No, this deal isn’t from Microsoft (at least that I’m aware of) but it looks like users in love with Windows Phone 7 can purchase 2 models for the price of one (provided you are on the right carrier of course).

I know many of you have been waiting for the perfect time to pick up your new Windows Phone. AT&T just sweetened the pot a bit for the holiday shopping season with the announcement of a buy one get one free deal for the HTC Surround, LG Quantum and Samsung Focus. To take advantage of this offer head down to your local AT&T retail store, sign up for a two-year contract and you and a friend will have a couple of the coolest phones of the season.

Combine that offer with the AT&T entertainment pack which includes a free download of the Xbox LIVE puzzle game ilomilo, 30 days of Zune Pass service plus 10 free song downloads and 30 days of AT&T U-verse and you have a great way to pass the long drive to grandmas house for Thanksgiving. (Official Windows Phone Blog)

To my knowledge AT&T is the only US carrier offering this deal, although I wouldn’t be surprised to see T-Mobile and Verizon (the latter who is also embracing Windows Phone 7) adopt this policy in order to prevent users from defecting.

It will be interesting to see whether this deal bumps up demand for Windows Phone 7, whose sales have been decent but not blockbuster hits (at least when compared against the iPhone and Android).

Note: Microsoft has thus far declined to disclose how well Windows Phone 7 has done, giving generic praises of the device which is rumored to only have sold 40,000 units at launch.

Originally posted on November 24, 2010 @ 1:24 pm

For those of you hoping that Microsoft would allow rival browsers to appear upon their beloved mobile device, you may want to consider jailbreaking as a serious option.

Internet Explorer not stirring your cup of Windows Phone 7 tea correctly? Well, you now have an alternative in the form of a new browser that’s arrived in the Marketplace: Browser+. It does seem to have been built on IE code rather than its own framework, so don’t get your hopes up for Chrome to Phone on WP7 any time soon. (via Engadget)

Other bloggers are also confirming the IE only flavor that Microsoft is establishing, which ironically makes Microsoft more of a locked down OS than Apple’s iOS (who allowed Opera to grace the app store in April of this year).

Although it’s not surprising to see a third party browser apps emerge embracing IE (as iOS has numerous apps embracing mobile Safari), hopefully the software giant will consider opening up their smartphone to competitors in the future.

While IE on Windows Phone 7 is a vast improvement over its predecessors, giving users browser choice could help improve Microsoft’s image in the mobile market, something the company desperately needs to do in order to catch up to Android or iOS.

Originally posted on November 17, 2010 @ 5:12 pm

With developers excited about Windows Phone 7 and hackers attempting to jailbreak the device, it looks like Windows Phone 7 users desiring to create a custom ROM will have a serious hurdle to overcome thanks to three simple letters.

Although there have been reports of people porting over WP7 to the HTC HD2 and some chatter of people being able to make ROMs  (though not load them), there may yet be one final hurdle that could be very difficult to overcome: PVK.

PVK are the private keys Microsoft evidently uses to sign off on the OS that is also tied to the hardware. Specifically, some aspect of the OS looks for and then pulls these keys from the device motherboard for verification. If the keys cannot be found, the motherboard must be replaced or serviced. While elements of the phone/OS might still work without the PVK key, core elements such as Xbox, Marketplace, Windows Live or Zune…basically any “cloud service” will not. (Windows Phone Central)

Truth be told the PVK barrier will not prevent hackers from finding a way to install a custom ROM upon the phone, although it could be awhile before we see one unveiled to the masses.

While Microsoft understandably has to protect their Marketplace, Xbox and Windows Live services from manipulation (for obvious reasons), hopefully they will provide greater efforts to work with the hacker community instead of against them.

Originally posted on November 22, 2010 @ 2:55 pm

It looks like developers are not the only ones going crazy over Windows Phone 7, as apparently Microsoft’s cherished smartphone has fallen prey to hackers.

Well, today it looks like the Windows Phone 7 platform will get its jailbreak on in the near future, as WP7 devs have already confirmed that they’ve hit the first major milestone on the way to jailbroken nirvana – they’ve managed to gain root access to the Windows Phone 7 file system. The next step, apparently, is to open up this file-system to unofficial, “jailbroken” apps that would theoretically endow the phone with snzzy [sic] new features – like, (cough, cough) cut-and-paste. (IntoMobile)

Although Microsoft will probably see the hack as a security breach (as the mobile OS is locked down just like iOS), the software giant should probably take the jailbreak as a compliment, especially in light of the small number of Windows Phone 7 devices sold.

Instead of trying to find ways of thwarting hackers for attempting to customize the device (whether through themes, additional features or unapproved apps), Microsoft should reach out to them in order to help enhance the device in their war against iOS and Android.

Originally posted on November 12, 2010 @ 2:15 pm