Windows Phone 8 Detailed by Nokia

3 February, 2012 Windows Phone Tango

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Microsoft has some major changes in store for Windows Phone 8, we have learned, which is the version of the platform currently being referred to by codename Apollo. Thanks to a video hosted by senior vice president and Windows Phone manager Joe Belfiore at Nokia, a number of WP8 features and themes have now been revealed.


Hardware changes

According to Belfiore, the overarching theme with regards to the Windows Phone 8 hardware ecosystem will be scale and choice. Specifically, Apollo will add support for multicore processors, new screen resolutions, and removable microSD card storage. It is clear that Microsoft is addressing one of the platform pain points, which is a perceived inability to compete in spec sheet comparisons with the iPhone and Android-based devices.


NFC

NFC radios will also be supported, with Belfiore placing specific emphasis on 8's push into contactless payments. The "Wallet experience," as he calls it, will have the capability to be carrier-branded and controlled, either by a secure element on the SIM card or utilizing hardware in the phone itself. In addition, tap-to-share capabilities will reportedly work across multiple platforms, allowing desktops, laptops, tablets, and phones to all share content.


Windows 8 integration

Windows Phone 8 will not just share a UI with the next-generation desktop and tablet OS, apparently: it will use many of the same components as Windows 8, allowing developers to "reuse by far most of their code" when porting an app from desktop to phone, according to Belfiore. He specifically mentions the kernel, networking stacks, security, and multimedia support as areas of heavy overlap.


Moreover, Windows Phone 8 will reportedly scrap integration with the desktop Zune client in favor of a syncing relationship with a dedicated companion application. In other words, Microsoft is bringing back a richer version of ActiveSync after letting that program die out for the most part.


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