Microsoft's New Operating System, WP8 for Smartphones and Tablets

The all new Windows operating system for smartphones and tablets will be released by Microsoft this Friday.

Windows Phone 8 comes with a variety of features. With the resizeable live tiles, the squares can be shrunk to one quarter of the previous size thereby yielding more personalization. Windows Phone 8 (WP8) users will get Internet Explorer 10 with HTML5 and a speedy Javascript. WP8 also supports dual-core processors. It comes with a built-in SkyDrive, a file storage and sharing service that allows users to upload files to the cloud, and also access them.

“This is an absolutely critical product,” said Bill Gates, the former chief executive and current chairman of Microsoft, in a video interview posted on the company’s website. “It takes Windows into the world of touch, low-powered devices, really giving people the best of what we think of as a tablet-type experience and the PC experience,” he added.

Windows Phone 8 also allows users to take screenshots with the handset. It supports a higher resolution up to 1,280 x 720 pixels. Windows 8 apps and apps from other platforms can be easily ported to WP8. It is also reported that Instagram, the photo-sharing social app, is making its way to WP8. With the NFC (near field communication) technology of WP8, users can now share content with other devices that use the built-in NFC.