Software : Waze wanders onto Windows Phone, as do a decent number of downloads

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• Waze wanders onto Windows Phone, as do a decent number of downloads
• Ability to launch Chrome apps with 'OK Google' may arrive before we know it
• Nokia Music remixed as Nokia MixRadio with new features and focus

Waze wanders onto Windows Phone, as do a decent number of downloads Posted: Instagram on Windows Phone may have stolen the app show, but Microsoft's mobile platform welcomed one more member today. Waze, the crowd-sourced traffic and navigation app, is now part of the Windows Phone family. However, only users of Windows Phone 8 will have access to road info culled from Waze's 60 million members. Community-contributed alerts for things like police activity and accidents, hazards, weather and even directions to the cheapest gas stations on your route are part of the Waze package. Google, which owns Waze, and Microsoft are on far from friendly terms, but it looks like Mountain View is willing to share at least one of its properties, which is only good news for Windows Phone users. Windows Phone stats Along with its announcements around Instagram and Waze, Microsoft also revealed a number of stats related to Windows Phone apps. The figures show growth, but also demonstrate the OS has a long way to go before it can catch iOS and Android. According to Microsoft (by way of TechCrunch), Windows Phone has seen three billion app downloads. iOS, by comparison, has had over 60 billion apps downloaded in all. Microsoft claimed that everyday, 10 million app transactions take place on the platform, or about 300 million a month. In September, the Windows Phone counted 9 million transactions per day, while in June daily transactions totaled 6.66 million. In the time since Windows Phone 8's launch, monthly paid app revenue has gone up 181%, and total app downloads have risen 290%. Clearly, the updated OS is having an impact in the right direction. The figures are still not high for Windows Phone usage (particularly in the US), but Windows Phone handset sales have grown. Numbers-wise, Windows Phone may be far from its competitors, but it does appear to be on an upswing, especially when it comes to apps. Microsoft said there are 500 million new Windows Phone apps uploaded every day, and today the company could count two name-worthy ones in that figure. Check out the only hands on Xbox One review you need to read.

Ability to launch Chrome apps with 'OK Google' may arrive before we know it Posted: Google Now Voice Commands have been a pretty sweet treat for Android 4.4 and Moto X users, and soon Chrome users may be able to control their device by vocalizing "OK Google" instructions. According to Google insider François Beaufort, Chromebook users can already say "OK Google" and start a search. All that's needed is access the new experimental App Launcher in Chrome's Dev Channel. Of course, the functionality could trickle down to everyday users, giving us all the ability to bark commands at our Chromebooks. Beaufort also noted that this could just be the beginning. In the future, Google might implement other commands such as "OK Google, open Gmail," "OK Google, chat with Josh" or any number of actions. Voice control everything The Star Trek-ian future of being able to kickback and command something with just your voice doesn't sound too far off following Beaufort's find. Voice commands are nothing new, and the function is increasingly wiggling its way into more and more devices. Even Apple looks to be beefing up its conversational personal assistant Siri, if a recently uncovered Apple patent to crowd source human brainpower is to be believed. Meanwhile, both the next-gen consoles come with some form of voice recognition software. This is especially true of the Xbox One, designed to be used with range of voice commands heard through Kinect. From NFC to plastic, Google introduces Google Wallet debit cards.

Nokia Music remixed as Nokia MixRadio with new features and focus Posted: So it looks like Nokia Music won't be merged with Xbox Music after all - the service was just updated with a new name and look. It's been rebranded as Nokia MixRadio. The app has a new focus on personalized radio, as is evident from its new name. Like Nokia Music before it, the new Nokia MixRadio is a streaming music service not unlike Spotify and Pandora, but with no ads - even in the free version. Nokia MixRadio also has a new feature called "Play Me." It's described as "a constant stream of music created just for you," and users can give songs a thumbs up or thumbs down so it learns what type of music they like. That smiley face is also headphones The Nokia MixRadio app's page in the Windows Phone store promises that the app still includes the features Nokia Music users are used to, including "my music, mp3 store, create a mix, gigs and offline playback." Users who want to pay a small subscription fee can still get unlimited skips and offline playback. The new app also lets users share their mixes on Facebook, Twitter or via SMS and features bug fixes, and the browser version has been recently updated as well. Nokia MixRadio sounds like a great free option for listening to music, but keep in mind it's only available on Nokia Lumia devices and in certain countries (check the app listing if you're curious). Will Nokia MixRadio invade iOS and Android devices soon?

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