At the ongoing BUILD 2014 conference in San Francisco, Microsoft unveiled the Windows Phone 8.1. Though we have already seen most of the features in numerous leaks, Microsoft still announced a couple of new features. With WP 8.1 set to arrive in the next few months, here are some of the key features on the new mobile operating system.
CORTANA
Cortana, Microsoft’s Siri and Google Now rival, is exactly what we had expected it to be. The demo on stage worked quite well and though only in the beta stage, worked almost flawlessly. Designed to look like a halo, the personal assistant takes over the entire operating system and you will essentially always be talking to it.
The Notebook is where the digital assistant will store all sorts of information like contacts, passwords, location, browser history, appointments and this is also where you can modify what kinds of data are accessible to it. With the Bing integration, Cortana will also use this information to offer better results on the search engine.
To give it more power, Microsoft has also added support for integration with third-party apps, something Siri lacks. The service has only been launched as a beta and will initially work in the US only.
ACTION CENTER
The Action Center is where you will get all the app notifications, battery information, SIM data as well as shortcuts to switching on services like Wi-Fi or Bluetooth among others. This was a much-needed feature for Windows Phone users, especially since Android and iOS users have been using it for a long time. You will be able to access the Action Center from anywhere in the phone by just swiping down from the top of the display.
LOCK SCREEN THEMES/BACKGROUND
Microsoft has really added new levels of customization on the WP 8.1. You will now be able to choose from different themes for lock screens. Joe Belfiore showed two themes, one with a very diagonal design and the other a circular one.
As mentioned in our earlier post, you will now also be able to add wallpapers to the homescreen. As soon as you choose a wallpaper, the Live Tiles become transparent and are superimposed on top of the image.
WINDOWS PHONE STORE
The Windows Phone Store too has been revamped and apps are given more visibility. The more famous apps are given bigger tiles for more prominence, while there are now different sections like Featured Apps, Personalized Recommendations to help you discover new apps.
There is also a new quick links section, which essentially has a lot of pre-determined lists to again help you discover apps. These lists include Top Paid, Newest and so on so forth.
WI-FI SENSE
This is a nifty little feature that helps you use Wi-Fi hotspots more efficiently. Once enabled, the service always keeps looking for hotspots to connect to. It can also automatically connect to free public Wi-Fi hotspots if you allow it to. It will do all the work of providing email id and setting up password and then connect to the public Wi-Fi.
It also helps manage your home Wi-Fi better. So if your friends, categorized in your Inner Circle, were to come to your home, Wi-Fi Sense automatically connects them to your home Wi-Fi.
WORD FLOW KEYBOARD
As reported earlier, the Word Flow keyboard on Windows Phone has been updated and it now works in the same manner as Swype. So essentially, you can swipe through letters to type as opposed to tapping on individual keys.
Microsoft is so confident about its new keyboard that it challenged the guy with the world record for fastest typing to use its new keyboard. That guy actually beat his own record!
CALENDAR
The calendar app has been tweaked and you will now be able to swipe left or right to skip to the next or previous day. For those wanting to see more days on a single display, there is also a new week view, which as the name suggests, shows the entire week on the screen.
INTERNET EXPLORER 11
WP 8.1 also features an updated Internet Explorer 11. The browser has a new private browsing mode as well as a new Reading Mode that resizes the text on a webpage for easier reading.
SKYPE
The VOIP service has been updated and integrated even deeper into the ecosystem. So for example, when you receive a call from someone, you can easily switch from a regular phone call, to a Skype video call.
That's quite a bit to cram into a single update, and the only question that remains is when we can get our hands on it. Windows Phone 8.1 will be pre-installed on new devices that could hit as soon as the end of April, and the update will hit existing models in the "coming months."
via BGR India
Cortana, Microsoft’s Siri and Google Now rival, is exactly what we had expected it to be. The demo on stage worked quite well and though only in the beta stage, worked almost flawlessly. Designed to look like a halo, the personal assistant takes over the entire operating system and you will essentially always be talking to it.
The Action Center is where you will get all the app notifications, battery information, SIM data as well as shortcuts to switching on services like Wi-Fi or Bluetooth among others. This was a much-needed feature for Windows Phone users, especially since Android and iOS users have been using it for a long time. You will be able to access the Action Center from anywhere in the phone by just swiping down from the top of the display.
Microsoft has really added new levels of customization on the WP 8.1. You will now be able to choose from different themes for lock screens. Joe Belfiore showed two themes, one with a very diagonal design and the other a circular one.
As mentioned in our earlier post, you will now also be able to add wallpapers to the homescreen. As soon as you choose a wallpaper, the Live Tiles become transparent and are superimposed on top of the image.
The Windows Phone Store too has been revamped and apps are given more visibility. The more famous apps are given bigger tiles for more prominence, while there are now different sections like Featured Apps, Personalized Recommendations to help you discover new apps.
There is also a new quick links section, which essentially has a lot of pre-determined lists to again help you discover apps. These lists include Top Paid, Newest and so on so forth.
WI-FI SENSE
This is a nifty little feature that helps you use Wi-Fi hotspots more efficiently. Once enabled, the service always keeps looking for hotspots to connect to. It can also automatically connect to free public Wi-Fi hotspots if you allow it to. It will do all the work of providing email id and setting up password and then connect to the public Wi-Fi.
It also helps manage your home Wi-Fi better. So if your friends, categorized in your Inner Circle, were to come to your home, Wi-Fi Sense automatically connects them to your home Wi-Fi.
As reported earlier, the Word Flow keyboard on Windows Phone has been updated and it now works in the same manner as Swype. So essentially, you can swipe through letters to type as opposed to tapping on individual keys.
Microsoft is so confident about its new keyboard that it challenged the guy with the world record for fastest typing to use its new keyboard. That guy actually beat his own record!
The calendar app has been tweaked and you will now be able to swipe left or right to skip to the next or previous day. For those wanting to see more days on a single display, there is also a new week view, which as the name suggests, shows the entire week on the screen.
INTERNET EXPLORER 11
WP 8.1 also features an updated Internet Explorer 11. The browser has a new private browsing mode as well as a new Reading Mode that resizes the text on a webpage for easier reading.
SKYPE
The VOIP service has been updated and integrated even deeper into the ecosystem. So for example, when you receive a call from someone, you can easily switch from a regular phone call, to a Skype video call.
That's quite a bit to cram into a single update, and the only question that remains is when we can get our hands on it. Windows Phone 8.1 will be pre-installed on new devices that could hit as soon as the end of April, and the update will hit existing models in the "coming months."
via BGR India
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