Lumia 920 reveals Windows Phone 8 features
Windows Phone Central forum member Blackwood504 noticed some interesting potential improvements / features in a Lumia 920 hands-on video that could well be in Windows Phone 8, so he decided to take screenshots and publish his interpretations of what's being shown in our forums. French website Test-Mobile.fr got their hands on a yellow Lumia 920 and decided to take it for a spin.
We're able to see functionality and features in their video that aren't present in the latest builds of Windows Phone 7.5. So what do we believe has been revealed in the hands-on action?
Check out the above video for a full walkthrough of the device (in French) as well as the unveiling of features that are covered below.
On contact with the Nokia wireless charging stand, a notification was displayed on-screen that asked the user whether or not the Windows Phone should accept content from the dock. It would appear as though the stand sports NFC built-in and apps can be tied to supported accessories / hardware. It's reported on Nokia's website that the charging stand will open up a specified app that boosts the volume.
The next screen is showing the multitasking in Windows Phone 8, which sports an increase to what appears to be eight different apps held in the manager for quick and convenient access. This was originally set for the Tango update. As well as the increase in amount of apps supported, an "Accessories" app was spotted while the swiping animation was in effect.
- "Tap to open" - to configure connected hardware?
- "Open application by tapping the NFC tag on your phone against the stand."
- It would appear as though we could have a new area in the settings for "Accessories" where NFC-enabled hardware can be configured.
We're next visiting the Bing search page, which shows two notable differences compared to Windows Phone 7.5.
- A mysterious icon appears when search is loaded, but disappears shortly after. We're not aware of the icon's significance, nor what it actually represents.
- The microphone icon has been moved from the app bar to the search box.
Bing Search has been refreshed with a "media" pane now present in the results. This could well be Microsoft grouping images with possibly video and other media.
The text selectors have been revamped, which look much more appealing to the eye. Two hollow circles replace filled triangles and the selector itself appears to have been on an effective diet. This improvement will hopefully make it slightly easier to select text on congested web pages for those who struggle to control the selectors.
Windows Phone 8 will seemingly enable users to select multiple photos and videos at once for mass management. Options could include delete, move, copy and share functionality.
Finally, we've got new tiles within the Games hub - one for achievements and another for Avatar atire. This could illustrate Microsoft implementing features found in the Extras app into the hub itself, or these two tiles could be mere shortcuts.
So, are these some of the improvements / features we'll see in Windows Phone 8? It's a strong possibility. Another question would be: which of the above features will be included in Windows Phone 7.8 (if any)?
Source: YouTube, wpcentral forums; massive thanks to Blackwood504 for publishing the photos with attached ideas!
