Video: Nokia introduces the Lumia 620, Windows Phone 8 smartphone.

WorldWide Tech & Science. Francisco De Jesùs.

Video: Nokia introduces the Lumia 620, Windows Phone 8 smartphone.

• Display

  • Display size: 3.8 ''
  • Display technology: LCD, ClearBlack 

• Photography

  • Primary camera sensor size: 5.0 megapixels

• Power Management

  • Maximum 2G talk time: 14.6 h
  • Maximum 3G talk time: 9.9 h
  • Maximum 3G standby time: 330 h
  • Music playback time: 61 h

• Processor

  • Processor name: Snapdragon™ S4 
  • Processor type: Dual-core 1.0GHz
    
     

Nokia Lumia 620: http://nokia.ly/R6EBEb smart, inside and out. Turn smiles into laughs with Cinemagraph, capture the perfect group shot with Smart Shoot, and make double the impact with dual-colour changeable shells.

Nokia's third and most affordable Windows Phone 8 smartphone offers youthful appeal

Espoo, Finland and Paris, France - Nokia today introduced the Nokia Lumia 620, the third and most affordable in its range of Windows Phone 8 smartphones. Alongside the flagship Nokia Lumia 920 and mid-range Nokia Lumia 820, the Nokia Lumia 620 offers a more fun, youthful appeal, and compact design. 

The Nokia Lumia 620 uses a new dual-shot color technique to deliver a variety of striking color and texture effects. Dual-shot adds a second layer of colored, transparent or translucent polycarbonate on top of a base layer to produce secondary color blends and depth effects.  With seven different exchangeable shells to choose from, people can adapt the look of their Nokia Lumia 620 to their own personal taste and style.

"We continue to execute on our strategy to reach new audiences and new markets," said Jo Harlow, executive vice president, Nokia Smart Devices. "With its innovative design, the latest Windows Phone 8 software and signature experiences from Nokia, like Nokia lenses, Nokia Maps and Nokia Music, the Nokia Lumia 620 is a highly competitive smartphone at this price point." 

Among the features shared with the Nokia Lumia 920 and Nokia Lumia 820 are exclusive camera lenses that transform the creative power of the Nokia Lumia 620's five megapixel main camera and VGA front-facing camera. The Cinemagraph lens adds simple animations to still photographs, while Smart Shoot creates a single, perfect shot from multiple images, even removing unwanted objects from the picture.

The Nokia Lumia 620 also provides access to the world's best maps and location experience, including Nokia Maps, Nokia Drive, Nokia Transport and the exclusive Nokia City Lens. Nokia City Lens displays information about local surroundings overlaid onto buildings as seen through the camera viewfinder.

Making it easy to discover and enjoy new music, Nokia Music provides free streaming of ad-free tracks without registration or subscription and the ability to download playlists for listening offline.

With NFC support, the Nokia Lumia 620 can easily pair with NFC-enabled accessories like the JBL PlayUp Portable Speaker for Nokia. Open and secure NFC-connectivity makes it possible to share and receive content by tapping with compatible devices, or make secure payments using the Wallet application in Windows Phone 8.

Powered by Windows Phone 8, the Nokia Lumia 620 delivers a more personal smartphone experience. Adjustable Live Tiles update direct to the Start Screen. People Hub pulls together contact information from multiple address books and social networks into a single location, making it easy to stay in touch with friends and set up contact Groups and private Rooms for sharing. From the Me Tile people can check in to their location, post an update, set chat status, see what's new and monitor notifications across Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter.  Windows Phone 8 also includes Xbox Live, Microsoft Office, 7GB of online SkyDrive storage and faster, safer surfing with Internet Explorer 10.

These features and capabilities are enabled by Qualcomm's Snapdragon(TM) S4 Plus processors.

"People can do more of the things they love when they choose a mobile device that has a Qualcomm Snapdragon processor," said Enrico Salvatori, senior vice president and president of Qualcomm Europe. "The Snapdragon S4 Plus processor is the heart of the Nokia Lumia 620, making it possible to multi-task, stream in HD and share content at super-fast speeds."

