Windows Phone 7.5

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Here’s another classic Angry Birds title for your growing Windows Phone collection. As we previously hinted, Rovio’s Angry Birds Rio arrived this morning. The game works on both Windows Phone 7 and 8 devices. Price: $0.99.

In the game, the original Angry Birds have been caged up and shipped off to exotic Rio de Janeiro, where they eventually elude their captors and set out to rescue friends Blu and Jewel—two rare macaws you’ll recognize from the 2011 movie Rio. The scenery in the game is fresh and exciting, and the physics-based gameplay is as fun as ever—with 210 challenging levels and more than 40 bonus ones. Speaking of bonus: The Windows Phone 8 version of the game also includes Xbox LIVE achievements and leaderboards.

Buy it for Windows Phone 8

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Bing just added a new language to its highly rated Translator app that makes it a must-have for Star Trek fans headed to see Star Trek: Into Darkness this Thursday: Klingon. Download it to your Windows Phone communicator.

In what could be the biggest advance for the popular fictional language since the publication of 1984’s “The Klingon Dictionary,” the app lets you translate back and forth between Klingon and the 41 planetary tongues it supports. If you really want to test your skills, check out this post from Microsoft’s Translation team.

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Protecting castles from marauding monsters is the idea behind Monster Burner, Ubisoft’s fast-paced, highly-rated hit that just arrived in the Windows Phone Store. The game, which runs on both Windows Phone 7.5 and 8 devices, is free. So there’s no reason not to give it a spin. Download it now

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It’s the rebirth of a classic. Rovio announced on their blog today that they’ve published a new version of Angry Birds for Windows Phone that adds 100 new levels—for more than 400 in all. The Windows Phone 8 version also sports Xbox LIVE achievements and leaderboards. The game is free through May 15.

Download it for Windows Phone 8

Download it for Windows Phone 7.5

As the blog post notes, this new version is a completely separate download from the one that you might already have on your phone. “The reason why we’re re-releasing the game is that it will be technically easier for us to support in the future, so we’re really happy to get this out there!” Rovio writes.

The new version is also designed to work on Windows Phone 8 models with 256MB of memory.

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A major update to the official LinkedIn app for Windows Phone hit the Store today, making it easier than ever to stay connected to your professional world. Grab it here. (If you don’t see it yet, give it a little time.)

Here’s what’s new in version 1.5:

• Live Tile support: Three Tile sizes push updates right to your Start screen.
• Lock screen support: Set your lock screen to show images from LinkedIn Today.
• Speech recognition support: Press and hold the Start button to open Speech, then tell LinkedIn what to do with commands like “LinkedIn: Inbox” and “LinkedIn: New status.”
• Support for more languages, including French, German, Chinese, and Spanish.

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Most golfers I know will be glued to their sets this weekend as the Masters unfolds in Augusta. Whether you’re new to the game, a seasoned pro, or just an armchair fan, these five apps are worth adding to your arsenal. For more options, browse the hand-picked apps in the Store’s new Golfing collection.

What golf apps can’t you live without?

______

Golf Live

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Due to popular demand, Miniclip has extended this sale through April 22.

Start your tapping. Through April 15 22, four great Xbox games from Miniclip are now free in the Windows Phone Store. Each one usually costs $2.99.

These are all great, proven titles. Use your arsenal of mini-monster bombs to save the inhabitants of Monster Island. Test and refine your grenade-launching skills in Fragger. Elude zero-g pursuers in Gravity Guy. Or hit the slopes in one of the most fun snowboarding games ever—iStunt 2.

Twelve bucks worth of fun for the price of a few taps? Sounds like a good deal to me. And don’t forget about our new weekly sale on apps and games—Red Stripe Deals. You’ll find new bargains at that link every Thursday.

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"The way we approach design has really shifted in the last few years," says Windows Phone’s 46-year-old designer-in-chief Albert Shum. It’s always interesting to find out more about the people who create the products we rely on every day. If you’re curious about one of the leading thinkers behind Windows Phone’s award-winning looks, check out the profile on Shum written by CNET’s Jay Greene today.

Shum arrived at Microsoft five years ago from Nike, where he was part of the team that helped cook up the Nike+ fitness gadget line. The Hong Kong native, who has degrees in both mechanical engineering and product design, now runs the 88-person studio responsible for creating Windows Phone’s much talked about tile-centric user interface—a design aesthetic that has since worked its way into the DNA of other Microsoft products ranging from Windows to Xbox to Office. It’s a good read.

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Here’s a link you’ll want to bookmark: The just-launched Red Stripe Deals Collection. No, we’re not talking cheap beer here but something even better: weekly bargains on stellar apps and games.

If you follow the blog, you’ve probably noticed there have been a couple one-off Store sales recently (including one still running.) Now the Windows Phone Store team has decided to make it a Thursday tradition.

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With a big tip of the hat to the classic gender-switching sequel Ms. Pac-Man, Twisted Pixel Studio’s Ms. Splosion Man ($2.99) landed in the Store today. The game, which picks up where its popular Xbox 360 predecessor Splosion Man leaves off, is currently available only on Windows Phone 7.5. Buy it here.

The premise behind the 3-D platformer is challenging but simple: At a party celebrating the capture of Splosion Man, scientists inadvertently create Ms. Splosion Man through an accidental champagne spill. Made of explosive material, she repays them by trying to blow them up—and escape the facility by blasting through 50 levels worth of traps, puzzles, and enemies. Give it a try and let me know what you think.