It's moulding up to be a outrageous week for Microsoft. On Monday, the firm voiced its Surface inscription stage at a hush-hush eventuality in Los Angeles, and right away Microsoft has denounced Windows Phone 8 Apollo at its Windows Phone Summit in San Francisco.
Microsoft voiced 8 definite stage updates for its arriving mobile OS. We've already covered a of the many consumer-facing updates, the new Start Screen , but other changes add hardware-related features similar to multi-core processor and mental recall card support, a revamped Internet Explorer 10, common local ethics between Windows Phone 8 and Windows 8, NFC support, a new Wallet hub, Nokia Maps, and Windows Phone 8 for business.
Many of these updates shouldn't advance as a surprise, deliberation all the leaks and reports that came out in February . Nor was today's statement a bone-fide exhibit similar to Apple's iOS 6 display at WWDC . Microsoft says it will betray more end-user features in the summer. But in the meantime, these stage updates are significant, and Microsoft had a lot to say about them.
Here's a deeper dive in to what you can design from Windows Phone 8.
As suspected, Windows Phone 8 will encouragement multi-core chips. It's a pierce that will make Windows Phone more aggressive with the iPhone and Android handsets, that have been able to examine off multi-core encouragement on their spec sheets for actually a while. When they launch, Windows Phone 8 gadgets will run on dual-core processors, especially the from Qualcomm.
"The experience that people have had on a single-core will obtain much, ample improved as you pierce to dual-core," Joe Belfiore, executive of the Windows Phone Program, mentioned at the event.
Windows Phone 8 will moreover encouragement 3 shade resolutions. (Windows Phone 7.5 supports only one.) The new shade resolutions add WVGA at 800×480 pixels and a 15:9 aspect ratio; WXGA at 1280×769 and 15:9; and 720p at 1280×720 at 16:9.
Rounding out the hardware story, Windows Phone 8 will encouragement microSD card expansion. Hardware manufacturers can add a microSD container for users to simply give data from device to device. "What this enables is that an finish user can add a MicroSD card months after they've paid for a phone and give data from Personal Computer to phone, and phone to phone," Belfiore said. "We didn't wish to broach this underline until you could do it where it's easy to use."
Microsoft showed off a new Internet Explorer browser for Windows Phone 8. The new IE 10 features Smart Screen, an anti-phishing filter that uses data from Windows PCs to inhibit rouge websites in actual time. Belfiore showed off how IE 10 can safeguard users who might drop plant to fraud links sent around email.
IE 10 moreover receives a JavaScript refurbish - JavaScript is right away 4 times faster than the browser in Windows PHone 7.5, according to the company. There's moreover twice as ample HTML5 support.
How does mobile IE 10 compare to other mobile browsers? According to new SunSpider scores that measures a browser's JavaScript carrying out performance, IE 10 achieved the best.
Windows Phone 8 will share local C and C++ ethics with Windows 8, creation it simpler for developers to emanate apps for both platforms. It's not something that consumers will immediately observe when they use the OS, but Microsoft hopes common local ethics will lead to better, faster app growth - and thus more high quality apps in Windows Phone Marketplace.
"The greatest outcome this will have is we're going to see a few freaking hired gun games this year," Belfiore said.
At its developer summit, Microsoft ceaselessly beaten on how easy it will be for developers to dock games from Windows 8 to Windows Phone 8, and clamp versa. "Suddenly, with Windows Phone 8 with that common core, receiving an app from the Personal Computer to phone is really straightforward," Belfiore said.
In essence, local ethics will capacitate developers to write high-performance ethics - that is because games are such a large treat - and expostulate hardware acceleration. "You're going to see a few beefy, absolute phones running a few extraordinary games this year," Belfiore said.
As suspected, Windows Phone 8 gadgets will encouragement NFC sharing. NFC isn't a completely new technology, but it's far from ubiquitous, so it's engaging to see Microsoft pulling it forward. Belfiore demoed how NFC would work in a Lexus public notice with an embedded label - he used the April situation of Wired magazine, actually: With a elementary daub of his phone on tip of the advertisement, he eliminated product data directly to his Windows Phone.
Also, pity isn't paltry to only phones. The new Microsoft stage supports NFC between phones, laptops, slates, and PCs. And NFC moreover has an critical purpose in the next stage update….
Windows Phone 8 will underline a new Wallet heart where users can store their credit and withdraw card information, third-party faithfulness and membership cards, and coupons and deals. It's not different Apple's iOS 6 Passbook app. But Windows Phone Wallet experience will moreover encouragement NFC tap-to-pay.
Yes, it's similar to Google Wallet, but with a essential difference. All of your credit and withdraw card data will be stored in a secure SIM card, not in an on-device system. Google Wallet is built directly in to a device, creation it unfit to pierce your Wallet info from a device to the next, but Windows Phone has opted for a more transition-friendly option.
Microsoft's draw close is moreover an experience that carriers prefer. But do not obtain as well vehement only yet, as the NFC tap-to-pay capabilities won't be forthcoming to the United States until next year. At launch, the ability will be paltry to the France-based Orange carrier. US Windows 8 consumers, however, will still be able to access the Wallet heart as their middle place for cards, third-party services, and deals.
Say goodbye to Bing Maps. Windows Phone 8 maps will run on Nokia's mapping technology, built directly in to the onboard Maps app. There's not as well ample headlines on this front, but this growth isn't startling deliberation Microsoft and Nokia's close ties. Some key features include: Global NAVTEQ chart data, offline chart support, turn-by-turn directions, and chart manage for developers. 3-D navigation didn't make it.
Microsoft has always had a burly grip on the craving marketplace with Windows, and right away it's receiving all of that work and pulling it together with a business-friendly Windows Phone platform. Windows Phone 8 will advance with a total safety stage with Secure Boot and encryption (which is a derivative of Windows Bitlocker). It'll make app placement and deployment adjustable for business, gift up a resource for in isolation placement and full-on onsite management.
Businesses will moreover be able to manage Windows Phone 8 gadgets by a program administration system. And finally, Windows Phone 8 will run the Microsoft Office apartment - even though you have nonetheless to see how it will look in that mobile form.
Ah, the new Start Screen. "It's the sexiest thing in Windows Phone 8," Belfiore said. And this should unquestionably the box for more visually encouraged users. As you wrote in our story about the Start Screen and stream Windows Phone devices, the new Start Screen is the many manifest end-user underline of Windows Phone 8 (at smallest that's been voiced so far).
Microsoft has taken its Live Tiles and done them more customizable, bringing a new tiny size to the experience.
"These live tiles are the heart and essence of the Windows Phone," Belfiore said. "We know that our users really admire their phones, and you regard the greatest reason is because Live Tiles make the phones so special and so personal."
Users will be able to select between a small, intermediate and large size for their Live Tiles. And right away the whole shade is existing for Live Tile pinning - the arrow and void space on the right-hand side have dissapeared. To that end, users can pin more on their Start Screen.
And of course, Windows Phone 8 and Windows 8 are forthcoming even closer together. As Microsoft said, they're "better together."
"The vigilant in our varying the Live Tiles encouragement is not only to make Live Tiles more personal, but to give a more conform to experience between Windows 8 Live Tiles and Windows Phone 8 live tiles," Belfiore said.
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