Windows Phone 8

Windows Phone 8

SUPERGUIDE

GET STARTED WITH YOUR WINDOWS PHONE

Contents Meet Windows Phone 8

Which Smartphones Can Run Windows Phone 8? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 What’s New in Windows Phone 8 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

Get Started

Move From Your Old Smartphone . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26 Meet Live Tiles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28 Gestures and Techniques . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33 Navigation Basics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35 Other System Features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46 Windows Phone 8 Tips and Tricks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57

Change Your Settings

System Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59 Application Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86

Work With Apps

Connect and Communicate . . . . . . . . . . . . . Productivity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Meet the Windows App Store . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 Apps Every Windows Phone 8 User Should Own .

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Go Beyond Windows

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Sync With SkyDrive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .161 Integrate With Xbox . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 167 Use Your Phone With Other Platforms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 170

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Foreword Initially, when I was given the beat to cover Windows Phone 8, I was a little intimidated. After all, I’d never even handled a Windows Phone 7 handset, and the idea of learning a whole new mobile operating system from scratch was a wee bit intimidating. But in the first few weeks of learning and familiarizing myself with Windows Phone 8, a funny thing happened: I became a hearty advocate for the OS. While adoption of Windows Phone 8 has been more of a slow and steady thing than a blastoff, it’s hard to ignore all the great things the OS offers: beautiful hardware, a fluid and gorgeous user interface, and intuitive features you won’t find on other mobile OSs. It can show you all of your social media updates in one screen, it’s almost endlessly customizable, and it smoothly integrates across desktops, smartphones, and tablets. Windows Phone 8 is a major upgrade from the previous incarnation, and it continues to gain fans and supporters because it does things in a distinctly different way than other mobile operating systems. As the OS matures, Microsoft is adding more and more functionality and apps, and more and more people are realizing there’s definitely a space for it in the smartphone market. We put this book together not only to show off what Windows Phone 8 is capable of, but also to provide a resource for users who have recently taken the plunge and purchased a Windows Phone 8 handset. We want you to get to know every nook and cranny in your Windows Phone 8 device, from Live Tiles to Xbox SmartGlass and everything in between. With such a customizable OS, you should know exactly what your Windows Phone 8 device is capable of and how to make it work best for you. So I’m proud to present this Windows Phone 8 Superguide: It provides extensive detail on handsets, features, and functions, and it’s an excellent resource and reference if you’re new to the OS or thinking about switching over. The guide lists which handsets run Windows Phone 8 and describes the options they offer, gives a full account of how to customize settings, and provides information on all of Windows Phone 8’s great new features. We hope you enjoy our superguide, but, more important, we hope you’ll enjoy Windows Phone 8 as much as we do. It’s a unique OS, and we’re pleased to recommend it. This guide will help you get the most out of your handset, and it may even turn you into an advocate for Windows Phone 8 as well.

—Amber Bouman San Francisco, March 2013

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Windows Phone 8 Superguide EDITOR: Amber Bouman ----------------------------------SVP AND EDITORIAL DIRECTOR: Jason Snell EXECUTIVE EDITOR: Jonathan Seff EDITOR: Jason Cross ASSOCIATE EDITOR: Serenity Caldwell ASSISTANT MANAGING EDITOR: Sally Zahner COPY EDITOR: Gail Nelson-Bonebrake ART DIRECTOR: Beth Kamoroff DESIGNERS: Kate Henke PRODUCTION: Tami Gargus, Nancy Jonathans Copyright © 2013 IDG Consumer & SMB, Inc. All rights reserved. PCWorld, Macworld, and TechHive are trademarks of International Data Group, Inc., used under license by IDG Consumer & SMB, Inc. ISBN: 978-1-937821-23-4 Have comments or suggestions? Email us at [email protected].

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Meet Windows Phone 8

WE CAN REBUILD IT Windows Phone 8 represents a major software upgrade from the previous version.

Windows Phone 8 is the best mobile OS Microsoft has released yet, with plenty of additional features, intuitive shortcuts, and customization options. Let’s get started by showing you just what your new Windows Phone 8 handset is capable of. We’ll begin by listing which smartphones run Windows Phone 8, and explain its relationship to the Windows 8 desktop operating system. Then we’ll give you a tour of all the new features available in Windows Phone 8.

