New in version 2.5:

Added ability to like comments, full-threaded Facebook messaging including group messaging, tagging friends using ‘with’ and ‘at’ formats, delete posts and comments via long press context menu, active links in posts, updates to photo comments and likes pages to match posts comments and likes page.

You can find the free Facebook app in the web Marketplace here.

- Interactive video news app from The Wall Street Journal

- “WSJ Live is clearly an evolutionary product.”– NiemanLab.org

WSJ Live: Original Programming, Live and On Demand from The Wall Street Journal. WSJ Live brings you live news and on-demand video directly from 2,000 reporters across the globe. With over 4.5 hours of live programming a day, you can stay on top of the latest in news, elections, markets, tech, opinion, lifestyle. You can also access the entire video archive of The Wall Street Journal.

Tune in for Daily Scheduled Programming:

• News Hub: Breaking Economics News
• Markets Hub: Complete Markets Coverage
• Campaign Journal: Live Election Coverage
• Lunch Break: Today’s Headlines plus the ‘Business of Life’
• Digits: Breaking Tech News
• Mean Street: Breaking Business News
• Opinion Journal: Political Commentary
• Off Duty: The Latest in Lifestyle

You cand find the WSJ Live app for free in the web Marketplace here.

Can you save the Droplitz? Spin and twirl dials to make paths and help these adorable misfits to safety. There are twists-a-plenty in this humorous carnival of addictive puzzle action! Droplitz Delight ‘revolves’ around you. Think strategically and work quickly. Don’t let your paths drip dry. Spin dials to form paths from top to bottom. Make multiple paths to increase your score and help the Droplitz multiply. Master Chain Reactions for massive scores. Never give up, never surrender!

Visit 6 colorful worlds in 4 brilliant modes. Set the Droplitz free in progressively harder levels with Target Quest. Jump in and challenge the original gameplay in Classic. Play to your heart’s content in Free Play. Get the highest score you can in just one minute with Droplitz Dash.

Beginners can find solace with single dropper levels, a quick tutorial, and even hint buttons during gameplay. With more than 40 levels, trophies, and competitive high score tables, Droplitz Delight will have you captivated!

• Guide the Droplitz to safety in this uniquely addictive puzzle game
• Turn dials, create paths, and help the Droplitz from top to bottom
• Complete more than 40 levels in 4 brilliant game modes
• Unlock brilliant trophies and climb the high score tables
• Variety of difficulty levels suit beginner to expert player

You can find Droplitz Delight in the web Marketplace for $.99 with a free trial here.

We’ve all found ourselves doing it. Windows PC users that is, lusting after the premium-grade build quality of a Macbook Pro or Macbook Air. No matter whether you’re a Linux, Windows or OSX user you can appreciate the time and thought that goes into the uni-body build of an Apple  notebook computer.

Admittedly a proud Windows user, I’ve tried OSX on  numerous occasions to see if there was something I was missing. OSX is a mature solid OS, but it’s no Windows. This is why I was overjoyed to hear about the  line of ultra-portable line of laptop computers from Intel and OEMs, called  Ultrabooks.

Ultrabooks are premium-priced laptops with a premium build which are supposed to have great battery life in a smaller form factor. While many have tried to make such a device for Windows users, few have  succeeded. Dell has succeeded.

Build and Appearance

The Dell XPS 13 carries the performance moniker “XPS”, but in a small 11-12 inch chassis. Make no mistake though, this is no netbook. Dell managed to pack a 13-inch bonded 1366×768 Gorilla Glass display into a  compact machine and also gave it the power to serve users quickly and efficiently.

Sticking with the display, while the 13-inch 1366×768 LED display is perfectly fine, I would have liked to have seen Dell go all out  crazy and add in a higher res screen with better viewing angles. That being  said, the display is perfectly fine for my purposes.

The Dell XPS 13 Ultrabook sports an aluminum body and an undercarriage made of carbon fiber. Carbon fiber was a great choice because not only does the utrabook feel great to hold, but the carbon fiber keeps the bottom  cool, unlike the full aluminum of a Macbook Air. The island-style keyboard is spacious and has great travel. The keys are back-lit, which make the device great  for using in low light conditions.

Surrounding the keyboard, the deck of the device is  covered in a smooth rubberized material, which feels great on the palms while typing and using the trackpad. The trackpad is one of the better pointing device on a laptop I’ve used. It’s smooth to scroll on and includes multi-finger gesture support.

