Apollo ⇥

PocketNow obtained a copy of a Windows Phone 8 video only intended for partners, and the list of new features is long. Some of the features sound fantastic:

Similar to Windows 8, seamless SkyDrive integration will also play a big role with cloud syncing.

[…]

However, the biggest app details revealed are related to Skype integration. It is said to be fully integrated at the OS level.

OS-level VOIP is huge. If I recall correctly, there was a dedicated Skype cellphone released a number of years ago, and it was a spectacular marketplace failure. The difference here is that Microsoft’s platform is on phones that are shipping in volume. Not enormous volume, mind you, but they are selling.

On the other hand, a few of the features seem painful. For example:

Not only will Windows Phone 8 share the same Metro style user interface as Windows 8 for tablets and PCs, but developers can reuse the same code for both operating systems.

I assume this is related to the ARM processor compatibility in Windows 8, but it seems like a recipe for horrible ports. It’s worth keeping in mind that Microsoft sees the tablet and PC as more similar, therefore the OS can be shared between the two. This is in direct contrast to Apple and Google, both of which see the tablet and phone as more alike, as made evident by the use of iOS and Android on both platforms.