You can get pretty stellar battery life on Windows Phone. Variables like your specific phone, usage, and which apps you have installed (and whether they're running in the background) all impact battery life. You might want to carry a portable charger for those times you find yourself away from an outlet or power source. There are plenty of third party options when it comes to selecting a portable charger for your smartphone, but if you're rocking a Lumia why not get one to match it?

The Nokia DC-18 is a universal portable USB charger that you might want to check out. Here's our quick hands-on with it.

Polls are fun. They're a good way to quickly get a feel for how the Windows Phone community feels on a particular topic. We just learned that the Nokia Lumia 1520 becomes available on November 22nd here in the United States. We also just learned from a close source that the yellow Lumia 1520 might be scarce. So we're curious, what color are you getting?

With the late night announcement from Nokia and AT&T about the pre-order for the Lumia 1520, due for release on Friday, November 22nd, "which color?" has become the hot topic.

The good news is if you pre-order through AT&T, you can nab yourself a yellow one. But if you want to get it through Microsoft via their Store, you'll have to look elsewhere. Indeed, we're hearing from a close source that yellow will be "scarce", hinting at a possible shortage of the color.

Xbox Windows Phone gamers might have noticed that a Store link for Gameloft's Kingdoms & Lords has been making the rounds today. Unfortunately, most users are finding they can't actually download or play the game on their phones. Is it a case of the dreaded 1 GB RAM requirement? Nope, even folks with 1 or 2 GB of RAM can't get their Kingdoms on.

Windows Phone Central checked in with our friends at Gameloft and discovered just what is happening with Kingdoms & Lords. It turns out the game has soft launched in a few territories but remains mostly inaccessible to users in other regions like the United States. Luckily it will be releasing worldwide next week, so the wait shouldn't be too hard.

Head past the break for our hands on video, Achievement details, and more!

Fun Cinemas, one of the major multi-city multiplex chain in India, has released their mobile ticketing app for Windows Phone a few days back. The app allows you to check showtimes, choose your seats, and buy tickets with several payment options.

If you're looking for an alternative to your current carrier, and you haven't checked out Ting, you should definitely give them a close look. With no long term contracts, overages, or penalties, Ting offers you the tools you need to take complete control of your account, your usage and ultimately, your bill. You can buy a new or used device directly from them, or bring your own Sprint device and activate it on the Ting network!

The desktop Zune client could easily go down as one of the greatest desktop applications of all time. It was loved by many for its modern interface, features, and operability with Windows Phone 7. Unfortunately, Microsoft decided to unify its entertainment offerings under the Xbox branding, which is why we now have Xbox Music and Xbox Video. Zune still lives though, it's essential to users who are still on Windows Phone 7.x or those hanging onto their legacy Zune devices. Sadly, video won't work after February of 2014.

Since Steve Ballmer declared his retirement from Microsoft as CEO, speculations on who will be the next big boss have been tossed around. One of the top candidates who appears on every list is the former CEO of Nokia, Stephen Elop; he supposedly had the heart to run Microsoft, but recent information that we reported on this morning has shown that he may do more damage than good.

Xbox One France has posted some amazing shots on their Twitter page of what they are calling the "Xbox One Hotel". As you might guess, the building and its interior follows Xbox inspired décor. The trendy spot will remain open until the end of November. Until then, visitors can enjoy playing Xbox One consoles and kicking back in the "Xbox One-themed restaurant".

The Nokia Lumia 1520 is coming. It's the next flagship Windows Phone device that you'll be able to use. Like the Lumia 1020 before, it has an incredible camera that you'll soon be using. How incredible? Watch this music video filmed on the Lumia 1520 and you'll not only see how incredible the image quality is, but you'll also be pretty impressed with the audio recording capabilities.

Late last night, the pre-order page went live for the Nokia Lumia 1520 on both AT&T and the Microsoft Store. Where should you order your phone? Depends on which perks you want to pick up. Either way, AT&T is already in full preparation to be the sole carrier here in the United States where you can pick up the Lumia 1520. How are they getting ready? By dropping another "Mobile Minute" video and placing demo units in stores.

Just this morning we told you that the Lenovo Miix2 8-inch tablet was shipping from Amazon. The very similar and highly rated Dell Venue 8 Pro came out last week, but this week there's a special deal going on.

For a limited time, you can order the 64 GB version for the price of the 32 GB one. That's $299 for their top of the line 8-inch tablet, a savings of $50. Not too shabby. Plus you can toss in a 64 GB microSD card to maximize your storage—don't forget, this runs full Windows 8.1, not RT.

Want to earn achievements for Xbox One without touching your controller? Now you can, as Microsoft is allowing media applications to include their own achievements. In a blog post this morning, the company has given away the fact that app makers would be allowed to include this latest ability to accompany achievements from gaming.