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Which Smartphones Can Run Windows Phone 8? As of this book’s publication, three major smartphone manufacturers have released handsets that can run Windows Phone 8: Nokia, HTC, and Samsung.

Nokia Lumia 920

NOKIA LUMIA 920 The Lumia 920 is one of Windows Phone 8’s flagship models.

Nokia’s Lumia 920 stands out with its bright colors, large size, and one-of-a-kind camera. The Lumia 920 has a 4.5-inch 1280-by-768-pixel display, weighs 185 grams, and stands 130.3mm tall by 70.8mm across by 10.7mm thick. It comes in red, white, black, yellow, and blue, in both slick and soft-body finishes. The device’s back camera uses Nokia PureView technology and has an 8.7-megapixel sensor, a Carl Zeiss lens, and floating lens technology that allows the shutter to stay open longer and let in more light. It also takes video. The Lumia 920 is additionally capable of near field communication (NFC) sharing and mobile payments.

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Nokia Lumia 820

NOKIA LUMIA 820 The wireless charging shells that work with the Lumia 820 come in several colors.

The Nokia Lumia 820 has a 4.3-inch display, weighs 160 grams, and measures 123.8mm tall by 68.5mm across by 9.9mm thick. While its camera also uses a Carl Zeiss lens, it does not feature the floating lens technology available in the Lumia 920; it also has a lower-resolution display (800 by 480 pixels). It sports wireless charging capabilities, enabled via a wireless charging shell that you can snap onto the device.

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Nokia Lumia 810, 822, and 620

NOKIA LUMIA 810 The Lumia 810 is available only in black.

If you don’t need the flash of the 920 or 820, Nokia also offers a line of more budget-friendly Lumia models. The Lumia 810’s 4.3-inch OLED WVGA screen features ClearBlack technology to make the display durable and more readable in sunlight. The 810 weighs 145 grams and measures 127.8mm tall by 68.4mm across by 10.9mm thick. The display has an 800-by-480-pixel resolution, and the camera is 8 megapixels.

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NOKIA LUMIA 822 The Lumia 822 was developed as an entry-level Windows Phone 8 handset for Verizon customers.

The Lumia 822—another budget-friendly offering—is available in black, white, and silver. At 127.8mm tall by 68.4mm across by 11.2mm thick, it’s a more pocket-friendly size. The Lumia 822 weighs 142 grams; the 4.3-inch display has an 800-by-480-pixel resolution.

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NOKIA LUMIA 620 The Lumia 620 comes in “double-shot” bicolored shells, which you can layer on the handset in different combinations.

The last of the Lumia models, the Lumia 620, measures 115.4mm tall by 61.1mm across by 11mm thick and weighs 127 grams. This smaller-size handset has a 3.8-inch display with a 800-by-480-pixel resolution, and a 5-megapixel camera with Smart Shoot technology. (Smart Shoot takes a series of photos, and then pieces together the best parts of each photo to create the perfect shot.)

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HTC Windows Phone 8X

HTC WINDOWS PHONE 8X HTC’s model is one of the other flagship handsets for Windows Phone 8.

HTC’s Windows Phone 8X is a noteworthy handset based on the design alone—it sports a soft-touch feel with a curved fit. It includes a Beats Audio sound system for a deeper bass, crisper vocals, and detailed high notes, and has a 4.3-inch 720p display. The 8X weighs 130 grams and measures 132.35mm tall by 66.2mm across by 10.12mm thick. The camera is no slouch either, offering an 8-megapixel sensor and 1080p video recording.

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HTC Windows Phone 8S

HTC WINDOWS PHONE 8S The HTC Windows Phone 8S is currently only available outside the United States.

HTC’s other brightly colored Windows Phone 8 handset is the 8S (available only outside the United States), which also comes with Beats Audio. The 8S comes in blue, orange, white, and gray, weighs 113 grams, and measures 120.5mm tall by 63mm across by 10.28mm thick. The phone’s 4-inch PenTile RGB Super LCD display has a WVGA resolution. The 8S has a 5-megapixel camera with LED flash and 720p video recording. It also features memory expansion via a microSD card slot hidden under its back cover.

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Samsung Ativ S

SAMSUNG ATIV S Samsung’s device is the only Windows Phone 8 handset that features a physical home button.

