Microsoft brings true, background multitasking to Windows Phone 8

Posted on 20/06/2012 by Terrence O'Brien

Microsoft brings true, background multitasking to WIndows Phone 8

Well, Microsoft has officially left Apple as the only player in the Mobile field to not support real multitasking. With the next version of Windows Phone, background multitasking will be opened up to all devs, thanks to libraries provided directly by Redmond. During today's presentation two different background tasks were demoed, VoIP and location. The VoIP integration allows users to have calls come in, preferably via Skype if Microsoft has its way, without having the app running in the foreground and have them appear the same as a standard phone call. While watching for incoming calls is nice, a more commonly used feature is location monitoring. Now apps will be able to monitor location in the background while you perform other tasks. One by one, Microsoft is checking off boxes on our list of complaints about Windows Phone.

Gallery: Windows Phone 8 multitasking

Microsoft brings true, background multitasking to Windows Phone 8 originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 20 Jun 2012 13:47:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Microsoft partners with Audible to enhance Windows Phone voice recognition, available for WP 7.5 and up

Posted on 20/06/2012 by Joseph Volpe

Siri, S Voice -- well, now Microsoft's got its own answer to those rival voice services (sort of) and it's coming in the form of a partnership with Audible on the Windows Phone platform. The company's very own Kevin Gallo took to the stage at today's Summit in San Francisco to demonstrate the enhanced feature running on Windows Phone 8. Though the Redmond-made OS has supported voice commands since the platform's seventh iteration (née Mango) by allowing users to launch applications, it can now also help users search, as well as play audiobook files. In the demo, Gallo was able to skip a chapter ahead, pause and resume listening to his selected Game of Thrones title. And lest the WP faithful feel left behind with the seemingly endless spate of Apollo-only features, the company's making this integration available to handsets running WP 7.5 and up starting later today.

To check out the latest updates from Microsoft's Windows Phone event, visit our liveblog!

Microsoft partners with Audible to enhance Windows Phone voice recognition, available for WP 7.5 and up originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 20 Jun 2012 13:44:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Microsoft details deep Skype integration in Windows 8

Posted on 20/06/2012 by Michael Gorman

Microsoft's been letting loose all of Windows Phone 8's secrets this morning, and the latest tidbit is all about VoIP calling. Turns out, the team in Redmond's really putting that money it spent on Skype to good use by integrating the video chatting/VoIP service deeply in its new mobile OS. From a user perspective, incoming Skype calls are treated like cellular communications, meaning that they appear as regular calls and are integrated with standard phone features -- like call waiting -- to maintain a seamless calling experience. The VoIP apps continue to run in the background, of course, thanks to WP8's new multitasking capabilities, and VoIP integration will be available to all developers.

To check out the latest updates from Microsoft's Windows Phone event, visit our liveblog!

Microsoft details deep Skype integration in Windows 8 originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 20 Jun 2012 13:41:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Windows Phone 8 will finally deliver in-app purchases

Posted on 20/06/2012 by Terrence O'Brien

Everyone else already does it, so it was about time that Microsoft jumped on the in-app purchasing bandwagon. With the debut of Windows Phone 8, Microsoft will now offer developers the ability to deliver additional content, upgrades and media via an integrated purchasing tool. The feature was demoed as part of the new wallet feature, which will protect you from accidentally completing an in app purchase with a PIN. What does this all mean? That you can finally have FarmVille on your Windows Phone. Cause that's what we've all been waiting for, right? Guys... where are you going?

Gallery: Windows Phone 8 in-app purchases

Windows Phone 8 will finally deliver in-app purchases originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 20 Jun 2012 13:24:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Microsoft demos support for NFC-enabled ads, business cards in Windows Phone 8

Posted on 20/06/2012 by Donald Melanson

Microsoft spent plenty of time talking about its NFC-based mobile wallet for Windows Phone 8 today, but it has more than just payments and loyalty cards in mind for the technology. It's also showed off how a Windows Phone 8 device can be used to scan NFC-enabled advertisements or business cards. In the case of ads, Microsoft's Joe Belfiore used a recent issue of Wired to demonstrate how you can simply tap an ad in a magazine and have content pushed straight to your phone -- something that could also be used with posters or other ads out in public. With NFC-enabled business cards, you'd have the ability to automatically import a person's contact information simply by taping their card to your phone which, incidentally, is something that can also be done directly between two Windows Phone 8 devices (a la Android Beam).

Gallery: Windows Phone 8 NFC demo

Microsoft demos support for NFC-enabled ads, business cards in Windows Phone 8 originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 20 Jun 2012 13:05:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Microsoft confirms no upgrade path to Windows Phone 8, unveils 7.8 for legacy devices

Posted on 20/06/2012 by James Trew

The debate can now be laid to rest: devices currently running on Windows Phone 7.5 will not be on the receiving end of the long-awaited Apollo update (aka Windows Phone 8). But that doesn't mean those smartphones are at the end of the line. It's long been speculated that the reason Microsoft would want to restrict WP8 to new phones is primarily due to improvements in hardware support and the change in platform architecture, and this conjecture appears to be right on the money. After all, how can single-core devices with WVGA screens take advantage of multi-core and additional resolution support? That part makes sense, but that leaves the software side.

