Microsoft officially has announced its Windows Phone 8.1 for Windows Phone. Many of you have heard it earlier through the leaks. We manage to gather all info about the official new features and about the improvement in OS. The good news that you really want to hear before reading the following context is Microsoft announced yesterday that they will be upgrading all the Lumia Series to Windows 8.1. And after you read about the Cortana, if you are a Windows Phone user you must be jumping around with excitement. Well below is the list of full new features.
Cortana: Window’s Phone Personal Virtual Assistant
You have watched Siri in Apple and Google Now in Android Phones. Microsoft introduced first ever time Personal Virtual Assistant in its Windows Phone 8.1. This voice assistant is known as Cortana. The Bing powered Cortana is playing a major role in Windows Phone 8.1, that can assist you at each and every step of your choice. Best hotels around you, party area around you, visiting place. Moreover it help you keep track with your events, calendar and call people and could even assist like a doctor. At what time which medicine you need. Just feed it and it will learn all.
The powerful factor about Cortana that we told you about couple of month back in our post was its AI (Artificial Intelligence). It will be with you all the time and it will be learning you what you are. Your personality, your type and your each and every feature will be kept with Cortana. Availability of Cortana will be first made in US, than in UK and after that in china. Other countries will follow later on.
Action Center
Like all the Android and Apple phone had got Notification Center Nokia tried it with Action Center. The Customizable Action Center where you can quickly set Brightness, Switch on and off Bluetooth and Wifi and set to Airplane mode. Moreover it can give you notifications of SMS, Missed Called and Social Sites where you are logged on and even from Cortana.
Updated Lockscreen and Custom Tile Backgrounds
What is this new feature actually? This allows you to setup custom backgrounds from the Start Screen tiles. This time the tiles can be made small by customizing it. A UI (User Interface) change have been made and that is you will now be able to select the third live tile column on start screen. Previously this option was not given freely to users.
Internet Explorer 11
All new Windows Phone 8.1 will be shipping with Internet Explorer 11, which is efficient and is very helpful. It bought with it reading view, which extract text and is helpful in reading. Another feature is the tuned up password manager, which sync your password across all devices.
An Incognito browsing mode is also enabled which automatically deletes all the history and cookies once you close the tab. Users can now open Youtube in Internet Explorer 11 and can enjoy video just like on desktop.
Enterprise and Security
The latest Update will bring with it safer browsing and good security of Phone. You are just a punch away for VPN setting and there you go all set. Your Windows Phone is much safer now. Windows Phone 8.1 also supports S/MIME which allows sign and encrypt your emails.
Sense App
Microsoft Sense App is the coolest feature that you will find in Windows Phone. Previously the Sense app only had the Battery Saver Options that helped you saver power and consume the same battery for a longer hour. But now additional features had been added to it, or you can say you can customize the Sense App according to your need.
Data and Wi-Fi Sense will give you more control over the network you use. With Wi-Fi Sense it gives you the ability to share the internet connectivity of your secured Wi-Fi networks with Skype, Facebook and Outlook contacts without giving anybody password. It also connects to free Wi-Fi automatically.
Miscellaneous Features
- On- Screen Keys
Buttons like Search, Back and Home Screen on you Windows Phone will be a necessary need for Microsoft. Leaks said that these buttons will be removed but it got confirmed that they are the part of the Phone now.
- Quite Hours
This Quite Hours features will be helpful to the people who works a lot. This feature helps you set any period of the day when you want a certain group of people to be able to reach you. Through this you can avoid people who disturbs you a lot. This feature can get activated from the settings.
- Wordflow Keyboard
This new featured Keyboard will help you write a text message, email, note or anything as quickly as possible. You just have to input or write anything by swiping through the keyboard. And this set the World Record of fastest writing on a smartphone, snatching the title from Galaxy S4.
- Availability
The Windows Phone 8.1 update will officially release in few months. That’s the wording that Microsoft used. While the new devices like Nokia Lumia 930 and other that are upcoming will be shipping with the 8.1 update. And if you are a registered Microsoft developer then you may be able to get early glimpse on update by April 10.