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Emil Protalinski
Emil was a reporter for The Next Web between 2012 and 2014. Over the years, he has covered the tech industry for multiple publications, incl Emil was a reporter for The Next Web between 2012 and 2014. Over the years, he has covered the tech industry for multiple publications, including Ars Technica, Neowin, TechSpot, ZDNet, and CNET. Stay in touch via Facebook, Twitter, and Google+.
Microsoft today announced the release of the Windows Phone app for Windows desktop, which lets you sync media between your phone and PC. Available as a preview since October, the app is now available as a stable release.
If you’re a bit confused about which app this is, that is completely understandable (Microsoft even has a wizard to help you figure things out). The company offers three Windows Phone apps for computers: Windows Phone app for desktop (only supports Windows 7 and Windows 8), Windows Phone app for Windows 8 (only supports Windows 8 and Windows RT), and Windows Phone app for Mac. We’re talking about the first one here, for desktops; the second is the Modern UI (Metro) one.
Here’s the latest Windows Phone app for desktop in action:
The full feature list is as follows:
- Sync music, photos, movies, TV shows, and podcasts from your existing Apple iTunes library or your Windows Libraries to your Windows Phone 8.
- Automatically import pictures and videos you’ve taken with your phone to your PC.
- See at a glance how much space you’re using for each type of content, so it’s easy to make sure you never run out of room on your phone.
- Get your playlists on your phone.
- Find songs that will work as ringtones and add them to your phone.
Since the preview releases, Microsoft says it has added the following:
- Expanded podcast support. Support for iTunes podcasts has been a useful feature in the preview versions of the app, but many people get their podcasts from other sources. Now, as long as your podcasts are saved in a folder, you can automatically sync them to your phone.
- Simplified updates. Previous versions of the app required you to install updates from windowsphone.com. Now the app tells you when improvements are available, so you install them with a click.
- Flexible library selection. To provide more flexibility, the app can now sync files from any library or folder on your computer, even if they’re on an external hard drive.
- Many bug fixes. Based on user feedback on the preview versions, Microsoft has made fixes to improve performance.
In other words, if you have a Windows Phone 8 device, you’ll want to get this app even if you’re on an older preview version.
Top Image Credit: Spencer Platt/Getty Images
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