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It was fun and easy to customize the main screen of my Windows Phone 8 device with a slew of “Live Tiles.” These are basically the Windows Phone version of widgets, though they’re more dynamic than the ones bundled with, say, Windows Vista, and you can fit a ton of them on a single screen. So I’m going to bet they can do it, even if it may take some time.Īs with previous versions of Windows Phone, I really liked the look of Windows Phone 8, which I tested on a Nokia Lumia 920 (the phone itself isn’t under the microscope here, but suffice it to say it’s a good device though a little on the chunky side). But Microsoft is an old hand when it comes to wooing developers, and Windows 8-its operating system for desktops and tablets-is designed to make it easier for developers to create software components that work on both mobile and conventional computers.
#Windows live tiles phone for android#
If Microsoft wants to be taken seriously by consumers and app developers, it will have to make serious strides with its Windows Phone Store, which for now includes just a fraction of the apps available for Android and iOS. It’s snappy, easy to navigate and customize, and good-looking to boot-all traits that will help the company as it tries to surpass Research in Motion’s ailing BlackBerry and Nokia’s dying Symbian platforms.īut-and of course, there has to be a “but”-the operating system still faces an uphill battle to become a strong third-place player in the smartphone market, and the weakness of its app store won’t help. It had just 2 percent of the global smartphone market in the third quarter, according to data from IDC, compared with 75 percent for Android smartphones and 15 percent for the iPhone.įortunately for Microsoft, Windows Phone 8 is a strong effort. Microsoft approached its recent launch of Windows Phone 8 as a member of this brotherhood of stragglers. Live tiles: The screen of a Windows Phone 8 device shows panels that highlight new e-mails, calendar reminders, and alerts from apps.