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Samsung’s Ativ S handset has a simple design with round edges, weighs 135 grams, and measures 137.2mm tall by 70.5mm across by 8.7mm thick. The Ativ S has a 4.8-inch HD Super AMOLED display, an 8-megapixel back camera, and a 1.9-megapixel frontfacing camera. It also sports NFC and mobile payment capabilities.

HOW DOES WINDOWS PHONE 8 TIE INTO WINDOWS 8 AND WINDOWS RT? Microsoft’s latest operating systems all have similar names, so here’s a cheat sheet: • Windows 8 is Microsoft’s latest desktop operating system. • Windows RT is the version that runs on tablets. • Windows Phone 8 runs on smartphones. All three operating systems feature a tile-based interface, though Windows RT can also operate in a desktop environment similar to older versions of Windows. You can sync your Windows Phone 8 handset with both Windows 8 and Windows RT (and any Mac) using the Windows Phone app on your device. There’s also a Windows Phone desktop application that syncs Windows Phone 8 handsets to Windows 8 and 7; Windows XP and Vista users can connect to their device via File Explorer.

What’s New in Windows Phone 8 Windows Phone 8 is a major overhaul of the mobile operating system that continues on the path Microsoft embarked on with Windows Phone 7. Version 8 has a slew of new features and options for personalization; here’s a rundown of the major changes.

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Live Tiles

ALL IN THE TILING Live Tiles show real-time data and information from your favorite apps.

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Windows Phone 8 Live Tiles are the squares that populate the Start screen—the majority of which update automatically with new information from their associated app or feature. For example, a tile for an email account might flip to show new messages, while a Facebook tile might show status updates and friend requests. You can create Live Tiles from most apps and contacts. While Windows Phone 8 allows you to pin a variety of items to the Start screen (such as webpages, videos, and photo albums), not all of these items constantly update their information; only specific apps can update their Live Tiles. Additionally, some apps do not offer Live Tile functionality at all, while others only have it when displayed in certain sizes. (For more information on Live Tiles, see “Meet Live Tiles” in Chapter 2, “Get Started.”)

Groups and Rooms

WELCOME TO MY ROOM The Rooms feature is best for close-knit groups of people.

Rooms and Groups are designed to help you connect with family and close friends. Rooms are invitation-only places where users can connect with other invited members. When one member shares a photo, video, note, or calendar event in the room, all the members of the room can see that shared item. The Groups feature is best for lists of people—such as close friends, coworkers, or schoolmates—whose social updates you want to see in one place. You can email, text, and instant message an entire group at once. (For more information on Rooms and Groups, see “Groups and Rooms” in Chapter 2, “Get Started.”)

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Kid’s Corner

JUST US KIDS Preapproved apps and games hide in Kid’s Corner.

Windows Phone 8 is unique in that it has a safe mode just for children—useful if your child wants to play games on your phone but you don’t want him or her to be able to purchase apps or look at your email. It’s a simplified version of the Start screen’s interface, with a lock screen and a tiled list of preapproved apps and games. You can choose a child’s name as the title, and then select a color scheme (dark or light) and an accent color for the tiles that don’t have pictures. (For more information on Kid’s Corner, see “Kid’s Corner” in Chapter 2, “Get Started.”)

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NFC and Wallet

WHAT’S IN YOUR WALLET? All Windows Phone 8 handsets come equipped with NFC technology.

Through NFC, you can wirelessly transfer files, apps, games, contacts, videos, and other content simply by pressing your phone to another NFC-enabled device. NFC technology also enables Windows Phone 8 handsets to support mobile payment and digital wallet functions. (For more information on NFC, see “NFC and Wallet” in Chapter 2, “Get Started.”)

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Data Sense

TRACK YOUR DATA If your carrier has enabled the feature, you can check your cellular data usage with Data Sense.

Data Sense uses a combination of a Live Tile and an app to help users stay on top of their data usage and set appropriate limits. The Data Sense tile constantly rotates to show relevant information, such as how much time is left in your billing cycle. You can use the feature on any Windows Phone 8 handset, but the carrier must first enable it (as of this book’s publication, only Verizon Wireless customers have access to Data Sense in the United States). (For more information on Data Sense, see “Data Sense” in Chapter 2, “Get Started.”)

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Microsoft Office

IN THE OFFICE Windows Phone 8’s Office hub lets you access your Word, Excel, and PowerPoint documents.

