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Microsoft To Showcase Windows 10 Smartphone Preview On January 21
Microsoft is preparing a preview of Windows 10 for smartphones
Microsoft is gearing up to showcase its forthcoming Windows 10 platform, specificllay it’s going to show us what we can expect from the new build when it’s installed on smartphones. The company revealed the new software in-development late last year and noted that it would be the first truly cross-platform iteration of Windows – being the same across PCs, tablets, wearables, and smartphones.
The company has now released a “Phone Insider” application as a prelude to an event taking place on January 21. According to The Verge’s “sources familiar with Microsoft’s plans,” the company intends to showcase several Windows 10 smartphone features. Specifically, these include “some user interface changes designed to more closely align its mobile operating system with its desktop counterpart and the Xbox One games console.”
The report goes on to state that the next mobile iteration of Windows will “be a combination of the Windows Phone and Windows RT operating systems.” Microsoft apparently has big plans to leverage a universal applications approach rather than using independent content storefronts.
Microsoft is said to be prepping a big showcase at its annual Build conference but this will be more for developers, while the January 21 event is the one to watch for consumers. It’s also been suggested that we might hear a new name for the platform.
Meanwhile, the Windows “Phone Insider” app is essentially Microsoft’s mobile equivalent to the kind of preview builds the company had offered ahead of Windows 8’s launch – it’s basically an early test build to get a feel for the thing and provide feedback. Presently it is only accessible by Microsoft’s own people, however, but Microsoft will allegedly broaden access to include the general public at a later date.
The real questions remain though; can Microsoft prove that it knows what consumers want? Can it actually catch up with rival platforms such as Android and iOS which are leaps and bounds ahead in terms of basic features? We’ll have to wait and see.
Paul Briden
15:17, 14 Jan 2015