So here's the plan to ensure current Windows Phone users stay happy: a few software benefits will be included in WP8, and a hearty helping of these killer features (such as the new Start screen) will be available to legacy devices in the form of Windows Phone 7.8. There'll be support for three tile sizes, with the smallest being fingertip size (a quarter of the standard square). The update will be delivered directly to users, sidestepping carriers, and can be done over WiFi.

Update: While Microsoft was keen to announce that 7.x apps will run on Windows Phone 8, ZDNet has just confirmed, via a statement from Redmond, that apps built for the new platform won't be backwards compatible:

"New applications compiled specifically for Windows Phone 8 will not be made available for Windows Phone 7.x devices."

To check out the latest updates from Microsoft's Windows Phone event, visit our liveblog!

Microsoft confirms no upgrade path to Windows Phone 8, unveils 7.8 for legacy devices originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 20 Jun 2012 12:55:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Windows Phone 8 introduces new Start screen

Posted on 20/06/2012 by Billy Steele

Yes, Windows Phone 8 is coming later this year, and it introduces some important changes to the user interface. The most noticeable is probably the new Start screen, which offers more customization and makes more efficient use of its real estate. As a user, you'll be able to choose any tile and tweak its appearance to suit your sensibilities. Sizing can be configured with a resize arrow while in customization mode and offers the option of small, medium or double-wide tiles that span the entire width of the display. All current applications will be automatically designed for small and medium versions by default and devs will be able to dive in to add support for the larger options should they feel the need to do so -- something that until today was reserved for Microsoft and its partners / carriers. What's that? You want more colors? Yeah, you'll get those too.

Gallery: Windows Phone 8 Start screen

To check out the latest updates from Microsoft's Windows Phone event, visit our liveblog!

Windows Phone 8 introduces new Start screen originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 20 Jun 2012 12:45:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Windows Phone 8 to use Nokia map data with built-in turn-by-turn navigation (update: deals too)

Posted on 20/06/2012 by Jon Fingas

You won't have to use a Lumia phone any longer to get Nokia's mapping expertise: Microsoft just announced that Nokia's map technology is being built into Windows Phone 8. Along with the requisite NAVTEQ map information, it'll carry many of the things that Nokia Drive users love so well, including offline map support, developer control over maps, and (you guessed it) turn-by-turn directions. That makes three major mobile platforms that have or will have driving directions baked in from the start -- it's now becoming par for the course rather than an advantage to lord over others.

Update: Along with core navigation, there will also be support for Microsoft's new deals feature as part of the mapping update, so you'll know when the coffee house around the corner is discounting cappuccinos.

To check out the latest updates from Microsoft's Windows Phone event, visit our liveblog!

Windows Phone 8 to use Nokia map data with built-in turn-by-turn navigation (update: deals too) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 20 Jun 2012 12:44:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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MS teases Windows Phone 8 enterprise features: Company Hub, encryption, secure boot, IT management

Posted on 20/06/2012 by Zach Honig

At today's Windows Phone Summit, Microsoft alluded to some of the next-gen OS' enterprise features, including a trusted shared Windows core, encryption, secure boot and IT device management. Company VP Joe Belfiore recognized that some business users haven't been satisfied with the operating system's previous suite of enterprise features, and that definitely appears to be one focus of Windows Phone 8. BitLocker Drive Encryption will provide support for device security, while IT administrators will have have the ability to push apps to handsets while sidestepping the Marketplace. Office will also have a greater presence in Windows Phone 8, though we don't know exactly how that will play out just yet. Enterprise clearly hasn't been a primary target of Microsoft's mobile OS to date, but that could very well change beginning this fall.

There's also a new Company Hub feature, which will allow companies their own app distribution pipe, as well as giving IT administrators the ability to highlight specific things depending on what's important to their organization. With so many Windows machines in the workplace, it's pretty smart for Microsoft to take a serious dive into this stuff, and it's honestly really slick. There's also a Microsoft IT app, which the company claims will be provided in template form so that outfits can tweak it to fit specific needs.

To check out the latest updates from Microsoft's Windows Phone event, visit our liveblog!

Continue reading MS teases Windows Phone 8 enterprise features: Company Hub, encryption, secure boot, IT management

MS teases Windows Phone 8 enterprise features: Company Hub, encryption, secure boot, IT management originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 20 Jun 2012 12:43:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Microsoft brings NFC payments and loyalty cards to Windows Phone 8

Posted on 20/06/2012 by Donald Melanson

Well it looks like Google Wallet and Apple's Passbook have some new competition. Today at the Windows Phone Developer Summit, Microsoft shared its plans to bring NFC payments and loyalty cards to Windows Phone 8 with its very own mobile wallet feature. It's promising that it will be the "most complete wallet experience" on any phone. That of course includes support for tap-to-pay, the ability to link credit and debit cards, integration with third-party apps and, more uniquely, secure elements on the SIM card rather than the phone itself. You'll also have a PIN code option to protect all purchases on the phone.

As for partners, Orange France is the only one that Microsoft has announced today, but it says that it expects to have a "good solution" with the US carrier-backed Isis initiative sometime next year (though not in time for launch). What's more, the wallet will come loaded on every Windows Phone 8 device, regardless of whether the carrier supports the SIM-based security, which will let folks use at least some of the features.

Check out the latest updates from Microsoft's Windows Phone event in our liveblog!

Gallery: Windows Phone 8 NFC