Performance

As I noted earlier, The XPS 13 ultrabook is no slouch in the performance department. Boasting a Intel Core i5-2467 M processor running at 1.6 GHz, a 128GB (or 256) SSD, 4GB of RAM and Intel HD3000 graphics, this machine will move. Typical boot times are under 15 seconds easily and the system never lags.

Battery, Features and Misc

Battery life on the Dell XPS 13 is very good, however, the promised 8 hours by Dell falls a bit short of the actual time. I can typically go a little over 6 hours doing normal work on a fully charged battery. Going into this device with low battery life expectations, I was pleasantly  surprised.

Dell made a great ultrabook, but the small device footprint caused Dell to make some concessions on the ports packed in the  device. The device features two USB ports (one USB 3,0), a headphone jack, mini display port and a battery LED indicator along the side. Sorry SD card fans,  there’s nothing to see here.

The sound on the XPS 13 is fantastic. The volume levels are great and with no speaker grills to behold, the sound just waffs up from beneath the keyboard giving users a quality experience.

Conclusion

My time with Dells first foray into the ultrabook  category is a fantastic one. The XPS 13 ultrabook is simply the best-looking  laptop on the market, surpassing Apple’s Macbook line. The look and feel of the  device in hand is second to none. The performance is fantastic and Dell did a  fine job of not loading down Windows with a ton of bloatware. At $1099 for the  base model, I can absolutely recommend this device to those looking to jump into  the ultrabook fray.

The announcement was made on the official Windows Phone team blog:

“Today we’re unveiling a new nature series of wallpapers from Windows Phone fan and London-based graphic designer Levi Freeman. Levi Freeman, a Windows Phone fan and London-based graphic artist, created a new set of nature wallpapers approved by our design team. What’s unique about these is that they’re the first to carry our design team’s official seal of approval.”

The wallpapers are currently available on the creator’s (Levi Freeman) website. You can visit Mr. Freeman’s website to download or scan the QR codes using Bing Vision on your Windows Phone device.

Samsung’s latest Windows hone handset, the Samsung Focus 2, is now available on the ATT wireless network. The mid-range Windows Phone handset is a follow-up to the original Focus that launched when Windows Phone was first introduced. Microsoft recently admitted that the Focus was the best selling handset among the first gen devices, so it makes sense for Samsung to capitalize on the success by releasing a sequel.

The Focus 2 is now available for $49.99 on a 2-year contract and $399.99 on no commitment pricing.

The specs for the Samsung Focus 2 are:

• A slimmer profile with curvy lines in pearl white
• LTE support
• 4-inch Super AMOLED display
• 5MP, super-sharp camera
• 8GB of storage (non-expandable)
• Front-facing camera

Check out the new Samsung Focus 2 here.

Microsoft has created three new Xbox avatar items which feature Windows Phone and they’re free.

The three items available for download are a Nokia Lumia-themed longboard, a Windows Phone foam finger and a Windows Phone body-suit. All three can be had by signing up for the Windows Phone Insider email newsletter.

Xbox avatar props are a fun way to display your allegiance to the Windows Phone platform and you can’t beat the price. Just head here to sign up for the newsletter and wait for Microsoft to email you the redemption code to redeem.

via Windows Phone Daily

Microsoft’s COO in China, Michael van der Bel, has reported on the progress of Windows Phone in China and things are looking up. With the help of Nokia’s Lumia devices, specifically the Lumia 800c, Windows Phone has been able to grab 7% of the smartphone market, 1% higher than the iPhone.

China is the fastest-growing smartphone market in the world, so its important for Windows Phone to grab some mind share while they can. The upcoming release of the Lumia 900 in China along with some low-end handsets by Nokia and ZTE should do much to help the platform gain even more marketshare as we inch further towards the launch of Windows Phone 8.

Source: Emerce via CNet

Word has leaked via the Chinese news website, Sina Tech, that the state (SSRC)  has approved the Lumia 900 from Nokia for use on its GSM and CDMA wireless networks.

The reports suggest that we could see a June launch for the 900 which comes just a few short months after the smaller Lumia 800c landed in the far east.

The news is most surely welcome for Nokia, Microsoft, the Chinese people and Windows Phone fans everywhere as the fast-selling device in the US heads to the fastest-growing smartphone market in the world.

via WPCentral

Much has been made of the strength of Gorilla Glass on devices and the following video on Nokia Conversations proves just how durable the Nokia Lumia 900 and its screen is.