Now in Marketplace: Crackle for Windows Phone

“Dude, have you downloaded Crackle yet?”

I’d barely opened my laptop this morning and my Windows Phone-owning buddy (and big Stephen King fan) was already pelting me with instant messages. “All you have to do is set up an account and you’re watching flicks. I watched Christine on the bus to work this morning.” He urged me to blog about how cool it is.

He was right: The official Crackle app, which landed in Marketplace earlier this week, provides free access to hundreds of full-length films and TV shows, streamed to your Windows Phone for free. What’s nice is that you can play them as much as you want, and nearly two dozen new titles are added to the catalog each month from sources including Columbia Pictures, Tri-Star, Screen Gems, and Sony Pictures Classics. Download the app—or check out the Crackle site—for the complete list of titles.  The app is available in Australia, Canada, UK, and US.

Anybody else give it a whirl yet?

Announcing the Windows Phone Monthly Photo Contest

For as long as Windows Phones have been sold, people have been using them to make beautiful images. We’ve been floored by some of the photographs our users have been able to create (especially the photographs our users have shared with the hashtag #WPphoto), so we thought we’d start recognizing your photos by launching a monthly, themed photo contest.

All winning photos will be featured on the Windows Phone Blog, as well as across our Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest channels. We will of course provide credit and even link to your website or blog if possible.

To kick off this shindig, this month we’re asking you to submit your favorite pet photos. Here’s an example of one:

This photograph was taken by my colleague Lisa, who sends out the awesome Windows Phone newsletterevery month. It was taken on an HTC Titan II and edited using the Thumba Photo App and HTC’s Photo Enhancer. Here’s what Lisa has to say about it:

Domino curls up for a nap by the living room window. I think this photo captures how gorgeous her eyes look in the morning light.

When you send in your photos to windowsphone@microsoft.com, please let us know which phone you took it with, which photo apps you used, and 2-3 sentences describing the photo and the circumstances under which it was taken. We’re looking forward to seeing what you all come up with! Here is how to enter:

• To enter, please e-mail your entry to windowsphone@microsoft.com.
• In the subject line of your e-mail, please write “CONTEST: PETS”.
• The photo you send must have been taken with and edited on a Windows Phone. Please attach the original JPEG file to your e-mail, with metadata included. If the photo has been edited, please let us know which apps/settings you used.
• Please name your file using your first and last name, followed by the theme of the contest (this month it’s “Pets”). So, for instance, my e-mail would include a photograph named DavidChenPets.JPG.
• Please use the highest resolution possible when sending your photos.
• One entry per person, please.
• This contest runs from now until 11:59 p.m. PDT on August 31, 2012.
• After the contest deadline, we will look over all of your entries and choose our favorites. Entries will be judged on their creativity, resourcefulness, aesthetic beauty, and just the overall impression your photo makes on us.
• Winning entries will be posted on the blog, as well as shared on our Twitter, Facebook, and Pinterest pages about two weeks after the contest has ended.
• Read the full rules here.