Microsoft's collaborative Whiteboard app for Windows 10 rolls out of private beta

Shawn Knight

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Microsoft alongside the announcement of its revised Surface Pro earlier this year teased a new collaboration app for Windows 10. Whiteboard Preview launched into private beta shortly after being announced and has been there ever since. Now, that changes.

The Redmond tech giant has revealed that it is gradually rolling out the Whiteboard Preview app for Windows 10 devices. Microsoft says the app was designed for teams that need to iterate, ideate and work together, both in person and remotely, across multiple devices. Really, though, it’s for anyone involved in freeform, creative thinking.

The Whiteboard Preview app should be available on all English versions of Windows 10 by the time you read this. Additional languages will be added in the coming months, we’re told.

While the app is free to use, at least one participant with an Office 365 personal, school or work account is needed for multi-user collaboration.

It’s worth noting that the Whiteboard app will eventually replace the native whiteboard app that comes bundled with the Surface Hub. In the interim, Surface Hub users can simply install the Whiteboard Preview app alongside the existing native solution.

Microsoft hasn’t mentioned the possibility of bringing the app to other platforms like Android and iOS although considering its revised mobile strategy (bailing on Windows Phone), doing so may not be a bad idea.

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How does this compare to Google Hangout and other such offerings from other companies? Will it provide any more usefulness? And forcing at least one person to have an Office365 subscription immediately makes this a far costlier alternative...
 
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