This app is called ‘Ask Ziggy’ and not only is it free, but it is not supported by ads either, the official descriptions states that it brings Siri-like functionality to WP7 and we forgive you for being skeptical, but keep reading on to find out just how good this application really is. You can get Ask Ziggy from the Windows Phone Marketplace here.

At the bottom of the post we have embedded a video which was uploaded to the WMExperts YouTube channel, here we see Ziggy deal with a long-list of questions and the app does incredibly well – we have to remember that this app has been developed by a relatively small dev team called Averotek. The look of the application and how it runs is very much like Siri, however we are hoping to see future updates to enhance functionality and further integrate itself into WP7.

You can see a full list of commands over at the official Ask Ziggy website, we were pleasantly surprised by the answers given to questions such as “What’s the square root of 100?”, “Who directed Star Wars? and “What is the airspeed velocity of an unladen swallow?” – in fact the answers given went above and beyond what we expected – see the image below. Answers are read out by Ziggy and shown in text, if an answer cannot be found a link is usually provided.

Perhaps the most impressive feature is something which Siri is incapable of, basically if you say “Update” followed by a sentence it will tweet that message and set it as your status on Facebook – how neat is that!

Comments on YouTube suggest that Microsoft should hire the guy that came up with the application and we agree, reviews on the WP7 marketplace are mixed, however we think that you should see this app as a work-in-progress and understand just how much hard work has gone into this app to get it to the stage it is currently at.

Have you asked Ziggy? If so, are you impressed?

It is obvious that Peter has lots of experience with WP7 and an imaginative mind, his main idea is to transform Live Tiles into Live Cubes – swipes to the left and right of these tiles would show different faces, which means one Cube could be used for multiple functions – the image below explains this in a little more detail.

The four sides of the cubes would allow for quick access to frequently used features, so the Twitter cube could perhaps allow you to quickly tweet, check direct messages and check the news feed, whilst a dedicated cube for a contact could allow you to easily call, SMS or socially engage with a particular person.

If you head over to the MyNokiaBlog you can see much more information regarding this idea, including plenty of concept artwork, videos and other details – for now we would like to hear your initial ideas, so feel free to get opinionated in the comments section below.

Do you like the idea of Live Cubes replacing Live Tiles? We have embedded one of the concept videos below.

This application is not yet publicly available, however if you check out the video embedded at the bottom of the post you get an idea of what it is capable of, you clearly see the lady choose a movie to watch using her WP7 device and it then automatically appears on here HDTV via the Xbox 360.

It isn’t currently clear how much functionality this mobile app will pack, but it just goes to show the level of integration which Microsoft is aiming for between its mobile operating system, games console and perhaps next OS for PC / tablet, Windows 8. Dare we say it, Microsoft is becoming Apple-like.

Ben Rudolph over at WindowsTeamBlog managed to get some hands on time with the beta version of the app and says it was very impressive, you should check out his entire article for full details. But to sum things up you can use the app to search for content, one you have found something you can find out detailed information (such as the casts for movie etc) and once you chose something to watch the app acts as a remote control which has all the buttons you would expect from a TV remote.

Here are some screenshots which we took from the video which you will find at the bottom of this post, the video clearly states that these are “simulated”, but they do at least give us a taster of what to expect from the app.

We don’t know when this app will go public, but we can confirm that when it arrives it will be completely free – we will keep you posted as we hear more.

In fact, Evan Blass from pocketnow.com has provided a list of the LG handsets that are expected to launch before the year is over. Besides a follow up to the LG Optimus One handset, the company is also working on a high-end device that features the 2nd-generation NOVA display, as well as a Windows Phone 7 device running Mango.

First on the list is the dual-core LG Prada K2, which reportedly boasts a 4.3-inch NOVA LCD display and a thickness of just 8.8mm. The Prada K2 is said to run on the Android 2.3 Gingerbread OS and come with 16GB of internal storage, a 1.3-megapixel front camera and an 8-megapixel rear-facing camera. It is expected to arrive sometime in the holiday season.

Another handset on the list is the LG Fantasy, which should be released in the fourth quarter. All we really know about the Fantasy at this stage is that it will run on Windows Phone 7 Mango. The LG E2 is another model that we don’t really know much about. The only thing we do really know is that the LG E2 will be an entry-level handset.

The LG E2 will most likely come with a smallish QVGA display and a basic 3-megapixel-or-so camera. Also on the list is the LG Univa, which appears to be an upgraded Optimus One. The LG Univa is said to come with an 800MHz processor, a 3.5-inch HVGA display and a 5MP camera. Meanwhile, the LG Victor should be arriving sometime this quarter.

The Victor – which will run on the Android 2.3 Gingerbread OS – will reportedly come with a 1GHz single-core processor, a five-megapixel rear and VGA front-facing cameras and a 3.8-inch OLED display. Those of you that want to buy an NFC-capable smartphone might be interested in the LG Gelato NFC handset, which is expected to launch in the 4th quarter.

Reported specs for the LG Gelato NFC handset include an 800MHz processor, a 3MP camera and a 3.2-inch HVGA display. Last but not least is the LG K, which promises to be one of the very first phones to have a true 720p HD display. You have to keep in mind however that manufacturers plans can change at any time, so the final specs could well be different.

