Microsoft had their Windows Phone Summit today in San Francisco, CA. At the summit, they took the wraps off of many of the things coming in WIndows Phone 8 (Apollo). Joe Beliore presented eight platform annoucements related to the phone. I’ve listed those annoucements here along with a few comments:
1 Windows phone 8 will support latest and greatest hardware.
a. Multi-core chips, etc.
b. Better support for screen resolutions. Two new resolutions to be supported (for total of three):
i. Adding 720p (so high-def) (1280×720)
ii. Adding WXGA )1280×768)
c. Adding MicroSD support (so you now can expand storage space or use to transfer files)
2 Internet Explorer 10 will be the same on desktop or phone
a. 2X HTML5 feature support compared to Windows Phone 7.5
b. JavaScript performance is increasing.
3 Native Coding on the phone: Killer games
a. Common platform for Windows phone and Windows desktop
b. Native game development platform based on DirectX
c. Game devs can write the same game on the phone as the PC
4 Better Sharing with NFC
a. Shared on phone and other machines – not just phones
a. This is just cool technology.
5 The most complete wallet experience (on any phone)
a. Credit cards, frequent flyer cards, etc.
b. Every windows phone will include the Wallet Hub
6 Nokia Map Technology
a. Great global NAVTEQ Map data
b. Offline map support
c. Map control for developers
i. (you can store maps for local areas if you want)
d. Turn-by-turn directions
7 Windows Phone 8 for business
a. Trusted shared windows core
b. Encryption and secure boot
c. LOB App Deployment (no need to go through marketplace)
d.Device Management
e. Familiar office apps
8 Start Screen is changing
a. Live tiles are now sizable – and remain live