The Nokia Lumia 620 will be available in a range of colors* including, lime green, orange, magenta, yellow, cyan, white and black. Estimated at USD 249, excluding taxes and subsidies, the Nokia Lumia 620 will begin selling in January 2013 in Asia, followed closely by Europe and the Middle East before expanding further.

* Availability of colored shells may vary by country.

	Nokia Lumia 620
Operating System	Windows Phone 8
Display	3.8-inch TFT WVGA 800x480 ClearBlack
Battery	1300 mAh
Processor	Qualcomm Snapdragon(TM) S4 processor with 1 Ghz dual-core CPUs
Camera	Main: 5MP Autofocus, LED flash  Front-facing camera: VGA
Memory	512MB RAM 8GB mass memory (Micro SD support up to 64GB) 7GB free Microsoft SkyDrive storage

About Nokia
Nokia is a global leader in mobile communications whose products have become an integral part of the lives of people around the world. Every day, more than 1.3 billion people use their Nokia to capture and share experiences, access information, find their way or simply to speak to one another. Nokia's technological and design innovations have made its brand one of the most recognized in the world. For more information, visit http://www.nokia.com/about-nokia.  

Media Enquiries:

Nokia
Communications
Tel. +358 7180 34900
Email: press.services@nokia.com

www.nokia.com

Windows Phone 8 features details.

WorldWide Tech & Science. Francisco De Jesùs.

Windows Phone 8 features details.

Microsoft officially unveiled its Windows Phone 8 platform yesterday, a device operating system that is set to power new smartphones from Nokia, HTC and Samsung. While the platform was previewed in June 2012, the company used an event yesterday to showcase several new features that have not previously been revealed.

It also provided an update on its app ecosystem, stating that it is approaching the point where 46 out of the top 50 titles available for other platforms have been ported to Windows Phone – which Joe Belfiore, corporate VP for the company, described as “huge progress for us”.

New features showcased by Belfiore included “Kid’s Corner”, which it describes as a “worry-free way to share your phone with your kids” by limiting the features available to prevent accidental misuse; and Rooms, which enables users to create private groups with which to share information – with some features also made available to users of smartphones powered by other OS platforms.

Also new is Data Sense, which uses compression to minimise the amount of data transferred; offloads data to Wi-Fi where appropriate; and adjusts usage when nearing data bundle limits.

Belfiore said that this feature will be made available in partnership with mobile operator partners, and is “rolling out with mobile operators starting with our [November] launch and going into 2013”. The first named operator supporting it is Verizon Wireless.

Windows Phone 8 is also being positioned as “the perfect companion for your Windows devices and your Xbox”, in partnership with the Skydrive cloud storage platform. This will enable users to share images, video and music between different terminals, with Belfiore adding that “it’s the first cloud service that fully integrates and syncs your Office documents, so you can access them from any of your devices”.

As with the earlier Windows Phone 7 and Windows Phone 7.5 platforms, the latest version of the platform centres around a “tiles” interface, which can be used to push personal information to the home screen of the device. These can also be used by app developers to deliver content, and information can now also be pushed to the device’s lock screen.

Belfiore noted: “I would say that the state of the art in the core smartphone experience hasn’t really evolved much in the five years since its inception. If you think about the predominant user experience on most of the smartphones people are using today, it was standardised by Apple and the iPhone, and essentially that same interface was copied by Android and Android phones, and it really hasn’t evolved all that much. The static grid of icons has been the standard on smartphones.”

Devices powered by Windows Phone 8 are set for launch next month. In a US-focused release, it was said that “major mobile operators will start selling Windows Phone 8 in the coming weeks”, with Verizon Wireless, AT&T and T-Mobile USA on board.

Microsoft was less forthcoming on the rollout plans for international markets.

Windows Phone 8 Video takes on the iPhone and Androids.

