Windows Phone (WP) is the latest mobile phone OS fromMicrosoft. This new platform, which is radically different from its predecessor (Windows Mobile), has been receiving polarised reception, ever since it was introduced in late 2010. Competing with already established smartphone platforms including Android and iOS has not been an easy task, but WP seems to be trying hard to carve a place for itself in the lucrative mobile market. There are a number of factors that makes us think that WP will make it big this year. Here are five of them.
Smooth Experience And Fresh Design
Windows Phone comes with a design that has been made from scratch, called the Metro UI. This fresh new interface consists of tiles, rather than the icon-based design that has been, dare we may say, copied by everyone from the iPhone. The tiles are "live", meaning that they actually show the updated status of the applications they are meant for. The animation effects are also different, and the overall user experience is very smooth. Part of the reason for this is that Microsoft has put stringent hardware requirements for devices to qualify for this platform, which effectively protects against fragmentation that has been experienced by other mobile platforms such as Android.
Windows Phone comes with a design that has been made from scratch, called the Metro UI. This fresh new interface consists of tiles, rather than the icon-based design that has been, dare we may say, copied by everyone from the iPhone. The tiles are "live", meaning that they actually show the updated status of the applications they are meant for. The animation effects are also different, and the overall user experience is very smooth. Part of the reason for this is that Microsoft has put stringent hardware requirements for devices to qualify for this platform, which effectively protects against fragmentation that has been experienced by other mobile platforms such as Android.
Deep Social Networking Integration And Web Browsing
One of the first things that you will notice when you start using a WP smartphone is the amount of social network integration that has been built into this platform. You can log into Facebook, Twitter, Windows Live,LinkedIn, and a host of other social networks and get instant status updates on the home screen through the People tile. The phone's contact list automatically gets populated with your friends' details, from the networks you have signed into. In addition to the above, users can also sign into email services of their choice and contacts saved over there are also downloaded automatically to the device, while a live tile for the mail service is made available on the home screen for quick and easy access. Last but not the least, we have to mention that WP devices provide one of the fastest and smoothest internet browsing experience in the current crop of mobile phones, and the credit for this goes to its Internet Explorer browser that uses the same core and rendering engine as IE9 for desktop.
One of the first things that you will notice when you start using a WP smartphone is the amount of social network integration that has been built into this platform. You can log into Facebook, Twitter, Windows Live,LinkedIn, and a host of other social networks and get instant status updates on the home screen through the People tile. The phone's contact list automatically gets populated with your friends' details, from the networks you have signed into. In addition to the above, users can also sign into email services of their choice and contacts saved over there are also downloaded automatically to the device, while a live tile for the mail service is made available on the home screen for quick and easy access. Last but not the least, we have to mention that WP devices provide one of the fastest and smoothest internet browsing experience in the current crop of mobile phones, and the credit for this goes to its Internet Explorer browser that uses the same core and rendering engine as IE9 for desktop.
An Increasingly Attractive Application Store
Smartphones these days are not just about making phone calls, as more and more users want to use applications for different tasks and the success of a platform depends on its app ecosystem. WP has its own Marketplaceapplication store that distributes free and paid apps. The number of apps is nowhere near that of competing stores, but it is definitely increasing, with the current number now standing at over 80,000. The quality of apps is generally good and Microsoft exercises a strict policy of not allowing "socially unacceptable" programs, possibly with the aim to protect young users against the "evils of the online world". One of the good things about this app store is that even if it is a paid app, you can still download and try it out before deciding if you would want to buy.
Smartphones these days are not just about making phone calls, as more and more users want to use applications for different tasks and the success of a platform depends on its app ecosystem. WP has its own Marketplaceapplication store that distributes free and paid apps. The number of apps is nowhere near that of competing stores, but it is definitely increasing, with the current number now standing at over 80,000. The quality of apps is generally good and Microsoft exercises a strict policy of not allowing "socially unacceptable" programs, possibly with the aim to protect young users against the "evils of the online world". One of the good things about this app store is that even if it is a paid app, you can still download and try it out before deciding if you would want to buy.
Microsoft Applications Integration
WP devices come with integrated Microsoft applications. The Xbox Live tile grants users access to some Xbox 360 features via the "Games hub". Users can log into the phone using the same credentials as that for the console and purchase games, set their avatar in a 3D fashion, and also play several multiplayer games right from their handset, even as they are on the move. WP phones also come with free Microsoft Office Mobile to let you open, create, or edit MS Office documents including Word, Excel, PowerPoint,OneNote, and SharePoint. Files can be saved either locally or to SkyDrive andOffice 365 so that they can be accessed later through cloud servers.
WP devices come with integrated Microsoft applications. The Xbox Live tile grants users access to some Xbox 360 features via the "Games hub". Users can log into the phone using the same credentials as that for the console and purchase games, set their avatar in a 3D fashion, and also play several multiplayer games right from their handset, even as they are on the move. WP phones also come with free Microsoft Office Mobile to let you open, create, or edit MS Office documents including Word, Excel, PowerPoint,OneNote, and SharePoint. Files can be saved either locally or to SkyDrive andOffice 365 so that they can be accessed later through cloud servers.
Timely Updates For OS And Apps
Microsoft seems to have taken cue from the negative feedback for its previous mobile OS and made sure that WP devices receive timely updates for the OS as well as for the apps thus far. Updating has been made very easy with the possibility of downloading and installing OTA (over the air) or by connecting the phone to a computer. Similar to the updates for its desktop OS, these WP updates iron out bugs and plug holes in an effort to deliver a better user experience.
Microsoft seems to have taken cue from the negative feedback for its previous mobile OS and made sure that WP devices receive timely updates for the OS as well as for the apps thus far. Updating has been made very easy with the possibility of downloading and installing OTA (over the air) or by connecting the phone to a computer. Similar to the updates for its desktop OS, these WP updates iron out bugs and plug holes in an effort to deliver a better user experience.
Windows Phone smartphones are still awaiting widespread adoption, but we think that its popularity will increase if Microsoft continues to make sure that it does not waver from the above advantages that are currently offered by this platform.
(courtesy:www.techtree.com)
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