WINDOWS PHONE 8.1
The most anticipated release of the year.The windows phone 8.1 was anticipated and the most leaked launch , as in our previous blog some features were leaked and came to be true.the WP 8.1 was expected and at the keynote the video said ,it was built for the fans.Lets hope so!!. The Windows Phone 8.1 was unveiled at the keynote at their BUILD conference .While windows phone 8.1 was revealed Nokia also revealed it's Lumia devices , the Lumia 930, Lumia 630 and
Lumia 635, which will be the platform lead devices for Windows Phone 8.1
OS version.
Microsoft's Joe Belfiore, VP Windows Phone program
management and design, introduced a bevy of enhanced features in the
Windows Phone 8.1.We've broken down the eight biggest new features in
the Windows Phone 8.1 including the ones that made it into the
highlights - Cortana, Action Centre, Word Flow and more personalised
Start Screen.
1. Greater Start Screen : Microsoft
in an attempt to offer more customisable options to Windows Phone
users, has added 'Start background' feature that allows users to add an
image to the tiles on the Start screen of the device.
The feature
will add an image of the user's choice to multiple tiles on the Start
screen.
It will also let you choose if you want a 3 column tiles like the Lumia 1520.Which got a great response by the users
2. Cortana: One
of the highlight features of Windows Phone 8.1 is Cortana, which is
Microsoft's voice-based virtual assistant.Cortana
is based on a popular AI character in Microsoft's blockbuster video game
franchise, Halo.
Cortana is powered by Bing and completely replacing the search feature in
WP8.1. It is claimed to get better and better with time and also has a notebook feature for storing the user's details.
Cortana fully leaked feature can be seen on our blog post of
CORTANA
Microsoft
has announced that Cortana will be available first in the US as a
'beta' and later will released in the UK and China in the second half of
2014, while in other countries Cortana might reach by 2015.
3. Action Centre:
Microsoft
has finally launched one of the most awaited features on Windows Phone
platform, the Action Centre. The Windows Phone 8.1 update brings the
Action Centre to all Windows Phone-based devices which will show
notifications for calls, messages, emails, apps and others. It will also
offer quick settings access to Flight Mode, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, and
Rotation Lock options. Notably, the quick access options are
customisable.
The Action Centre for Windows Phone 8.1 can be accessed by a simple drop down swipe
gesture.
4. Word Flow Keyboard:
Windows Phone 8.1 has been the introduction of the
Word Flow Keyboard, which is a Swype keyboard-like feature for Windows
Phone users. The Word Flow Keyboard allows users to glide over the
display and type words.
Microsoft claims that the Word Flow
Keyboard is one of the 'most intuitive smartphone keyboards'
and is also the worldest fastest keyboard on a smartphone.
5. Skype Integration Microsoft
has also upgraded the Skype integration in Windows Phone devices with
its latest Windows Phone 8.1. Now, the new Skype app for Windows Phone
8.1 comes with dialler integration that allows a user to switch a
regular call to a Skype video call.
6. Upgraded imaging experience Microsoft
takes the Windows Phone photography experience to the next level with
the revamped Camera Roll.The Smart Shots,
Cinemagraphs, and Refocus photos options are directly accessible now
from Camera Roll.
Creative
Studio has been also added to the Camera Roll, which can use five new
filters.
7. New Sense feature for Windows Phone users :Microsoft has introduced the new Sense apps that include Data Sense, Wi-Fi Sense and Storage Sense.
Data
Sense gives a detailed track of data usage on a Windows Phone, which
could be braked down according to time- a month, a week etc. Data Sense
includes a 'high savings' mode which will compress the
images browsed on the Web, so a user can search more without with less
data usage.
Another Sense app is Wi-Fi Sense, which automatically
connects to a nearby Wi-Fi hotspot (when detected) to conserve cellular
data.You can find detailed information on our leaked blog post of
WIFI SENSE
Storage Sense can help users manage content stored on
the microSD card and inbuilt storage by moving apps, music, images and
videos between inbuilt storage and microSD card.
8. Slew of new delights:
Apart from the major highlights of the Windows Phone 8.1, Microsoft has also added a number of minor tweaks to its OS.
After
multiple leaks, the
onscreen keys are official with Windows Phone 8.1.
The onscreen keys for Search, Start and Back will now appear at the
bottom of the display and this will mean that future Windows Phone
8.1-based devices will not feature the three capacitive buttons at the
bottom of the front panel.
Microsoft has also introduced the new
Lock Screen, which now comes with multiple
Lock Screen themes featuring
different visuals and animations - APIs are also available for
developers to create their own themes and widgets.
The
Calendar
app has received a redesign and now shows a week view, along with a
weather widget which has been integrated into the Calendar app. It will
show at the top.
Various apps such as
Music, Video and Podcasts
have received improvements and are now split apps, all capable of update
vie the Store.
The
Internet Explorer 11 for Windows Phone 8.1 was
also introduced. The new IE11 comes with new features such as InPrivate
browsing, password caching, and a super-handy reading mode.
