Local scout is one of the nicest features of Windows Phone 7.5. Newer Windows Phone device have a live tile Local Scout on the start screen right out of the box. If you updated a gen 1 Windows Phone to Mango you don’t see that Local Scout link unless you add it manually.
This is how you add a Local Scout tile to your start screen.
Enjoy.
Having used Mango (beta) for a few months there were many features that immediately made a positive impact on my day to day usage. I’ve picked some of my favorites from the official list from Microsoft (this post will be updated over time).
MORE TO COME…
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I had been using Windows Phone Mango for a few months prior to the official update today. I had expected to find a few surprises once I had updated, and I have. Below are the little things that I’ve come across. These may or may not be new for the official Mango release, but I had never noticed them previously. (This post will be added to over time).
This is being shared all over the internet, but for my loyal readers I thought I would let you know that it appears you can trick Zune into giving you the Mango update even if it says it is not available yet. The folks over at wpcentral have put together these steps and I can verify they worked on Samsung Focus (v1.3). I doubt this would work for any hardware that is called out explicitly on the “Where is my phone update?” page that is still in work. I make no warranties as to any unforeseen issues this may cause. Proceed at your own risk (although it seems the risk is small if any).
Source:
UPDATE: 9/27
If you have a Windows Phone, you no doubt have been asking yourself this question. Well today, we have an answer…sort of. It has been rumored over the last few days that Mango would be released today. According to Microsoft’s Where’s My Phone Update? website (updated 9/27) Mango is in the scheduling “delivering update” phase for most all United State’s carriers. In 10 days or less it should be out for delivery. It seems it’s not it is officially Mango day. , but you can smell it coming can’t you? a My Samsung Focus that was running the beta Mango is now updating to the final version. My other Samsung Focus (v1.3) is still waiting for the update.
In addition to the Mango news, Microsoft has also released its Windows Phone Web Marketplace. You can now browse and buy apps without a phone or Zune client. This is great as it’s been nearly impossible to do this before without using some other website that is filled with ads.
Finally, Brandon Watson, from the Windows Phone team, announced this little nugget via Twitter.
Got a case of the Mondays? Here’s a fix:
#wpdev folks will roll forward to Mango RTM, & will *not* roll back to NoDo. Thank you engineering.
Indeed, THANK YOU EGINEERING! Until this post it was believed that folks who were on the Mango beta, like myself, would have to revert back to a NoDo backup before updating to production Windows Phone 7.5 (Mango). I get to keep my spot in Angry Birds!
This is an exciting time, and so far it appears that Microsoft and it’s partners have corrected most of the mistakes we saw during the NoDo update. Get excited world, for those of you who haven’t yet used or seen Windows Phone 7.5 (Mango), it will knock your socks off. In the coming days I’ll start posting some of my favorite features.
Source:
If you are a Windows Phone user and have a Yahoo fantasy sports team, I’m sure you’ve been looking, and probably unsuccessfully, for a WP7 app that will let you manage your teams. Well the wait is over. The folks at Bushwood Studios have released an oddly named app called Fantasy Ferret that lets you do just that. I only partake in Fantasy Football but according to the current app description (version 1.4) this app supports football, baseball, hockey and basketball. I’m assuming you interact with all the sports similarly but I’ll be writing about how it renders my football team/ league.
PROS
CONS
Overall, I’m impressed with the app knowing that it is the first Yahoo fantasy sports app in the marketplace that I’m aware of. There are a few minor design issues that could be improved upon, but I’m happy to say I never experienced any app errors or crashes. I’m sure a few more releases will clan up these small oversights and possibly add some pro features that the hardcore crowd may find necessary. Regardless, it is worth your time if you have a Yahoo fantasy team.
My Rating (4/5)
Download from the Zune marketplace here.
As a registered developer I’ve been lucky enough to have Mango installed on my Samsung Focus for nearly a month. This week Microsoft officially released the “Beta 2 Refresh” of Mango to registered developers. This “Beta 2 Refresh” release is obviously much more refined, with the noticeable improvements being Twitter and LinkedIn integration over its predecessor.
