Gadgetory

Windows Phone 8 it's still bold it's so beautiful and now it's also much closer to stealing customers from iOS and Android I'm Jessica Dahl court from CNET and I'll use this HTC Windows Phone 8x to show you just what I mean now Windows Phone 8 new Start screen gives the mobile operating system a fresh lick of paint the Live Tiles extends all the way to the edges and you can cycle through each one to change its size to small medium or large just like Goldilocks huh the result is more space for the tiles you look at most and while you're at it there are more theme colors to cosmetic change comes also to the lockscreen you can program it to give up information like a Groupon deal of the day Facebook Alerts and today's forecast have you ever handed your phone to a kid and worried that they might get into parts that you don't want them to or reset your keyboard language just for laughs well Microsoft execs have - they came up with the idea of Kids Korner which is like a second lock screen for the tykes in your life you control which games apps and music they see and they return the favor by never accidentally calling China NFC support is a major new feature to come to Windows Phone 8 and tap and send is probably how you'll encounter it most you'll be able to use tap and sent to share all sorts of content like contacts photos Word documents and song IDs it'll even work with some non Windows Phone devices I was able to share a URL with an Android Samsung phone for example it's really neat to use and saves you having to email attachments and links to share with others who have the same OS as you Microsoft's wallet app is an offshoot of NFC if the carrier lets you and if there's a compatible point-of-sale terminal at the store then you could enter a credit card and tap to pay for stuff but you can still use it anyway to store credit card information and details about other loyalty cards to the phone's wallet also stores the info to use on purchases you might make while using the phone like to the built-in music subscription service or an app store and yes you can password protect the wallet in fact I'd highly recommend it the Bing Search app gets a few more extras too you swipe to see top headlines videos movies and local deals the local Scout app which is sort of like Microsoft's version of Yelp now has an extra column where it suggests places that your friends liked or spots that are popular one of the most innovative features in Windows Phone 8 is the extra camera lens functionality in the camera basically you can load on-screen controls built by third-party developers to do things with their app the CNN app for instance gives you an interface where you can shoot video from the street and submit it to the network as part of a citizen journalist newscast less sexy but definitely practical is all the cloud syncing that goes on behind the scenes if you decide to sing things like photos and documents you can view them from other Windows Phone 8 devices like your tablet or PC sinking even more stuff like your text messages helps restore the contents of the phone if you lose it or it all goes kablooey believe it or not the most useful new features are buried deep within the code Microsoft software allows phones like this 8x to use multi-core processors a high-definition screen and expandable memory slots if the manufacturer wants to use one this phone has the first two but not the last the bottom line is that Windows Phone 8 helps make really gorgeous devices like this fast sleek and highly desirable the OS isn't perfect and there are still things that Microsoft can do to even the sport like integrating turn-by-turn voice navigation for instance Android will remain king when it comes to flexibility and iOS still reigns when it comes to simplicity but Windows Phone 8 is starting to rise as a stronger third option that has an edgy and powerful smartphone personality all its own now there's much more to see and for all the details you should read my full review I'm Jessica Dahl chord and this has been Windows Phone 8 OS on HTC's Windows Phone 8x smartphone you