WorldWide Tech & Science. Francisco De Jesùs.

Windows Phone 8 Video takes on the iPhone and Androids.

On this video the presenter is emphasizing the difference between a windows phone with live tiles and a static start screen of the iphones and the androids. He also let you know how to set up your live tiles.

See how personal Windows Phone 8 is with it's new Start screen, Live Apps, and more. 

From the customizable Start screen that includes Live Apps that give you real-time information at a glance to the Windows Phone Store that now includes 120,000 Microsoft-certified apps — Joe Belfiore, Corporate VP of Windows Phone, shows there's a lot to love about Windows Phone 8.

Meet yours http://newwp.it/aP85hI

Meet Steve Ballmer. See his Windows Phone. Video Promo.

WorldWide Tech & Science. Francisco De Jesùs.

Meet Steve Ballmer. See his Windows Phone. Video Promo.



What makes Windows Phone, Steve's phone? Find out from Steve Ballmer and check out the Live Apps he uses most on his Start screen.

Unity Technologies Announces Support for Windows 8 and Windows Phone 8, for gaming 3D boost.

WorldWide Tech & Science. Francisco De Jesùs.

Unity Technologies Announces Support for Windows 8 and Windows Phone 8, for gaming 3D boost.

This will mean developers will have a very easy time porting high quality, graphics-intensive games to Windows Phone 8.

The news has been confirmed by Edge-Online.com where Unity Technologies CEO David Helgason revealed 53% of mobile game developers already uses the engine.

“Our mission at Unity has always been to provide solutions for developers to effortlessly bring their work to as many different platforms as possible,” Helgason said.

“The Unity community has been asking for access to Windows Phones and have been eagerly anticipating the release of Windows 8. We’re happy to announce that we will support both.”

You can watch a video game sample made with their engine, Metal War game trailer and the Press Release after the brake:

Press Release:

Unite 2012: Unity Technologies Announces Support for Windows 8 and Windows Phone 8

AMSTERDAM, THE NETHERLANDS, Aug 22, 2012 — Unity Technologies, provider of the Unity multi-platform engine and development tools, today announced support of Microsoft’s upcoming Windows 8 and Windows Phone 8 platforms during the keynote at Unite 2012. Windows 8 and Windows Phone 8 deployment options will be provided during the Unity 4 release cycle.

The Windows 8 deployment tool and Windows Phone 8 deployment add-on are among the most eagerly awaited platform additions within the Unity development community and will empower developers to push their interactive 3D content to Windows 8 powered computers and Windows 8 Phone mobile handsets.

"Our mission at Unity has always been to provide solutions for developers to effortlessly bring their work to as many different platforms as possible," said David Helgason, CEO of Unity Technologies. "The Unity community has been asking for access to Windows Phones and have been eagerly anticipating the release of Windows 8. We’re happy to announce that we will support both."

Unity Technologies and Microsoft are currently working hard to bring both deployment options to developers using Unity as soon as possible and will be discussing the process during a session at this Unite 2012, Unity’s dedicated developer conference.

"We are excited that the Unity community will now be given the opportunity to develop world class titles for Windows 8 and Windows Phone 8," said John Richards, Senior Director, Windows App Marketing at Microsoft. "The number of high quality Unity-authored games for the PC, Xbox, and mobile devices already created is staggering and we’re looking forward to seeing these products appear in the Windows Store and the Windows Phone Marketplace."

Windows 8 and Windows Phone 8 deployment tools will both be part of the Unity 4 release cycle. For more information about Unity 4 and the other services that Unity Technologies offers, please visit http://unity3d.com/.

