Microsoft has unveiled the next version of
its smartphone operating system.Windows Phone 8 shares much of its code
with the firm's PC system, making it easier for developers to write
programs for different types of devices.The company said it should mean
there would be some "amazing games" for handsets running its new
release.A tie-up with Nokia has already brought several Windows Phone
devices to market, but sales lag some way behind models running Android
or Apple's iOS.Microsoft said Nokia, Samsung, HTC and Huawei would all
be making devices powered by the system upgrade.
High-def handsets
Other new features announced at the Windows Phone Summit event in San Francisco included:
Support
for multi-core chips, allowing devices to turn on cores to access extra
processing power when needed, and to switch off cores when not to
preserve battery life
The ability to work with different screen resolutions including the high definition 720p format
Support for removable Micro SD cards allowing users to store more media files or install apps saved on the format
A
new "wallet" app allowing the phone to act as both credit and
membership cards. It also supports NFC (near field communication)
payments
Built-in maps from Nokia's Navteq division with turn-by-turn navigation
A
more customisable start screen allowing users the choice of three tile
sizes to represent installed software and more colour options
A warning alert if the software believes a website contains malware or is otherwise unsafe
Application tiles can be made to look smaller
Background Skype
The
update also allows internet call software based on VoIP (voice over
internet protocol) and video chat technologies to run in the background.
This
addresses a complaint that the firm's own Skype program could not be
used to receive calls while its owner was using another application - a
function offered on rival platforms.
The firm said VoIP calls should now "feel like any other call" made or received by Windows Phone handsets.
Windows
8 and Windows Phone 8 strongly resemble each other - at least when the
PC system is run under its Metro interface - and Microsoft was keen to
stress that their relationship goes deeper than appearance alone.
The
two will share a range of components including graphic drivers, the
DirectX collection of application programming interfaces (APIs) and the
NT kernel that ties application software to the hardware it is installed
on. They can also both support native code in the C and C++ programming
languages.
Microsoft
said this should not only make it easier to port software between the
two environments, but should speed up the time it takes developers to
recode programs originally built for iOS and Android.
More games
Microsoft noted more than 100,000 apps had been released for Windows Phone 7.
By
contrast there are more than 466,500 programs in the Android
marketplace according to search site Appbrain, and "over 500,000" in
Apple's app store according to the iPhone maker.
Securing
"marquee titles" is more important to some than raw numbers, and
Microsoft addressed this too with news that Gameloft's Nova 3 and
Zynga's Draw Something were coming to Windows Phone."Until now handsets
running Microsoft's system have been missing some of the most innovative
applications and popular games," said Malik Saadi, principal analyst at
Informa Telecoms."Now with the update from Windows Phone 7 to 8 this
should be addressed. Many of the developers I had spoken to had said
they were holding off until they knew more about the new system. It
looks like that barrier has now gone."
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