What’s new in the Windows Phone desktop PC apps?

The Windows 7 and 8 versions of the desktop and Metro-style PC apps for Windows Phone have recently been updated. If you haven’t already, you should pick up the newest versions.

Desktop version for Windows 7 or Windows 8

Full screen version for tablets and Windows 8

Why upgrade? Well, there’s the normal bevy of fixes and enhancements under the hood, but also a couple of feature enhancements, too.

On the full-screen version, there’s a new mechanism to transfer documents to and from your phone. Personally, I’d use Skydrive for this purpose (or quite often, good old email), but more options are always welcome.

On your desk

There’s a bit more going on with the newest version of the desktop app.

The first thing to note happens when you first start the app. You get the choice to use either iTunes or Windows libraries as the basis for synchronising media, including music, movies and podcasts. This isn’t a permanent decision, though. You can alter your synchronisation source in the ‘settings’ menu at any time.

The second key feature is that you now have more options when it comes to podcasts. If you go down the route of synchronising with Windows libraries, because you don’t use iTunes, then you can still sync podcasts that have been saved to your hard drive by synchronising the relevant folder.

And finally, like the full screen app, the desktop app will now detect and allow you to install any future updates to the software without visiting the web site.

There’s one last option, too. Your Windows Phone shows up as a connected drive in Explorer, with folders for music, documents and so forth. You can simply cut and paste media to and from your phone if you want to.

Not sure which option you need? Microsoft also has an online wizard to show you how to achieve what you want.