About Unity Technologies

 Unity Technologies is the creator of Unity, an intuitive and flexible development platform used to make wildly creative and intelligently interactive 3D and 2D content. The "author once, deploy everywhere" capability ensures developers can publish to all of the most popular platforms. Unity Technologies boasts a thriving community of 1.2 million registered developers including large publishers, indie studios, students and hobbyists. Unity Technologies aggressively re-invests in its award-winning 3D development tools and democratization initiatives, such as the Asset Store digital content marketplace and Union game distribution service, in order to remain at the forefront of innovation. Unity Technologies is headquartered in San Francisco and has offices in Canada, China, Denmark, Lithuania, Sweden, the United Kingdom, Japan and Korea. For more information, visit: http://unity3d.com .

About Unite 2012 Unity Technologies is holding Unite 2012, its sixth annual developer conference, August 22 – 30, 2012 at the Westergasfabriek in Amsterdam. Unite 2012 is an event for developers, publishers, enthusiasts and others interested in Unity to come together to learn more about the market-leading platform for creating high quality video games, training simulations, medical and architectural visualizations and other 3D interactive content — and how to get the most out of it.

Unite 2012 offers three days of learning including advanced hands-on class tutorials, technical sessions and an opportunity to attend awesome parties. Unity Technologies will host a Unity Training Day on August 21, the day before Unite 2012 to give new and inexperienced users a foundation for Unity development. For more information on Unite 2012 and the Unity Training Day, visit: http://unity3d.com/unite/ .

Unity and all other product names are trademarks of Unity Technologies or its subsidiaries or affiliates. All other product names and trademarks belong to their respective holders.

Rumours: Nokia and HTC to launch Windows Phones 8 in September.

WorldWide Tech & Science. Francisco De Jesùs.

Rumours: Nokia and HTC to launch Windows Phones 8 in September.

Nokia is expected to unveil its next-generation Windows Phone 8-based Lumia phones at Nokia World scheduled to be held in early September.

HTC is expected to roll out multiple Windows Phone 8-based models in September covering the entry-level, mid-range and high-end segments.

Source: Digitimes

Samsung wants it all. Now eyeing Windows Phone 8 market with the Odyssey and Macro smartphones.

WorldWide Tech & Science. Francisco De Jesùs.

Samsung wants it all. Now eyeing Windows Phone 8 market with the Odyssey and Macro smartphones.

For Samsung is not enough to be the number one Android smartphones vendor and also the worlds Top One phones and smartphones  seller with 50,5 million sold in Q2 2012.

Sources are saying Samsung will go after the Windows Phone 8 market with two new smartphones codenamed “Odyssey” and “Macro”, according to court documents filed during the Samsung-Apple mega-trial last week.

Both feature 1.5GHz dual-core processors, 4G LTE connectivity and Super AMOLED displays. 

The Odyssey is the fancier phone of the two with its 8-megapixel camera, NFC connectivity and 4.65-inch display, while the Macro features a 5-megapixel camera and a 4-inch screen.

Launch date Q4 2012 not confirmed yet.

Source: TheVerge

Windows Phone 8 new software keyboard coming.?

WorldWide Tech & Science. Francisco De Jesùs.

Microsoft is reportedly working on a New Arc  soft keyboard for its Windows Phone operating system, according to a leaked presentation obtained by WMPoweruser

The keyboard features a curved layout and is designed for one-handed thumb typing. The keys are grouped together and resemble old T9 keyboards, although Microsoft’s new virtual keypad employs a QWERTY layout. 

A purported Microsoft presentation demonstrating the keyboard’s capabilities does so on an HTC Trophy, possibly indicating support for Windows Phone 7.8 as well as Windows Phone 8.  

Nokia, Huawei, Samsung, and HTC will have Windows Phone 8 devices .

WorldWide Tech & Science. Francisco De Jesùs.

Nokia, Huawei, Samsung, and HTC will have Windows Phone 8 devices 

Nokia, Huawei, Samsung, and HTC will have Windows Phone 8 devices running on Qualcomm chips. The announcement was made on todays Windows Developer Summit 2012.

Microsoft released some details on software updates for its future hardware — all software updates will be pushed over the air, and all Windows Phone 8 devices will get "at least" 18 months of software support after launch. 