I had pondered for some time how much info to share since installing the first beta of Mango. There was so much to share and it deserved so much detail I couldn’t give it the credit it was due. Luckily, Microsoft itself has filled the gap by its posts on the “Windows Phone Developer Blog” and the “Windows Phone Blog”.
Rather than rewriting everything they have posted I’ll simply add to this post with links to appropriate posts on the aforementioned Microsoft blogs.
The links will come, but let me leave you with a teaser. If you’re a current Windows Phone user, you will be blown away by the enhancements. If you’re not currently a Windows Phone user but are in the market for a new device, try a Windows Phone with Mango (they’ll be in stores this fall), it really is incredible.
With Windows Phone, and Mango specifically…Words doesn’t do it justice, it’s something you have to experience.
I came across two Facebook related items I thought it would be worth posting. The first I came across by accident. In the official Facebook app for Windows Phone if Facebook cannot connect to content the application tells you to shake the phone to reload content. Granted this isn’t exactly a breakthrough feature, but I haven’t come across an app that has really implemented this and to be honest it came as a bit of a surprise.
The other finding came from my recent involvement in hosting a Facebook page (a page set up for a business, group or celebrity, band or business). I’ve used many of the apps out there that support Facebook posting/ integration and the only app I found that seems to support posting to a Facebook page you are the administrator of is Seesmic for Windows Phone. I’ll consider posting a full review of Seesmic in the future, but I thought it would be worth sharing that at this time I believe it is the only app on Windows Phone that supports this feature. (The official Facebook app does not).
It’s been nearly a week since I successfully updated my Samsung Focus with the Windows Phone NoDo update. My impressions thus far are positive.
Since the time the update was released wpcentral has become aware of some additional items that were included in the new Focus firmware. Those include updates to the capacitive buttons, camera settings and touch response when placed on a soft surface. I have noticed these changes as well and agree with their findings.
As expected, copy and paste works and I actually did have a need for it already. I was creating a One Note entry and copy and paste made that much easier.
Since the update I’ve observed the following:
We all knew this update wasn’t going to blow us away, but in the end it has definitely made for an even better experience on the Samsung Focus. If you’ve noticed any other changes since the update please post in the comments.
Source: wpcentral
When I first got my Windows Phone my weather app of choice was WeatherBug. While comparable to other weather apps such as The Weather Channel app, I always preferred it. WeatherBug always seemed to load radar animations much faster than comparable apps. I also liked the webcam photos. Yet, by far the feature that put it over the top was the live tile notification. In addition to displaying temperature it will show a live tile notification in the case of weather advisories. Those who live in the Midwest know we are no stranger to the giant temperature fluctuations that cause crazy thunderstorms, hail, tornados and flooding. The icon on the live tile quickly shows you if any such weather advisories exist. When you go into the application there is additional information on the advisory. I am not aware of any other weather apps with a similar feature.
As you can tell it was one of my favorite apps, yet randomly the live tile stopped working. I’m not talking about just the weather advisory notifications but the entire tile itself. It reverted back to just the picture of the bug. At the time this seemed widespread, rumors said it happened because of the way tiles worked and if you changed your live tile update timing. For some the tile began working again, for me it never did. I uninstalled the app and reverted to The Weather Channel app. While it’s a worthy substitute, I missed the weather advisory notifications on the live tile.
I was hoping my NoDo update would again enable the live tile for WeatherBug. As soon as I got my updates on the 19th I downloaded the WeatherBug app again, set my location, pinned it to the home screen and waited. Fortunately, we were experiencing one of the aforementioned crazy spring thunderstorm days so it did not take long for that tile to not only update with the temperature but also a flood advisory for the surrounding rivers. I don’t recall this feature originally but I also received a toast notification (much like when you receive a text message) with the same information. That was a happy surprise.
Is this a big deal? Maybe not to some, but WeatherBug was originally one of those apps that made me say, “Wow, this is smart. This is what Windows Phone can do.” I’m happy to see it working again and I suggest that even if you are happy with a comparable weather app give the WeatherBug app a try, and make sure to pin it to you home screen, I think you’ll enjoy it.
midwest geek 
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