular web browser have for users who are willing to join the beta testing group.

Once signed up, you should be receiving a download link for the beta version of the Opera Mini browser. Read more »

In an effort to garner some interest for the as-yet underwhelming release of the HTC One M8 running Windows Phone, Microsoft has released a new ad on YouTube, highlighting their recently released Cortana voice assistant for Windows Phone.

Cortana is touted by Microsoft as being a complete virtual assistant, bringing the company’s Bing search capabilities and full-fledged organizational capabilities into a voice-activated package. Read more »

Windows Phone 8.1 has already received its first general distribution release (GDR1) but now rumors are pointing to the second one. According to sources claiming they’ve played with a functional WP device running the GDR2 software the settings menu can finally be sorted alphabetically.

Currently the WP settings menu is a list of settings prioritized the way Redmond saw best and is very confusing to many users. The source claims that the Action center will carry a mobile data toggle and that Cortana (while still in Alpha phase) will become available to more markets. Read more »

Microsoft recently reported that a large number of its Windows Store apps are misleading users with inaccurate titles and descriptions. This has prompted the company to purge more than 1500 apps from its app catalog.

The removal of the apps in question comes as part of an attempt by Microsoft to improve the quality of its app selection, and is also reflected by the company’s updated app certification requirements. Read more »

After being free for Android and iOS for quite some time, Spotify for Windows Phone is finally set to offer ad-supported streaming to users at no cost.

The app will bring in the functionality from its Android and iOS counterparts by letting users stream playlists and music in shuffle mode. Read more »

Two of the devices challenged by Samsung’s marketing team during the Galaxy S5 Ice Bucket Challenge have stepped up to the task. HTC One (M8) and Nokia Lumia 930 both got drenched in ice-cold water on camera.

Neither the M8, nor the Lumia 930 offers the IP67 certification of the SM-G900. Read more »