Microsoft and its partners are ready for a global launch: the company announced that it'll launch in more than 180 countries in 50 languages, more than Apple announced last week.

Official: Announcing Windows Phone 8. Live Tiles Video.

WorldWide Tech & Science. Francisco De Jesùs.

Official: Announcing Windows Phone 8. Live Tiles Video.

In case you missed the Windows Phone developer summit 2012 this June 20th, below is an official announcemnet of the Windows Phone Blog and the Video of Live Tiles at the end of it:

Three years ago I was lucky to join the Windows Phone team at a time when we were “resetting” our approach to mobile operating system software. We made big changes to our design, our approach to partners, and our platform. The result was Windows Phone 7.

Now it’s time to start telling you about the next exciting chapter of our story: Windows Phone 8. Officially announced this morning in San Francisco, it’s the most advanced mobile OS Microsoft has ever made and will arrive on new phones later this year.

Many of Windows Phone 8’s new capabilities come from a surprising source: Windows, the most successful and powerful operating system on the planet, and one used by more than a billion people. Yes, you read that right: Windows Phone 8 is based on the same core technologies that power Windows 8. As a result, Windows Phone 8 will unleash a new wave of features for consumers, developers, and businesses.

Today I’ll give you a high-level sneak peek at the Windows Phone 8 platform and tell you just some of what it’s going to make possible. I’ll also share some exciting news about apps and updates for current Windows Phone customers. This isn’t a full disclosure of everything in Windows Phone 8—look for a more complete tour of new features later.

The power of Windows

If you’ve seen Windows 8, Microsoft’s groundbreaking new release for PCs and tablets, you’ve probably noticed it bears more than a passing resemblance to the look of Windows Phone. Here’s how the Windows 8 Start screen looks in the latest preview release.

With Windows Phone 8, the similarity is more than skin deep. We’ve based the next release of Windows Phone on the rock-solid technology core of Windows 8. It means Windows Phone and its bigger sibling will share common networking, security, media and web browser technology, and a common file system. That translates into better performance, more features, and new opportunities for app developers and hardware makers to innovate faster.

This new shared core—along with all the extra work we’ve done on top of it—opens up a new world of capabilities, which you don’t have to be a techie to appreciate. Here’s a taste:

• Multi-core processor support: As reviewers have noted, Windows Phone runs buttery smooth on phones with a single processor. But piggybacking on the Windows core provides support for multiple cores—so we’re ready for whatever hardware makers dream up.
• Bigger, sharper screens: Windows Phone 8 supports two new screen resolutions—1280x768 and 1280x720, opening the door to amazing new handsets with high-definition 720p displays.
• More flexible storage: Windows Phone 8 supports removable MicroSD cards, so you can stuff your phone with extra photos, music, and whatever else is important to you, and then easily move it all onto your PC.
• NFC wireless sharing: If you haven’t heard the term “NFC” yet, I’m betting you soon will. This emerging wireless technology lets phones share things over short distances. In Windows Phone 8, it helps make sharing photos, Office docs, and contact info easier—just tap your phone another NFC-equipped device. How cool is that?
• Internet Explorer 10: The next version of Windows Phone comes with the same web browsing engine that’s headed for Window 8 PCs and tablets. IE10 is faster and more secure, with advanced anti-phishing features like SmartScreen Filter to block dangerous websites and malware.
• Wallet: Windows Phone 8’s new digital Wallet feature does two great things. It can keep debit and credit cards, coupons, boarding passes, and other important info right at your fingertips. And when paired with a secure SIM from your carrier, you can also pay for things with a tap of your phone at compatible checkout counters.
• Better maps and directions: Windows Phone 8 builds in Nokia mapping as part of the platform. Our partnership will provide more detailed maps and turn-by-turn directions in many countries, plus the ability to store maps offline on your phone so you can work with maps without a data connection.
• Cooler apps and games: Basing Windows Phone 8 on the Windows core will unleash a new wave of amazing apps and especially games, for reasons I’ll touch on in a moment.

