Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) has created a beautiful, if not wholly popular, operating system in Windows Phone 8. The firm has struggled to keep up with some of the features on more widespread operating systems, but one major discrepancy has now been changed. Windows Phone 8 now allows applications to operate in full HD.
The update will allow Windows Phone 8 smartphones to compete with Android and iOS models on screen quality and will allow developers to make truly beautiful applications for the devices that will look good on larger screens. Nokia Corporation (NYSE:NOK) is going to announce a new range of Windows smartphones, likely its last generation, next week.
Windows Phone 8 on the big screen
The introduction of 1080p screens on Windows Phone 8 comes just in time for the release of the next range of Windows 8 smartphones. Nokia Corporation (NYSE:NOK) is thought to be releasing five and six inch Lumia smartphones at an event on October 22. Big screen phones require a high density screen. Without high definition text can look blurry and pictures indistinct.
1080p is a necessity for competing in the current smart phone world. This update will not cause an avalanche of users to switch to phones with the Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) mobile operating system, but it should help some make the decision easier. In mobile features, incremental improvement can be just as important as revolutionary change.
Microsoft Windows catching up
There were another couple of key updates contained in the patch, which Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) calls General Distribution Release 3. The mobile operating system will allow users to lock the screen to a single orientation, and customize ringtone for different types of messages.
These features have long been available on Android, the Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) operating system. Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) has had to play a good deal of catch up with the mobile search giant’s smart phone offerings, but it is getting there. Some features are still conspicuously absent from Windows Phone 8, but it shouldn’t be long before Microsoft takes care of them.
With the integration of the Nokia Corporation (NYSE:NOK) smartphone business into Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT), the Redmond company is going to have more on the line in the smartphone business. The massive investment needs to be justified to the company’s shareholders, and that will require market share above all else.
