Die regelmässigen Leser wissen, dass der nächste Release Tango heissen wird. Der Übernächste wird Apollo heissen, auch bekannt unter dem Namen Windows Phone 8. Nun sind heute Details darüber aufgetaucht, was heissen will, dass ich hier auch darüber schreiben darf 
Zuerst das Wichtigste: Apollo (Windows Phone 8)wird auf dem Windows 8 Kernel basieren und nicht mehr auf dem Windows CE wie die bestehenden Versionen. Das soll jedoch keinen Einfluss haben auf die Applikations Kompatibilität zu den bestehenden WP7 Apps. (Msft geht davon aus, dass ca.100000 Apps für WP7 verfügbar sind, wenn WP8, aka Apollo kommt) Diese werden alle nach wie vor funktionieren. Das ganze läuft unter der Kampagne "Windows Reimagined"
Einige Änderungen werden auf uns zukommen… Das ganze wird uns natürlich einmal kompatible Software Services bringen, welche sehr konsistent sein werden, zu dem was wir auf dem Windows8 Desktop haben. Persönliche Anmerkung: MS is back……
Welches sind die Key Features für WP8:
Ich kopiere, einfacheitshalber gleich aus den Original Threads. (Quellen Angaben wie immer am Schluss des Post)
Data Smart. A way to actively save cellular data when possible and avoid "bill shock". Microsoft (not coincidentally) just blogged about this feature in relation to Windows 8. Re-read that post and think about how a smart phone would need/use exactly the same functionality. Data Smart can be extended by wireless carriers to integrate with their offered data plans.
App-to-App communication. Because Windows Phone 8 apps, like Windows 8 apps, are sandboxed from each other, this new system will provide a Windows 8 contracts-like app-to-app communications capabilities.
Internet Explorer 10 Mobile. Windows Phone 8 will continue to used a highly tuned version of IE which utilizes the latest web technologies.
Shared components with Windows 8. The kernel, multi-core processor support, sensor fusion, security model, network, and video and graphics technologies are all coming to Phone from Windows 8.
Companion experiences with Windows 8. Microsoft is offering a very similar user experience across phone (Windows Phone 8), PC (Windows 8), and TV (Xbox vNext). There will be a new sync client, and not Zune PC software, and a set of common cloud services that will work across all three. This includes the ability to sync content (photos, music, movies) between the three screens, phone management from PC or web, shared content between each device, and Xbox LIVE games, entertainment, and more.
SkyDrive integration. Microsoft will make your content available on all of its platforms via SkyDrive.
Skype app. Still a separate but better app and not integrated into OS. Still optional.
NFC and Wallet. Windows Phone 8 will allow users to securely pay and share via NFC and manage an integrated Wallet experience.
Local Scout. Now with personal recommendations.
Camera improvements. New "lens apps" and a far more powerful camera experience.
Business features. Windows Phone 8 will include full-device, hardware accelerated encryption with BitLocker and always-on Secure Boot capabilities, just like Windows 8. Also, it will support additional Exchange ActiveSync policies and System Center configuration settings and inventory capabilities. Businesses will be able to distribute phone apps privately as they can with Windows 8 apps.
Hardware changes
According to Belfiore, the overarching theme with regards to the Windows Phone 8 hardware ecosystem will be scale and choice. Specifically, Apollo will add support for multicore processors, new screen resolutions (a total of four, although actual pixel counts weren't specified), and removable microSD card storage. It's clear that Microsoft is addressing one of the platform's pain points, which is a perceived inability to compete in spec sheet comparisons with the iPhone and Android-based devices.
NFC radios will also be supported, with Belfiore placing specific emphasis on 8's push into contactless payments. The "Wallet experience," as he calls it, will have to capability to be carrier-branded and controlled, either by a secure element on the SIM card or utilizing hardware in the phone itself. In addition, tap-to-share capabilities will reportedly work across multiple platforms, allowing desktops, laptops, tablets, and phones to all share content.
Windows 8 integration
Windows Phone 8 won't just share a UI with the next-generation desktop and tablet OS, apparently: it will use many of the same components as Windows 8, allowing developers to "reuse -- by far -- most of their code" when porting an app from desktop to phone, according to Belfiore. He specifically mentions the kernel, networking stacks, security, and multimedia support as areas of heavy overlap.
Moreover, Windows Phone 8 will reportedly scrap integration with the desktop Zune client in favor of a syncing relationship with a dedicated companion application. In other words, Microsoft is bringing back a (presumably) richer version of ActiveSync after letting that program die out for the most part.
The Xbox Companion app, currently found on Windows Phones, will see a partner client on Windows 8. Skydrive support promises seamless sharing of data between devices; Belfiore gives the example of instantly having one's music collection available on a newly-purchased Windows Phone, without the need for a PC sync.
It sounds like the tagline for this so-called Windows 2012 relaunch, or "Windows reimagined," will be "The New Familiar."
Faster Processors
The next wave of Windows Phones will finally support multi-core processors—breaking from Microsoft's iron grasp on specs. No word on just how many cores will be allowed, and at what speeds, but this will keep Windows Phone in the running with Android and iOS devices that sport two or four cores.
Better Screens
Every Windows Phone is stuck with the same decent resolution—but Pocketnow says that'll change with 8: "Apollo will add support..new screen resolutions (a total of four, although actual pixel counts weren't specified). This is excellent news. Phones like the Titan, with giant, gorgeous screens, have been held down by a pixel paucity that pales compared to the iPhone, or LG's 720p Spectrum. Windows Phone is a wonderfully graphical OS, and software so beautiful deserves higher resolutions. We just hope Microsoft mandates things upwards, rather than allowing watered down resolutions lower than the current status quo.
Application ecosystem
Microsoft expects 100,000 apps to be in the Marketplace (tipped for imminent worldwide availability) at the launch of Windows Phone 8 -- rumored by WMPoweruser as happening sometime in the fourth quarter. The biggest news on the app front is probably the addition of native code support, which will enable more powerful applications as well as ease the porting of code from programs initially developed for iOS or Android.
Also mentioned is support for app-to-app communication, as well as a revamped Skype client that hooks directly into the OS, letting Skype calls behave almost identically to regular, non-VoIP telephony. The camera will now be based around so-called lens apps: Microsoft provides a basic camera interface that can either be skinned by OEMs or overlaid with viewfinders from third-parties. Belfiore gives the example of a lens app that combines burst mode with smile detection to capture a perfect portrait shot.
Quellen: http://www.winsupersite.com/article/windows8/windows-phone-8-preview-142154
http://pocketnow.com/windows-phone/exclusive-windows-phone-8-detailed
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