Box ‘doubles down’ on Windows 8 and Windows Phone with new software updates

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Although a lot of folks in the Windows Phone ecosystem may opt for SkyDrive for their cloud storage, there’s no doubt Box (www.box.com) has a compelling service as well (especially if you nabbed those free 25 or 50GB of storage offers).

The company has pushed out dual updates today for both their Windows 8 and Windows Phone apps, bringing their new file-preview technology to both and allowing users to peek in their files without opening them. In addition, each app received some personal attention too for general improvements.

Box

The file-preview technology is evidently very popular as it was introduced on Android and iOS recently. According to Box:

“The real value of preview technology on a Windows Phone or Windows 8 device is in our unique ability to show previews of 75+ file types – the only app capable of this in today’s marketplace. We’re going far beyond the typical Word document or PowerPoint presentation. Ever wanted to see an AutoCAD file on a mobile device? Or an Adobe Illustrator file? With Box, it's all possible—no need to open other apps or spend time downloading the file.”

Indeed that is quite a useful feature. Platform specific changes are the following for today’s updates:

For Windows 8:

  • Built a navigation bar (swipe from top) for a quick way to get to your All Files home, Updates and more.
  • Improved the spacing and utility of the semantic zoom functionality.

For Windows Phone:

  • Added support for Office documents and PDFs to open directly in Microsoft Office.
  • Designed a new wide cycle tile; pin our Live Tile to your Start screen at the largest size, and you’ll see your Box Updates feed rotate through it.
  • Added the ability to see and edit file descriptions, as well as engage in discussions on a folder level

Box

We have to admit, Box makes a compelling client and their enthusiasm for Windows Phone 8 and Windows 8 is a refreshing change from some other cloud-storage services. Have you switched from SkyDrive to Box? If so, tell us why in comments.

You can pick up Box v1.5 for Windows Phone here in the Store and Box for Windows 8 here.

Source: Box

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Daniel Rubino
Daniel Rubino
Editor-in-chief

Daniel Rubino is the Editor-in-chief of Windows Central. He is also the head reviewer, podcast co-host, and analyst. He has been covering Microsoft since 2007, when this site was called WMExperts (and later Windows Phone Central). His interests include Windows, laptops, next-gen computing, and watches. He has been reviewing laptops since 2015 and is particularly fond of 2-in-1 convertibles, ARM processors, new form factors, and thin-and-light PCs. Before all this tech stuff, he worked on a Ph.D. in linguistics, watched people sleep (for medical purposes!), and ran the projectors at movie theaters because it was fun.