Windows Phone might not be as popular as the contemporary iOS and Android platforms, but that doesn’t mean that Microsoft has given up on it already. In fact, they keep making efforts to improve the overall experience for users of the Windows Phone platform. However, when something is missing the most basic elements, we see little to no hope there. A part of it - no, a fraction of it - might change since Joe Belfiore’s confirmation of a File Manager app around the corner for Windows Phone 8.1. In fact, he had some screenshots to back up his claim as well.
When Microsoft detailed what would be part of its Windows Phone 8.1 update, one of the features that caught our eye was the introduction of 'Project My Screen.' Having the ability to display a smartphone's screen output on a computer may not seem too exciting at first, but if you throw a touch-screen monitor into the equation, things start to get interesting. Unfortunately though, the PC aspect of the whole thing wasn't quite ready, leaving eager tweakers to sit on their hands and wait.
In the run-up to Windows Phone 8.1's announcement at the start of April, we heard that Cortana, Microsoft's answer to Siri and Google Now, would take elements of both pre-existing voice assistants and combine them into the best all-round voice feature in the mobile industry. Since the BUILD dev conference, we've heard a great deal about how wonderful Cortana supposedly is, although until we've seen it up against its two major adversaries, there's no telling just how it holds up. With the release of the developer preview of Windows Phone 8.1 today, though, we finally get to see first-hand if Cortana can compete with its more established peers, and the Cortana vs. Siri vs. Google Now video embedded below reveals all!
You can now download Windows Phone 8.1 early. If you're a non-dev and want to give it a shot, here's how you can still download it.
To nicely accompany the announcement of Windows Phone 8.1, Nokia today revealed the Lumia 930 smartphone, a slick new flagship handset that the Finnish company is touting as "the best of Microsoft and Lumia." Discover what all the fuss is about as we run through the features, specs and other key details right after the fold!
Microsoft has just taken the wraps off the eagerly-awaited Windows Phone 8.1 update, and as expected, it packs a host of new and exciting features that should help bring Microsoft's fledgling mobile OS up to scratch with the likes of Android and iOS. All of the details you need to know can be found after the break!
If you're accustomed to the tiled interface of Windows Phone 8, you'll be aware of how easy it is to change the color of the theme / accent to whatever you want. Well, almost anything; for while one can accent the user-interface with a bunch of exotic colors ranging from cobalt to crimson, there's no immediately apparent black option. If you've spent some time rootling around your device's settings, you may already have discovered how to inject the jet-black finish upon the UI, but if you haven't and would like to know how, below you'll find a little tutorial covering the steps.
We've already seen the many ways in which Android can run, process apps and push games on platforms such as Windows and OS X, but from later this year, we may see it make the jump to Windows Phone, in turn creating the very first dual-boot Windows Phone / Android devices on the market. At present, those with an affinity to both Microsoft and Google's respective mobile platforms need to own two mobile devices in order to enjoy using each, but according to The Times of India, native company Karbonn Mobiles will soon begin shipping Windows Phones that also support Google's Android.
In a concerted effort to turn its mobile fortunes around, Microsoft seems to be taking the logical step of hand-picking some of the best features of both Android and iOS, amounting to an increasingly exciting Windows Phone 8.1 update. We've already heard that a new Swype-like keyboard will enhance the typing experience on the Redmond's mobile ecosystem, and following yesterday's video demo of the new Action Center notifications system, it has today become apparent that Cortana, the voice assistant feature set to debut with WP 8.1, will combine some of the strengths of both Google Now and Apple's Siri.
Windows Phone 8.1 is due to hit the scene very soon, and judging by the recent spate of leaks and information regarding the software update, we have some significant improvements to look forward to. Following on from yesterday's report that a revamped, Swype-like keyboard would offer dramatic improvements as far as typing is concerned, the new notification center, dubbed 'Action Center,' has been given a video demonstration.
