Windows Phone 8 Details Leaked in Video

Details of Microsoft’s next generation of Windows Phone software has been leaked through a video intended for Microsoft and its partners only.

Windows Phone 8, Codenamed Apollo, will based on the same kernel as Windows 8 and will support multicore processors, NFC, and full device encryption according to the leaked video.

Director of the Windows program, Joe Belfiore, said that Windows Phone 8 will be built upon the same foundations as the PC Windows 8 software. This means that the kernel, networking stacks, security subsystems, and multimedia support will overlap between both versions.

It looks like Apollo will allow for more flexibility than the Windows Phone 7 hardware specifications. WinPho 8 will support processors with up to four cores, four different screen resolutions, NFC for contactless payment, and removable microSD storage.

Even the phone’s browser will be the same as the desktop version – Internet Explorer 10 – with Microsoft planning to utilise server-side compression and proxying to make things a bit swifter. This is used by Amazon and Opera and reduces the amount of data needed to load webpages by around 30%.

Belfiore promises that “most” code will be portable between the desktop and the phone.

Windows Phone 7 applications are currently completely isolated from one another. Windows 8 will include a system called “contracts” which will enable apps to communicate with each other. This would make sharing web browser links and pictures in your photo gallery easier across the social networks for example.

Skype will be built-in and accessible direct from the phone’s dialer, making chatting over VoIP as easy as regular calls. Hardware vendors will have more control over the camera application, enabling features such as smile detection and burst shooting.

SkyDrive is a central part of the Microsoft’s sync strategy.

At the moment Windows Phone uses the desktop Zune client to sync your music and video but, in order to upgrade the desktop integration, that will be replaced by SkyDrive. Belfiore describes being able to listen to your music collection on a new Windows Phone 8 handset without ever having to pair it to the PC. This syncing will also extend to the Xbox.

In addition to using NFC for contactless payment, Microsoft will also implement a “tap to share” capability, to enable easy sharing of content between phones, desktops, laptops, and tablets.