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Microsoft is starting to open up a bit on what Windows Phone 8 users can expect with the next version of its Windows Phone 8 operating system, known as "GDR2."

On May 14, company officials shared a couple of the expected GDR (General Distribution Release) 2 features in a blog post that was primarily about the new Lumia 925 phone Nokia unveiled today. That phone, code-named Catwalk, is due out in June on Vodafone and some time after that on T-Mobile. It is Nokia's first lighter-weight, aluminum-body Lumia.

Microsoft's supposed plan, according to my tipsters, is … Read more

Ringtone Maker is one of dozens of apps on the App Store designed to create ringtones from the music and songs already on your phone. While it is possible to purchase ringtones from the iTunes store, and the limits on certain tracks in terms of DRM make it hard to convert any track to a ringtone, this is a well-crafted app that works quite well for free.

Open Ringtone Maker and you can choose to either review the online collection of ringtones created by the app's users--usually home recordings or indie bands--or to make your own ringtone from your … Read more

ShotStrip is a unique and ingeniously crafted app that combines the best of services like Pinterest and Instagram to create a curated photo community that allows you to be as creative and interactive as you want. With numerous features and tools and a robust online community, this is sure to be the next big thing in photo sharing apps for the iPhone.

The concept of ShotStrip is simple. Take up to six photos and combine them into a strip. Name the strip and make the photos thematic or as random as you want. For each photo, you can edit and … Read more

The built-in camera for the iPhone is a great tool, allowing millions of people to take high-quality photos and share them near instantly with friends and family when on the go. But the actual app used to take photos is fairly limited. Fortunately, there are dozens of tools on the App Store that provide additional options for things like focus lock, exposure control, and white balance, including Camera Plus.

This version of Camera Plus is the lite version of the app so some of its more robust features are still missing; but even as a free app, it provides more … Read more

One of the biggest weaknesses of the iPad and iPhone platform is the lack of storage that most entry-level devices have. You'll almost certainly need a cloud solution to ensure you can store as many files as possible for future access, especially if you use either device as a work tool. That said, there are quite a few cloud storage options. So what makes CX a viable alternative and should you consider it over Dropbox, Box.net, iCloud, or any of the others?

When you open CX for the first time, you'll find a quick tutorial showing you … Read more

Very few people have unlimited data for their iPhone, so a tool like Data Usage is very useful, showing you quickly how much you've used and how close you are to your limit.

Data Usage provides only what it promises to show you. There are two readouts on the screen--one shows how much data you have used and the other shows your limit. You can change either number with the tap of a button and the graphic at the top will show you visually how close you are to your limit. In tests, the meter proved to be fairly … Read more

Voice Changer Plus is not necessarily unique, but its clever interface and integration of multiple free voices and sound effects for altering or even transforming a recording are not only well done, but also incredibly fun to use. This is a very feature-rich, free app that provides all of the core functions in the lite version, and that makes it easy to use without any unnecessary menus or barriers.

Open Voice Changer Plus and you are shown a single screen where all of the functions can be accessed. The first step is to record your voice as you say something. … Read more

The most impressive thing about PowerSketch is that it works on the fly. There are many photo editing or augmentation apps that allow you to change the features in a photo or make it look different than it should after the fact, but PowerSketch shows the final image as you view it, within the camera screen. Even more impressive, it can do the same thing for videos, making this one of the better photo manipulation apps on the App Store.

PowerSketch is a well-designed app from start to finish. Designed to look like a notebook and featuring a number of … Read more

The iPad and iPhone are perfect for file transfers. They are portable, have remote connections to the Internet and allow you to access the files and view them on the go, something that a flash drive cannot do. However, file sharing is very limited as it is and requires a third-party app, so there are tools like ZipApp that allow you to quickly and easily move files from your computer to your device.

The concept is similar to other iOS file sharing tools--open the app and click on the upload or share button. Now go to a computer and open … Read more