Meet the new WIndows 8.1 on your Phone

You might have seen my first post which was about the new Windows 8.1... Which cannot be termed 'new' at this moment any more! But recently this month new Windows 8.1 for PHONE has been released!

Yes! for phones... It has many features which are similar to the ones on iOS and Android! Now, you can definitely argue on this point!

New Features added

Cortana - Your digital assistant

This is basically the new version of the voice search in Windows Phones.
Cortana can help you make calls, send texts, take notes and more. She can also set reminders and alarms and keep track of things that interest you (such as news, weather or traffic). And of course Cortana's really good at finding stuff – on your phone or on the web. (Cortana is only available in some countries and regions.)

 Start Screen Beauty

Now you can use any picture as Tile background on your start screen! The tiles will be transparent with the symbols on them and it will show the small part of the whole picture! 

Take time to relax with Quiet Hours!

Turn on quiet hours when you're ready for a break from rings, beeps, buzzes and banner alerts. And don't worry: Cortana can let people know you're busy, fill you in later on who's called and make sure your inner circle can still get through. (Cortana is only available in some countries and regions.)  

New Folder system on the Start Screen

Apps can be organized amazingly with the help of Start screen! Well, this can be noted as the work of iOS... The similar way to group the apps in the folders! Look at the GIF below to see how to do it!

The New PODCAST on Windows 8.1

Now, the new podcast app on Windows phone helps to search & subscribe! X-Box Music App now helps you get music!

The new amazing and fastest way to type!

Users need to know about shape writing! Again this is available on Android! You can argue on that below under comments! 

The above demonstration will help you use Swipe and type! 

New 'Notifications and Settings'

 Just swipe downwards from the up-most of the screen! The 4 thumbnails allow you to enable or disable - WiFi, Bluetooth, Airplane mode and adjust the brightness by default! But not only that you can even decide which options to be there on the top! 

Below these, there are the notifications which will notify you of - new e-mail, settings which need attention, new text etc. 

How to know whether if new notification have come?

You can see the rectangular newspaper symbol beside the circular Wi-Fi signals! It shows that one or more notifications has arrived on your phone! Just swipe down for it!

Minor changes

There are many minor changes which may not always be noticed, yet it's important to know!

Volume

The old volume control by the side buttons helps you slide the General volume. But the volume bar of Windows 8.1 phone, allows two different volumes bar for - Apps+Music, and Ringer+Notifications!

Ringtones and sounds can help you decide when to pay attention to your Windows Phone – and when to ignore it – by identifying who is trying to get hold of you. You can assign unique ringtones to the people who matter most to you and different sounds to different kinds of alerts.

But if you're in a place where your beeping, jangling phone could be an embarrassment or an offence, your nifty ringtones may suddenly become less important than the volume buttons. They make it easy to turn the sound up and down for calls or music, and to quickly turn off your ringer.

You can also add or create new ringtones from MP3s or other audio files, then use them as custom sounds for alarms, new text messages or instant messages, new voicemails, new emails, reminders and notifications. To learn more, see Adding ringtones to your phone and Setting alarms on your phone. 

 

 Demonstration of volume sliders

Settings + personalisation

• Everything leads back to Start
• Personalising your Start screen and theme colour
• Moving or unpinning a Tile on Start
• Pinning apps to Start
• Where's the App list?
• Creating folders on your Start screen
• Ringtones, sounds and volume
• Adding ringtones to your phone
• Setting alarms on your phone
• Personalising your lock screen
• Locked phone: things it can still do
• Lock screen FAQ
• Typing shortcuts
• Keyboard tips
• Changing keyboard language
• Backing up your stuff
• Restoring a backup to your phone
• Storage on your phone
• "Other" phone storage FAQ
• Accessibility on your phone
• Using your phone with a TTY
• Using Narrator on your phone
• My Phone FAQ
• Finding a lost phone
• Resetting your phone
• Notifications and quick actions
• Using quick actions on your phone
• Changing notification settings
• Viewing or dismissing notification banner alerts
• Synchronising your Windows Phone settings
• Recommended settings for phone setup
• Stopping your screen from rotating

Ringtones, sounds and volume

Ringtones and sounds can help you decide when to pay attention to your Windows Phone – and when to ignore it – by identifying who is trying to get hold of you. You can assign unique ringtones to the people who matter most to you and different sounds to different kinds of alerts.

But if you're in a place where your beeping, jangling phone could be an embarrassment or an offence, your nifty ringtones may suddenly become less important than the volume buttons. They make it easy to turn the sound up and down for calls or music, and to quickly turn off your ringer.

You can also add or create new ringtones from MP3s or other audio files, then use them as custom sounds for alarms, new text messages or instant messages, new voicemails, new emails, reminders and notifications. To learn more, see Adding ringtones to your phone and Setting alarms on your phone.

Note

This topic is about Windows Phone 8.1. If your phone is running Windows Phone 8, some options and icons may look a little different, and some features may not be available. Check to see which software version you have and find out if an update is available.

To set custom ringtones or text alert tones for a contact

1. On Start , tap People , then swipe over to Contacts.
2. Tap the contact you want to change.
3. Tap Edit , then do one or both of the following:
   • Tap Ringtone, then tap the ringtone you want to assign.
   • Tap Text alert tone, then tap the alert or custom sound you want to assign for text messages.

Note

To use custom ringtones for text messages, your phone needs to have Windows Phone software version 8.0.10501.127 or later. See How do I update my phone software? for more information about updating your phone.

To change any other ringtone or alert

1. In the App list, tap Settings > Ringtones + sounds.
2. Tap the type of ringtone or alert you want to change, then choose the sound you want to use.

To change your phone's vibrate settings

1. In the App list, tap Settings > Ringtones + sounds.
2. Turn Vibrate on or off .

To turn the ringer on or off using the volume buttons

Press and hold the Volume down button until you see Vibrate appear at the top of the screen. To turn on the ringer, press and hold the Volume up button until you see Ringer + Notifications.

Tip

You can also silence the ringer by pressing the power () or volume (, ) buttons during an incoming call.

To adjust volume settings on your screen

Press the Volume up or Volume down button, then tap Open volume bar to expand your phone's volume options.

The volume bar provides quick access to your volume settings from almost anywhere on your phone

Depending on what you're doing, you'll see one or more of the following:

• In-call
• Ringer + Notifications (Tap , or to mute or unmute.)
• Media + Apps (Tap or to mute or unmute.)
• Headphones (Tap to mute or unmute.)
• Bluetooth (Tap to mute or unmute.)

Use the volume slider(s) to adjust the volume accordingly. Below the sliders, you can also toggle your phone's vibrate settings by tapping Vibrate on or Vibrate off. To close the volume bar, tap Close volume bar .