A new Start

We’re putting the finishing touches on Windows Phone 8 as I write this. It has a ton of great new consumer features that I can’t wait to tell you about in the months ahead. Today, however, I’m going to show off just one: the beautiful, flexible new Start screen.

As you can see, we’re making Windows Phone 8 even more personal, with a new palette of theme colors and three sizes of Live Tiles, all of which are under your control. We know Live Tiles are one of the things current owners really love about their Windows Phones, and we wanted to make them even more flexible and unique. This short video shows the new Start screen in action.

Windows Phone 8 will support multiple processors devices. Up to 64.

WorldWide Tech & Science. Francisco De Jesùs.

Windows  Phone 8 will support multiple processors devices. Up to 64.

Windows Phone Summit 2012 June 20,2012.

Windows Phone 8 will arrive on shelves with a shared core with Microsoft's Windows 8 platform, something that has been long rumored to be so. 

It will be released this holiday, with elements common with Windows 8, including kernel, networking, multimedia, driver support. 

Through making this move, Microsoft ensures that devices would arrive on shelves in a wider range of form factors and price points. 

Microsoft announced that Windows Phone 8 would arrive on better hardware than before, including devices with multiple processors (the OS can support up to 64 processors on the same device). 

Support for more powerful GPUs will also be included in the OS, so that users would benefit from a better multimedia and gaming experience. 

Windows Phone 8 will add support for microSD cards, so that users can add increased storage space into the mix as they please, and it will also add support for more screen resolutions, including WVGA, WXVGA and true 720p. 

Windows Phone 8 will be launched with Internet Explorer 10, which should deliver the same experience that IE10 on Windows 8 has to offer, including the same level of security.  

Nokia 3D Maps and Skype integration coming to windows phone 8

WorldWide Tech & Science. Francisco De Jesùs.

Nokia 3D Maps and Skype integration coming to windows phone 8.

Windows Phone 8 will replace Bing Maps with Nokia Maps, and it will also offer 3D navigation capabilities, while taking advantage of hardware acceleration. 

“One of the best ways to make a difference in location-based services is posting photos and reviews: that’s how you remember your visit to a place and how you contribute to its story,” a post on Nokia Conversations reads. 

Now, Nokia Maps provides users with the possibility to add a photo to a place description and deliver a relevant review straight from the Nokia smartphone. All Nokia Maps users will then be able to access these reviews to learn more on specific places. 

“We know that Nokia Maps feels truly yours if you can save your favorite places and immediately see them on the map,” Nokia explains. 

Thus, the new version of Nokia Maps offers automatic syncing of favorites with maps.nokia.com, across platforms (Nokia Lumia, Nokia Belle, Nokia N9), and with the mobile web version of the mapping service. All that users need to do is to connect with their Nokia accounts. 

Additionally, Nokia Maps can take advantage of the personalization capabilities that Microsoft’s Windows Phone operating system has to offer to its users, such as the option to pin applications, features, functions and individual items to the start screen.

“With Nokia Maps you can already pin individual places or places categories, but with this new version you can also pin to start the directions to get to a place on foot, by car or by public transport. You’ll have instant access to the best route there, wherever you happen to be,” said blog post continues. 

Skype integration.

Moreover, Microsoft is expected to integrate Skype into the platform, for a better experience than before. It will connect to user’s phone book and such. 

Windows Phone 8 will feature Skype built into the OS and integrated into your contacts--and not just messaging but VOIP. Skype for Windows Phone 8 will behave like a regular phone call with a little Toast window popping down as you multi-task with different apps--completely seamless. Don't like Skype? 

That's okay, we hear other VOIP providers can patch into the OS just like Skype can because, once again, Microsoft is service-agnostic even when they own the service.

The fact of the matter is that Skype has 200 million registered users and works across devices and platforms. FaceTime does not.

Source: wpcentral 

Microsoft to align Windows Phone 8 with Windows 8

WorldWide Tech & Science. Francisco De Jesús.

