Top Windows Phone news of the week: Continuum, slow rollout, and even more
We're excited to bring this weekly top news roundup covering Windows Phone. This week in Windows Phone there were reports of a way to turn the phone into a near-PC, Windows 10 will have a staggered rollout, and Microsoft wants competitor's apps in the Windows 10 store.
Windows 10 for phones won't launch with version for PCs
Microsoft stated at the BUILD conference this week that Windows 10 will launch this summer on PCs, but not on phones. The company plans a staggered launch for different device types, with all others following after the main version for PCs.
The firm didn't give a hard date for Windows 10 for phones.
Microsoft unveils Continuum, turns Windows Phones into PCs
Big news out of BUILD this week about the new feature of Windows that lets Windows Phones turn into full PCs. Continuum will allow connecting phones to monitors using the handset as the core computing module for impromptu PC systems.
Continuum won't work on existing Windows Phones and will require upcoming handsets to use it. Apps written for Continuum will scale the display from four inches to much larger displays.
Microsoft to allow iOS and Android developers to easily bring them to Windows Phone
Microsoft has long been trying to get lots of apps for Windows Phone, and in a sort of concession to those platforms is inviting them into the Microsoft Store. It is going to provide ways for iOS and Android app developers to port their apps to Windows Phone.
Developers may go for this as according to Microsoft the app conversion to Windows 10 can be done without a tremendous effort.
Why porting iOS and Android apps to Windows is a bad idea
In response to the news that Microsoft is encouraging iOS and Android developers to bring their apps to Windows 10, ZDNet's Steven Vaughan-Nichols contends it's a bad idea that's bound to fail.
He states the case that the Windows Phone market share means it is a lot of effort for very little return.
