Microsoft’s has launched a revamped Windows Phone Store to go hand-in-hand with the official arrival of Windows Phone 8.
The Windows Phone Store is now available in 50 languages, 191
countries and stocks 120,000 apps and games. It features options to help
users discover new apps and games as well as managing what children can
access, according to a Microsoft blog.
Here is a breakdown of the new features:
• Collections
This segment of the store offers groups of six or more apps
handpicked by a team of experts to be organized around a central theme.
“When making their picks, these in-house curators take into account
everything from quality to local calendars to customs, so the apps you
see depend on both when and where you’re browsing,”
said Microsoft’s Mazhar Mohammed in the blog post. “We plan to update
Collections regularly so they’re fresh and relevant.
The company launched more than 450 Collections across 19 markets last week.
• Picks For You
This feature, powered by Bing, displays personalized app
recommendations based on users downloads in the past, what Facebook
friends have downloaded and the apps that are often downloaded together.
The list also includes popular regional apps.
“The Bing-powered results also now show you related apps
and ones in the same genre as what you’re searching for,” Mohammed said.
“This enhancement also works on Windows Phone 7.
“You’ll also see some new or renamed lists in the Web Store including
Best rated and New+Rising, which now considers not only when an app was
published but how quickly it’s being snapped up.”
• Wallet
The new Wallet feature offers users a new way to securely pay for apps and games. Wallet
stores credit cards and other payment options in one place to make the
checkout process easier. Wallet information can be secured with a PIN.
Wallet can also be used to pay for in-app purchases (for example
extra game levels and bonus content), virtual merchandise and content
sold within Windows Phone 8 apps.
• Family-friendly features
Windows Phone 8 is offering My Family,
which enables parents to decide what apps children can access and which
game ratings they’re allowed to play on their Windows Phone 8 phones.
Kid’s Corner, another new feature “takes the worry out of handing
over your phone to your little ones.” It provides children with their
own play area — separate from the parent’s content — stocked only with
the apps, games, videos and music chosen by the parent.
Post from: SiteProNews
