Hulu Plus and Skype Announce New Apps Optimized for Windows 8
By Rob Scott
October 23, 2012
October 23, 2012
- Tablets and PCs running the new Windows 8 operating system will have access to video content via Hulu Plus, according to a post on the Hulu blog yesterday.
- “Hulu announced that it will be launching its Windows 8 app on October 26, the same day that devices running the Microsoft operating system will finally become available,” reports TechCrunch.
- The Hulu app will be tile-based, similar to the styling of Windows 8, and promises to make it simpler to discover and watch TV shows.
- “When a user selects an episode, they’ll be treated with a menu of options, like ‘Play’ or ‘Queue,'” explains the post. “Users will also be able to ‘Pin’ shows” to their home screen, and “minimize shows they’re watching into a ‘Snap View’ and multitask, replicating the typical TV watching experience where they’re not watching TV and doing email instead.”
- In related news, Engadget reports that Skype is also offering a new version optimized for Windows 8. Skype and Microsoft accounts will be linked so users who log in with their Microsoft ID will already be on Skype, and integration with the People Hub will list an individual’s Skype handle alongside other contact information.
- “Just as you can pinch your Live Tiles to zoom out and make them easier to navigate, you can use semantic zoom to sift through a long list of contacts,” notes Engadget of the new functionality. “And, because Skype runs in the background, you can set up your Start Screen so that the Skype Live Tile shows notifications for things like missed calls.”
- The free Skype app will be available in the Windows Store starting Friday. Microsoft will likely have more app announcements as it gets ready for this week’s release of Windows 8.
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