Just as you can root your Android device and jailbreak your iPhone, you can also unlock your Windows Phone 7 device. However, every time that you sync it back up with Zune, you might find yourself with a locked device again. How can you get around this?

Thankfully, the Internet community is once again coming to the rescue. The kind hackers at XDA have devised a way to prevent any Windows Phone 7 device from losing its unlocked status after synchronizing with Zune. For now, the fix will only work on HTC handsets, but I imagine they’ll be porting it over to Samsung, Dell, LG, and other manufacturers soon.

In addition to the ChevronWP7 unlock procedure, you’ll then need to download the TouchXplorer ZIP file, extract it, install it on your WP7 device, download HTC Connection Setup for Windows Phone 7, install that, launch TouchXplorer, copy the CustClear.provxml file to the root Windows folder, and launch the HTC Connection Setup app and tap on the check button to let it provision.

Sound complicated? Don’t worry. The XDA community is always there to help. Or, you know, you could just not unlock your WP7 device and use it the way Microsoft intended you to use it. Just don’t complain when your unlocked buddies are enjoying functions, features, and apps that you can’t.

[Aliwaqas via XDA, ChevronWP7]

The post ChevronWP7 prevents Windows Phone 7 from re-locking after Zune sync appeared first on Mobile Magazine.

According to Microsoft:
Sign-up to be notified to pre-order the new Windows Phone, and we’ll give you unlimited music for 3 months with a Zune Pass—FREE*. Just give us your email address. When Windows Phone is ready to pre-order, use the same e-mail address you sent to us, and when your Windows Phone ships, we’ll send you a 3-month Zune Pass, free.

Microsoft, WPCentral

The post Free Zune pass with new Windows Phone 7 pre-order appeared first on Mobile Magazine.

Microsoft Courier page display application concept.

Nothing is more capable of keeping us on the edge of our seats than the development of major Tablet computers coming from every Steve, Bill and Asghar. We are witnessing the revolution of mobile computing right before our eyes, and the best part about it, no one knows who will be the big player in the end. Will the iPad be another iPhone? Will Microsoft’s Courier be a flopping Zune? Can content providers and application developers shape the way Tablet computing evolves, taking control away from hardware providers? Only time will tell, but until now, here are more details on Microsoft’s latest “leaked” achievements.

For something this professionally produced to be “leaked,” seems far fetched to me, many companies intentionally create viral schemes in order to boost product awareness, and I would not be surprised if this indeed was a paid advertisement from Microsoft. Regardless, it’s a pretty damn fancy video.

The dual-screen Microsoft Courier is similar to that of the Entourage Edge we saw just the other week, but taking it a few steps further and making it slimmer, sleeker, with dual high-resolution displays. Obviously no official specifications are available on this product, but we can speculate as usual.

It’s supposed to have an NVIDIA Tegra 2 graphics chipset and run on Windows CE 6, which will essentially be a variant of Windows Phone 7 Series. The displays are dual touchscreens measuring what appears to be about 5×7-inches, or 6×9-inches. It will be less than 1-inch thick closed, and fold open just like a book. This would be fantastic for reading magazines, but only an intuitive interface would allow it to be so. The multi-touch screen allows for swiping things from screen to screen, dropping them in the center “bucket,” a kind of temporary storage bin. The stylus lets you scribble notes, the video shows someone writing a web address in the URL address bar and the browser sending them to the page automatically. This would rule out the need for a cumbersome on-screen keyboard, depending on how well the letter recognition software is.

Word is that the device should be ready by Q3 or Q4 of this year, giving Microsoft enough time to see how other devices in the industry play out and adjusting their system to better reflect the end-users needs, rather than playing catch-up as they did with the Zune. This could be the “notebook” of the future. Check the video for an impressive simulation.

Microsoft Courier Concept Screenshot Gallery

The post Microsoft Courier video “leaked,” the iPad killer? appeared first on Mobile Magazine.