Two separate reports today appear to have shed quite a bit of light on Windows Phone 8 (codename Apollo), the next major release of Windows Phone. PocketNow claims to have obtained a video in which senior vice president and Windows Phone manager Joe Belfiore reveals a number of new features in Windows 8. WinSuperSite‘s Paul Thurrott followed that with a report of his own. Between the two, there is quite a list of exciting new features to watch for.
Windows Phone 8 will support a much broader range of specifications. Multi-core processors, four screen resolutions, removable microSD card support, NFC support for both contactless payments and device-to-device sharing are all in the works.
Windows Phone 8 will be based on the Windows 8 kernel. Not only will it share common UI elements with Windows 8, but other key areas such as networking stacks and security will overlap. This will allow developers to reuse more of their code between PC and mobile versions of their apps. The addition of native code support could also make it easier to port Android and iOS apps over to Windows Phone.
A new dedicated companion application will likely replace the desktop Zune client. Is ActiveSync about to make a comeback?
A lot of software will also be enhanced. Internet Explorer 10 Mobile could have a server-side compression feature that would reduce the amount of data sent (much like Opera Mini does). Skype will be revamped and could offer behaviour almost identical to regular, non-VoIP telephony. The camera app will also be more flexible, supporting OEM skinning and third-party viewfinders.
A new feature called DataSmart will not only report on your data usage but also actively look to better manage connectivity by giving Wi-Fi connections precedence.
Additional corporate focus will come in the form of native BitLocker encryption, additional Exchange ActiveSync policies and System Center configuration settings and more support for “line-of-business” applications.
There is a lot of promise here…
Read more: PocketNow and WinSuperSite