Microsoft unveils WP8, Windows Store reaches 120,000 apps

Rick

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The always very excitable Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer unveiled Windows Phone 8 today, outlining a number of new features and improvements over WP7x. Microsoft, of course, hopes WP8 will be the key to increasing the software giant's smartphone market penetration against well-entrenched rivals Google and Apple.

In addition to the new bells and whistles, WP8 will also be rolling out on "killer hardware" according to Ballmer, most notably the Nokia Lumia 920 and HTC Windows Phone 8x. The HTC 8X ships with a 4.3-inch, 720 x 1,280 with an impressive pixel density of 342 PPI. The device also features a snappy Qualcomm S4 1.5GHz dual-core processor, 1GB of RAM, 16GB of internal storage and an 8-megapixel f/2.0 rear camera. The Lumia 920 boasts slightly better specs overall, more of which you can read about here.

Just a few of the new WP8 features being touted are a highly-customizable lock screen, granular access controls for children, on-the-fly data compression for snappy browsing over slow data connections while using IE10 mobile and a strong focus on Windows 8 interoperability. In fact, Microsoft just released a WP8 synchronization app to its Windows Store for Windows 8 users.

Speaking of which, just prior to the introduction of Windows 8 last week, Microsoft also launched the Windows Store -- a place where early adopters of Windows 8 can purchase and download apps to their PCs and Surface tablets. Although the Windows Store remains in its infancy, variety will most definitely not be an issue: Microsoft announced the store already houses over 120,000 apps. 

With both Windows 8 RT and WP8 sharing a common core based upon ARM architecture, we can probably expect to see "universal" apps which will work for devices running either OS. Currently though, Microsoft's app stores remain divided: Windows Store is for Windows 8 users while the Windows Phone Store is for mobile phones. By the way, Microsoft claims its Windows Phone Store has 46 of the top 50 apps smartphone users enjoy.

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More importantly...is scott baio there to show the new charles in charge ring tones?
 
Ballmer is phoning jessica alba :)

is jessica laba the invisible woman from ff4?

it would be better if they had arnold dressed as the terminator with a wp8.
 
Anyone know if they're going to be announcing what features WinPhone 7.5 phones will be getting or did we just get screwed?
 
I like my WP7 but what really pisses me off is that my wife's Android phone gets every goddam angry bird game for free. I had to pay for angry birds and they didn't even give us all the levels, or any of the other angry bird games. Had this phone for a year and there are no apps still. Getting a Samsung S3 next month.

Now they are coming out with a WP8. Get bent MS.
 
Guest said: "Now they are coming out with a WP8. Get bent MS."

I think you're wrong, I think Microsoft has really something going here. The surface is a good product and it even has a keyboard, Windows is a good product, plus no other OS has so many developers writing software. You can laugh about Ballmer all you want, but he's right when he says that he made a PC and that can be a major issue, since all Android and iPad tablets are basically amusement devices, the MS solution allows people to use ALL Windows software, which includes major applications like Office and Photoshop, software that any iPad or Android tablet can only dream about and that also makes the MS solution very interesting for business, not just because of the large amount of Windows software that is available, but also the fact that they're dealing with ONE standard, which is MAJOR issue for any company, because it saves time and money.
 
... since all Android and iPad tablets are basically amusement devices, the MS solution allows people to use ALL Windows software, which includes major applications like Office and Photoshop, software that any iPad or Android tablet can only dream about and that also makes the MS solution very interesting for business, not just because of the large amount of Windows software that is available, but also the fact that they're dealing with ONE standard, which is MAJOR issue for any company, because it saves time and money.

Not saying you are wrong, but I'm not sure about that statement. I don't believe you can install a standard windows app on a windows 8 mobile device. CPU architecture is totally different.
 
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