As noted over on the businesswire.com website, the HTC 7 Pro comes with a 1GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon processor under its hood, a 5-megapixel camera with autofocus, flash, digital zoom and 720p video recording and 16GB or internal memory for storing all your videos, photos and files.

It also features a 3.6-inch WVGA capacitive touch screen display with multi-touch capability, access to Windows Phone Marketplace, Wi-Fi (802.11 b/g/n) connectivity and text messaging, personal email (POP & IMAP) and corporate email (Microsoft Exchange ActiveSync).

The HTC 7 Pro smartphone also comes with a unique Start screen with Hubs, which provide users with easy access to their most valuable content, as well as customizable Live Tiles. Those who prefer physical QWERTY keyboards will be pleased to know that the HTC 7 Pro does in face have one.

You can read more about the HTC 7 Pro via the businesswire.com website. The handset can be picked up now for $199.99 with a new 2-year service agreement and data plan (after a $50 mail-in reward). Will you be buying the HTC 7 Pro smartphone?

According to Gareth Beavis over at techradar.com, BA has said that the WP7 version of its app will offer more functionality than the other versions. The upcoming Windows Phone 7 app will offer users up-to-date gate information (at Heathrow’s Terminal 5) and real-time updates on flight times.

The latest version of the BA app will also include terminal maps, providing users with a more simple way to navigate through the world’s airports. Just like the iOS and BB versions, the WP7 app will enable you to check in and download a boarding pass onto your screen to hand over during boarding.

British Airway’s new application will most likely make use of the new WP7 Mango update as well, by offering Live Tile flight time updates and maybe the opportunity to attach your boarding pass to the home screen as its own tile. Users may even see push notifications of flight changes in the future as well.

The British Airways app will be available to download from the Windows Phone Marketplace as from June 1st. Will you be downloading the BA app?

Although the reported features are unconfirmed at this stage, the recent images (which can be seen over on the gsmarena.com website) suggest that the features are legitimate. Besides the aforementioned feature, the update is also said to include music recognition and camera-integrated search.

The first of these features is Bing Audio, which as noted acts like an integrated Shazam-like music recognition. Although there is already a Shazam application available for the Windows Phone 7 platform, Bing Audio is a music recognition feature that is built in to the mobile operating system.

Another of the said features is the one dubbed Bing Vision, which will apparently give the camera app the power to scan barcodes and shoot landmarks. It will then find similar images and information on specific items. Then you have the must-have turn-by-turn navigation feature for Bing Maps.

There have also been hints of a Voice Dictation feature, which will enable you to create and send messages hands free. Unfortunately we have no indication on a release date for the upcoming update as of yet. What new feature are you looking forward to the most?

The data was compiled by analyst Eldar Murtazin, which PCMag was quick to point out predicted the coming together of Microsoft and Nokia. The number looked larger than that, but you have to remember that a number of handsets were given to employees. It is this analyst who believes that Windows Phone 7 is a failure.

We struggle to know why Microsoft is still unable to come up with an alternative to Google’s Android mobile OS or Apple’s iOS? Microsoft were once on top of their game, with Windows Mobile being a popular mobile OS, but times have changed and the struggling company is unable to adapt.

However, if you were to believe what Microsoft has to say, then they sold 1.5 million handsets in that period. One, we cannot be certain of the exact figures, and two, Apple would still laugh at Microsoft’s figures, as they sold more iPhone 4 handsets in its first weekend.

Things are not just bad for WP7, Microsoft seems to be having an issue with the Zune player as well. They are certainly not the company they once were, at least they have Xbox.

Where do you think Microsoft is going wrong? What can they do to get back with the big boys?

According to a recent article posted on BusinessWeek Microsoft are currently working on a version of Windows Phone 7 which will support contactless payments, this has not been officially announced, however BusinessWeek supposedly got this information from “two people familiar with the plans”.

Obviously to offer NFC support Windows Phone 7 smartphone manufacturers will have include an NFC chip in their compliant devices, but it is at least good to know that the software side of things is being sorted by Microsoft.

Back in February we posted an article which confirmed that Nokia were scrapping Symbian in favor of Windows Phone 7, perhaps future Nokia smartphones will feature NFC support, at the moment most WP7 devices have been manufactured by HTC and Samsung, therefore these manufacturers will almost certainly be adopting the tech soon.

Does your next smartphone purchase have to be NFC compliant?

We recently told you that Microsoft had resumed their software update rollout for devices after initially stopping it to fix widespread problems that they had discovered, but it looks like they may need to revise that decision after reports that problems are still occuring.

Fresh problems involve a new error code 800705B4, which has been showing up for a lot of Samsung Omnia 7 owners whilst trying to update. According to WinRumors, Microsoft are already aware of this problem, as there’s an official support thread which you can check out here.

It’s not exactly the best advert for Microsoft and Windows Phone 7 as a whole, as who would want to commit to a new handset and contract if software update problems are going to continue?

If you have a bricked device at the moment, you may want to have a read of our previous article here, as there is a temporary solution to the problem which may help you.

If you own a Windows Phone 7 handset, let us know how the recent software update went for you.