Microsoft’s industry mainstay, the Office suite, comes preinstalled as a simple app on every device running Windows Phone 8. The Office hub is divided into two simple panes: The Recent pane lists all the files you’ve recently interacted with, while the Places pane lists the locations Office can search for your Word, Excel, and PowerPoint documents. (For more information on Microsoft Office, see “Office” in Chapter 4, “Work With Apps.”)

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Skype

GIVE ME A RING Microsoft has optimized Skype for Windows Phone 8.

Microsoft’s Skype, which allows you to send online calls, texts, and video chats, is built into every Windows Phone 8 device. Skype users sign in using their Microsoft ID or Skype account info; the People hub also includes Skype contacts. Microsoft is currently working on technology that lets you receive call and message notifications, even when the app is closed.

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Xbox SmartGlass

XBOX DANCE The SmartGlass app lets you interact with your Xbox 360 console using your Windows Phone 8 handset.

If you have an Xbox 360, you can use your Windows Phone 8 device to navigate menus, type on the Xbox, and browse the Internet via the SmartGlass app. The app also lets you play, pause, fast-forward, rewind, and stop any videos and music, along with enjoying interactive experiences in (select) game and entertainment content. (For more information on SmartGlass, see “Xbox Integration” in Chapter 5, “Go Beyond Windows.”)

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Lenses

TRY THIS ON Make your photos unique with Lenses filters.

You can edit photos taken with your Windows Phone 8 handset using Lenses, available in the Windows Phone Store. Once you’ve installed them, you can access Lenses directly from the camera. These apps can apply filters or special effects such as interactive 3D panoramas, animations, or Smart Shoot (which takes five frames for each picture and allows you to select the best faces from each).

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Get Started

WELCOME TO WINDOWS Windows Phone 8 offers a new interface and lots to explore.

Windows Phone 8 isn’t just another ho-hum operating system update with some fixes, a few scattered patches, and a new version number—it’s a major OS overhaul with a slew of new features that include useful, intelligent interface upgrades and fun options for personalization. In this chapter, we’ll help you get started with Windows Phone 8 and learn about Live Tiles, gestures and techniques, opening and closing apps, multitasking basics, notifications, Kid’s Corner, using your phone as a digital wallet, and more.

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Change Your Settings

GEARED TOWARD CUSTOMIZATION Transform your Windows Phone 8 handset in the Settings menu.

You can alter or adjust almost anything on a Windows Phone 8 handset to suit your personal preferences; you access the majority of features via the Settings app. When you first open up Settings, it may initially seem overwhelming—but that’s only because it doesn’t have a lot of drop-down menus. In other words, many of the settings you’ll find nested in menus on other devices are located on the main Settings screen in Windows Phone 8, in two categories: System and Applications. Because Windows Phone 8 is so highly customizable, you’ll be visiting the Settings app frequently. Here, we break down every single option so you have a better idea of how to change the features on your phone. It’s also worth noting that you may have additional settings, depending on your phone’s manufacturer. Nokia owners also have options to access their Nokia accounts and provide feedback to Nokia; HTC handsets have Beats Audio options; Samsung Ativ handsets include Contacts Import, Call Blocking, and Advanced Text Messages. We’ll only cover the settings that are universal to every Windows Phone 8 handset.

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Work With Apps

A LONG LIST The app list shows a full rundown of the apps available on your Windows Phone 8 phone.

Now that you’ve customized your Windows Phone 8 handset to your liking, and you understand all the options available to you in the Settings menu, it’s time to take a look at the apps included on your handset. While the availability of some apps varies by handset—for example, the HTC Windows Phone 8X has an app for Beats Audio, while the Nokia Lumia 920 comes equipped with Nokia Drive (beta) and an app for your Nokia account—we’re focusing here on apps you’ll find on every Windows Phone 8 handset.

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Go Beyond Windows

CLOUD CONNECT Your Windows Phone 8 handset can connect to all sorts of services and devices.

Sometimes you need to go beyond your smartphone. In this chapter, we explain how to upload your content to SkyDrive, connect to an Xbox gaming console, and use cross-platform systems.

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Thanks for Reading! We hope that this superguide has helped introduce you to your Windows Phone 8 handset, and that you’re on your way to enjoying what it has to offer. For even more information on Microsoft’s newest mobile operating system, as well as the latest tips, tricks, how-tos, and news about Windows Phone 8 and all of Microsoft’s other products, check out TechHive.com and the rest of our Superguide program.

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