Do you sleep, breathe, and dream about Microsoft? If so, you are probably one of the few people yet to switch over from Internet Explorer (seriously, IE use has declined heavily over the past few years). Don't worry though, Microsoft still loves you and has released IE11 for users running Windows 7. Not only has the software launched, but the team in Redmond has had quite a bit to say about it.

Tagram is an app that helps you with hashtag ideas for your photos or videos on Instagram. Today, it received a 2.0 update. We recently mentioned this app in our 5 tips to use Instagram like a pro and we highly recommend it if you want you to get more views and likes for your content.

Head past the break to see what's new in version 2.0 and watch our walkthrough video.

While Windows Phone is still growing each day, gaining new apps and services, Fitbit is still a holdout. For those who aren't familiar with it, Fitbit (fitbit.com) is popular exercise tracking device that you wear to keep abreast of your activities. They have different versions, including the One, Flex and the most recent Force wristband (which we just picked up ourselves—it's awesome).

What's missing on Windows Phone is widespread Bluetooth 4.0 LE support. That means that Fitbit devices can't sync directly with our phones, and instead we have to use the wireless Bluetooth sync of a PC. Truth be told, even Android devices are lagging behind on Low-Energy (LE) support, making only handful of devices eligible. Of course, the iPhone is supported.

Love ABC programming and wish you could take it on the go?

Luckily, ABC networks has just released their latest app for Windows 8, WATCH ABC. The app can be download to your favorite Windows 8 device and gives you the ability to watch ABC shows on demand or live stream the network broadcast for your area.

While the spotlight is shining brightly on the news that the Nokia Lumia 1520 is available for pre-order, another Windows Phone has snuck in under the radar at AT&T.  The Samsung ATIV S Neo.

The ATIV S Neo sports a 4.77" HD display, 16GB of internal storage, expandable memory (microSD card), 1.4Ghz dual core processor with Adreno 305 GPU and a 8MP rear camera.

The ATIV S Neo will cost you $99.99 after contractual discounts or $419.99 off contract. The Neo is also available on the AT&T Next program for $21.00 per month for twenty months.

Are you expecting to be able to play the latest tiles on your new Xbox One as soon as you set up the new console? You'll be disappointed by a mandatory update that will be rolled out on day one. Unfortunately, the Xbox One is technically useless until the update is downloaded and installed (sucks if you won't have an Internet connection at the time), meaning there'll be no immediate gaming or app action.

With the launch of Xbox One on the horizon and approaching quickly (November 22nd, should you require the quick recall), the Skype team has published a new blog entry to detail some improvements and new features incoming with Skype for Xbox One. If you've been crying out for notifications and multitasking you're in luck with the next version of the popular communications client.

Not only is the team working hard to implement new features, we're also looking at free calls. Read on for all the details.

The Windows Phone Central Podcast is back this week with Jay Bennett (in his new abode) and Sam Sabri. Listen in as they cover Nokia World 2013, the Microsoft CEO hunt, tablets, phablets and more! Head past the break to listen in to the audio or the HD Video.

Lenovo's 8-inch tablet now available on Amazon, end of the year for Microsoft Stores

Are you yearning for a swanky new 8-inch tablet? Of course you are. The 8-inch swarm of Windows 8.1 tablets are making waves these days and now Lenovo is stepping up to the plate. Their IdeaTab Miix2, at least the 32 GB version, is now available to order at Amazon.com. Do you want it tomorrow? Order it ASAP with next-day shipping.

The 64 GB version is still not in stock and ironically, we can't even find the Miix2 on Lenovo's site any longer (maybe we're just missing it) for order or pre-order.

Stephen Elop is a potential candidate for the position of Microsoft CEO, succeeding Steve Ballmer when the current head steps down. According to a report over on Bloomberg, Elop would consider shaking things up at Microsoft. Office would be targeted, as well as Bing and Xbox. So what kind of changes would we be looking at?

This morning Nokia has bumped up their new Camera app from version 4.3.0.6 to 4.3.0.9. If that sounds like a minor improvement, you would be correct as we can't see any initial differences. Neither does the app description reveal any added features or fixed bugs. If we had to guess, Nokia was polishing off some little tidbits in the app, perhaps preparing it for the Lumia 1520­ which is due to launch real soon here in the US.

Microsoft is taking its Xbox One console down the home entertainment path, while continuing to cater for gamers around the world. The company has today announced a line-up of entertainment and TV apps Xbox One owners will be able to load and use on their console. Moving on from explaining just what features will be available in the experience, Microsoft is now touching on some of the content that will expand the capabilities of the console.