Microsoft is set to align the next generation of its Windows Phone platform, Windows Phone 8, with its Windows 8 platform for desktop computers and tablets – although it was reported that compatibility with current apps will be maintained.

In a video, Joe Belfiore, manager of Windows Phone for Microsoft, said that the intention is for developers to be able to “re-use, by far, most of their code” when moving behind the desktop and smartphone platforms. This should also help Microsoft to seamlessly transition many of its existing PC developers to mobile, resulting in a much larger pool creating apps.

According to reports originating from Phonenow, the platform, codenamed Apollo, is based on the Windows 8 kernel, rather than being based on Windows CE like the current Windows Phone. There will also be commonalities in the networking stacks, security and multimedia architectures.

Microsoft has already begun efforts to woo developers to its Windows 8 platform, which will also mark the company’s effort to gain market share in the tablet space. It is offering a version of the platform for devices using ARM-based processors, which should enable it to exploit commonalities with the smartphone platform.

Also on the Windows Phone 8 spec sheet, the reports said, is NFC, enabling the creation of “tap-to-share” apps. The camera architecture has also been modified, to provide a basic interface that can be modified by device makers or developers.

The platform will be integrated with Microsoft’s Skydrive cloud service, to enable content to be shared across multiple Windows-powered devices.

A number of other changes have been reported. The platform will gain support for multicore processors and more screen resolution, enabling more hardware differentiation for vendors.

Related post: 

Windows Phone 8 details leaked. Will have tap- to-share capabilities like webOS.

2012: Windows Phone Tango, Tango 2 and Apollo flavors to be launched.

Windows Phone 8 details leaked. Will have tap- to-share capabilities like webOS.

WorldWide Tech & Science. Francisco De Jesús.

Microsoft has some major changes in store for Windows Phone 8, which is the version of the platform currently being referred to by codename "Apollo" (the one scheduled for deployment after the upcoming Tango update). Thanks to a video hosted by senior vice president and Windows Phone manager Joe Belfiore, and intended for partners at Nokia, a number of WP8 features and themes have now been revealed.

Hardware changes: 

According to Belfiore, the overarching theme with regards to the Windows Phone 8 hardware ecosystem will be scale and choice. Specifically, Apollo will add support for multicore processors, new screen resolutions (a total of four, although actual pixel counts weren't specified), and removable microSD card storage. 

Near field communication (NFC) will also be supported, with Belfiore placing specific emphasis on 8's push into contactless payments. The "Wallet experience," as he calls it, will have the capability to be carrier-branded and controlled, either by a secure element on the SIM card or utilising hardware in the phone itself. In addition, tap-to-share capabilities will reportedly work across multiple platforms, allowing desktops, laptops, tablets, and phones to all share content.

Windows 8 integration: 

Windows Phone 8 won't just share a UI with the next-generation desktop and tablet OS, it will use many of the same components as Windows 8, allowing developers to "reuse -- by far -- most of their code" when porting an app from desktop to phone, according to Belfiore. He specifically mentions the kernel, networking stacks, security, and multimedia support as areas of heavy overlap.

The Xbox Companion app, currently found on Windows Phones, will see a partner client on Windows 8. Skydrive support promises seamless sharing of data between devices; Belfiore gives the example of instantly having one's music collection available on a newly-purchased Windows Phone, without the need for a PC sync.

Application ecosystem:

Microsoft expects 100,000 apps to be in the Marketplace at the launch of Windows Phone 8 which is rumoured to be happening sometime in the fourth quarter. Also mentioned is support for app-to-app communication, as well as a revamped Skype client that hooks directly into the OS, letting Skype calls behave almost identically to regular, non-VoIP telephony. The camera will now be based around so-called lens apps: Microsoft provides a basic camera interface that can either be skinned by OEMs or overlaid with viewfinders from third-parties. Belfiore gives the example of a lens app that combines burst mode with smile detection to capture a perfect portrait shot.

Source: pocketnow