Windows Phone (WP) is a smartphone operating system developed by Microsoft. It is the successor to Windows Mobile, although it is incompatible with the earlier platform. With Windows Phone, Microsoft created a new user interface, featuring a design language named "Modern" (which was formerly known as "Metro"). Unlike its predecessor, it is primarily aimed at the consumer market rather than the enterprise market. It was first launched in October 2010 with Windows Phone 7.
Windows Phone 8.1, which was released in final form to developers on April 14, 2014 and will be pushed out to all phones running Windows Phone 8 over the coming months, is the latest release of the operating system.
Versions:
Windows Phone 7 :
Windows Phone 7 was announced at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, on February 15, 2010, and released publicly on November 8, 2010 in the United States.
Microsoft released an updated version of Windows Phone 7, Mango (also referred to as Windows Phone 7.5), in May 2011. The update included a mobile version of Internet Explorer 9 that supports the same web standards and graphical capability as the desktop version, multi-tasking of third-party apps, Twitter integration for the People Hub, and Windows Live SkyDrive access.
A minor update released in 2012 known as "Tango", along with other bug fixes, lowered the hardware requirements to allow for devices with 800 MHz CPUs and 256 MB of RAM to run Windows Phone.
In January 2013, Windows Phone 7.8 was released. It added some features from Windows Phone 8, such as an updated start screen, additional color schemes, and additional wallpaper options. Windows Phone 7.8 was intended to prolong the life of older Windows Phone 7 devices, as these were not upgradable to Windows Phone 8 due to hardware limitations. However, not all users have received the Windows Phone 7.8 update yet.
Windows Phone 8:
On October 29, 2012, Microsoft released Windows Phone 8, a new generation of the operating system. Windows Phone 8 replaces its previously Windows CE-based architecture with one based on the Windows NT kernel with many components shared with Windows 8, allowing applications to be easily ported between the two platforms.
Hardware support
Windows Phone 8, while adding a number of software improvements, also brought support for updated hardware. This included support for multi-core processors and high resolution screens. Windows Phone 7 and 7.5 were often criticized for a lack of high end hardware support, but Windows Phone 8's new hardware gave Windows Phone the ability to better compete with Google and Apple smartphones.
Windows Phone 8.1:
Windows Phone 8.1 was announced on April 2, 2014, after being released in preview form to developers on April 10, 2014. New features added include a notification center, Internet Explorer 11 with tab syncing among Windows 8.1 devices and WP devices, separate volume controls, and the option to skin and add a third column of live tiles to the Start Screen.
Starting with this release, Microsoft has also dropped the requirement that all Windows Phone OEMs include a camera button and physical buttons for back, Start, and Search.
Windows Phone 8.1 also adds "Cortana", a voice assistant much like Siri and Google Now. Cortana replaces the previous Bing search feature, and will be released as a beta in the
United States in the first half of 2014, before expanding to other countries in late 2014 and early 2015.
Windows Phone 8.1, which was released in final form to developers on April 14, 2014 and will be pushed out to all phones running Windows Phone 8 over the coming months, is the latest release of the operating system.
Versions:
Windows Phone 7 :
Windows Phone 7 was announced at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, on February 15, 2010, and released publicly on November 8, 2010 in the United States.
Microsoft released an updated version of Windows Phone 7, Mango (also referred to as Windows Phone 7.5), in May 2011. The update included a mobile version of Internet Explorer 9 that supports the same web standards and graphical capability as the desktop version, multi-tasking of third-party apps, Twitter integration for the People Hub, and Windows Live SkyDrive access.
A minor update released in 2012 known as "Tango", along with other bug fixes, lowered the hardware requirements to allow for devices with 800 MHz CPUs and 256 MB of RAM to run Windows Phone.
In January 2013, Windows Phone 7.8 was released. It added some features from Windows Phone 8, such as an updated start screen, additional color schemes, and additional wallpaper options. Windows Phone 7.8 was intended to prolong the life of older Windows Phone 7 devices, as these were not upgradable to Windows Phone 8 due to hardware limitations. However, not all users have received the Windows Phone 7.8 update yet.
Windows Phone 8:
On October 29, 2012, Microsoft released Windows Phone 8, a new generation of the operating system. Windows Phone 8 replaces its previously Windows CE-based architecture with one based on the Windows NT kernel with many components shared with Windows 8, allowing applications to be easily ported between the two platforms.
Hardware support
Windows Phone 8, while adding a number of software improvements, also brought support for updated hardware. This included support for multi-core processors and high resolution screens. Windows Phone 7 and 7.5 were often criticized for a lack of high end hardware support, but Windows Phone 8's new hardware gave Windows Phone the ability to better compete with Google and Apple smartphones.
Windows Phone 8.1:
Windows Phone 8.1 was announced on April 2, 2014, after being released in preview form to developers on April 10, 2014. New features added include a notification center, Internet Explorer 11 with tab syncing among Windows 8.1 devices and WP devices, separate volume controls, and the option to skin and add a third column of live tiles to the Start Screen.
Starting with this release, Microsoft has also dropped the requirement that all Windows Phone OEMs include a camera button and physical buttons for back, Start, and Search.
Windows Phone 8.1 also adds "Cortana", a voice assistant much like Siri and Google Now. Cortana replaces the previous Bing search feature, and will be released as a beta in the
United States in the first half of 2014, before expanding to other countries in late 2014 and early 2015.
No comments:
Post a Comment