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Hello,

Just bought a Nokia Lumia 710 from Carphone Warhouse on there pay as you go deal. I was using a Galaxy S2 but have decided to switch for a while and see what these Windows Phones are like! What good apps can you recommend? Any tips and tricks i should know?

Thanks

Richard

4th & Mayor

For some time wasting games:

Wordament

Chessbypost (If you like chess :p)

Pex4Fun (if you want to learn to code)

Apps:

Flashlight XT (or similar) - A must have for turning your phone into a flashlight (hella useful :))

Microsoft Insider - A hidden gem of the WP ecosystem. It's released by MS and has a bunch of tips and tricks, wallpapers and ringtones (Don't bother with the ringtones).

Skydrive (If you use it)

Skype (If you use it)

Photosynth (If you take a lot of photos :))

Tips:

Silent profile is enabled by pressing the volume rocker and clicking the little icon on screen.

Sync all your contacts with your Microsoft profile. Makes your life a ton easier if you need to change/move anything.

Play. You just need to play with it to learn.

If you have questions, just shout :D

That should get you started :)

Use the battery saver function to turn off notifications, push email, and updating live tiles for extra battery life.

why would you buy a wp and turn off live tile? Do you buy an xbox or ps3 and throw away the controllers?

this is something many new WP users don't know, so i'll say it: tap the top of the screen to see the status bar icons. They're all hidden by default unless they require your attention.

I find swiping my finger down from above the screen to just below the notification area works better than tapping, tapping seems to take a few attempts on the 710 before they appear, swiping down works every time

why would you buy a wp and turn off live tile? Do you buy an xbox or ps3 and throw away the controllers?

Because they decided to put weak ass batteries in them that barely last a day with medium use

why would you buy a wp and turn off live tile? Do you buy an xbox or ps3 and throw away the controllers?

Battery saver only switches off features when your battery life drops down to a critical level (10% I think). It's designed to keep your phone lasting that little bit longer.

why would you buy a wp and turn off live tile? Do you buy an xbox or ps3 and throw away the controllers?

mm I don't know, to save battery maybe, if you are running out of battery and you know you won't be near an outlet any time soon you use that function, its just a temporary solution. Great comparison you got right there....

ConnectivityShortcuts, MS Translator, artist info (if bing music doesn't work for you)

tip by MS PAndya (I didn't know this :s) : WP7 has a built in scientific calculator. If you landscape the device so the back/windows/bing buttons are on the right, you get a scientific calculator. For bonus points, if you landscape the device the other way so the buttons are on the left, you get a programmer's calculator that does octal, hex, binary, and other useful stuff.

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