Hidden Features Of The Windows Phone 8

Your Windows Phone 8 lets you do much more than place calls, access a handful of websites, and play with rinky-dink apps. When you know how to get the most out of your Windows Phone 8, you will find that it helps you do everything from increase your productivity to help you have more fun online.

Location To Text

Image via Nokia Gadgets

The Windows Phone 8 includes one of the newest features in messaging, location to text. Let’s say your best friend recently moved into a new house and your sense of direction is as horrible as mine. I mean, you are the kind of person that requires the assistance of their GPS system to go everywhere. So your friend sends you a text message and along with the text message, your Windows Phone 8 attaches a little map. You click on the map, and then hit the “Drive” button and immediately you are on your way. There’s no longer a need to remember addresses or ask the stranger at the gas station for directions.

Mobile Casino & Xbox SmartGlass

Image via Spin Palace

You might not have time to take a trip to Monaco or Las Vegas, but you can use your Mobile Phone 8 to play real-money games online. Online casinos like Spin Palace have traditional games like Blackjack, Roulette, Craps, and Baccarat as well as exciting new options like video poker and online slots. Playing casino games online lets you have fun, but it also lets you earn money. What’s better than having a blast while you add cash to your bank account?

Don’t bother playing games with crummy graphics and boring plots. Your Windows Phone 8 lets you play Xbox Live games no matter where you go. Xbox Live includes plenty of free games for Windows Phone 8. You can also purchase inexpensive options like the classic Sonic the Hedgehog game for under $5. Best of all, your Xbox Live profile lets you keep track of the scores you earn at home and on your mobile device. When you connect with friends on the go, you still get to gloat about demolishing their best attempts at games like Super Monkey Ball 2 and AlphaJax. Xbox SmartGlass is a great feature for the gamer that hates to be away from his/her Xbox 360 for more than a five hours. With this feature you can stream music and webpages from your Window Phone 8 to your Xbox. SmartGlass also includes additional features for movies and games that otherwise might not be available.

The Power Of Office Hub & Sky Drive

Image via Revoseek

The operating system that comes with your Windows Phone 8 includes 7GB of free SkyDrive storage. This lets you upload files to the cloud, where and access them whenever you want from your phone or other devices. You can even share photos, videos, and other files with your friends. If you need more space, then sign up for a 100GB account. This option works well for people who take a lot of video. With 100GB of space, you could even store a whole movie.

Students, professionals, and amateurs rely on Microsoft Office to do everything from creating spreadsheets to typing dissertations. Before Windows Phone 8, though, you had pretty limited options. If you were the type who got inspiration from new surroundings, then you were out of luck. Office caused you to be tethered to a desk. Windows Phone 8 changes that completely by letting you create Word, Excel, and PowerPoint documents on the go. When you make these documents through the latest version of Office Hub, they will look exactly the same when you open them on other devices. If you are worried about the icons in PowerPoint, Word or Excel being too small, don’t. Microsoft took that in consideration when programming and designing the Windows Phone. Every aspect of these programs was perfectly rendered to work with the touch of your finger. That’s the assurance you need when you have to present important information to your boss or a group of potential investors. OfficeHub also includes a translator feature and has fifty different built-in languages.

Song Recognition

Image via Gizmodo

I am a huge music fan, it’s one of the two things I require in my life in order to make it throughout the day, and the second is food. The Windows Phone 8 includes a free app that allows unlimited music recognition, SoundHound. Imagine you are driving around town with your best friend and a new song comes on the radio. After the song ends, your first thought is, what was the name of that song again? With SoundHound, you can play the song loud enough for your phone to pick it up and the app will bring up the artist, album and title of the song within seconds. It is the “world’s only viable singing and humming recognition app.” As an added bonus, you also have the option of viewing the lyrics, it also makes it easier to stalk your favorite band or musician by incorporating Facebook and Twitter updates.

In a market saturated with over priced technology, the Windows Phone 8 is actually a mobile device that has not been over-hyped. The product is worth the price tag.