Microsoft unveils app for finding local service professionalsOctober 2, 2015 - 17:48 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - Microsoft has launched a new mobile app designed to help you find local service professionals, from plumbers and electricians to car dealers, and more, VentureBeat reports. Home Team is the latest in a long line of apps to emerge from the vaults of Microsoft Garage, the computing giant’s lab for experimental tinkering. However, Microsoft has opted to limit this app to Windows Phone, in contrast to most of its other recent launches. Back in July, Microsoft Garage launched a new polling app for iOS and Android, shortly before it introduced a lightweight email app for iPhone, called Send, which later arrived for Android, as well. Elsewhere, the company rolled out Snipp3t, an iOS-only app that gathers celebrity news from across the Web. Then there’s the Next Lock Screen app for Android and Picturesque, another lock screen app designed with Microsoft’s Bing search engine in mind. Journeys & Notes, on the other hand, is a social travel app that seeks to connect a community of users who have traveled on similar routes. Home Team is all about finding the best “local contractors and repairmen” that come with “a stamp of approval” — this is about word-of-mouth recommendations between friends and family, rather than reviews from the general public. With Microsoft long on the back foot in the mobile realm, it hasn’t been investing quite as much in the Windows Phone ecosystem of late — in fact, it has rather a lot of apps that exist on other mobile platforms but not on Windows Phone. So it’s interesting to see it roll out a Windows Phone-only app, even if it is just an experiment. It’s safe to say that if the app garners enough favorable feedback through the testing phase, it may find its way onto other mobile platforms, too. Top stories Yerevan will host the 2024 edition of the World Congress On Information Technology (WCIT). Rustam Badasyan said due to the lack of such regulation, the state budget is deprived of VAT revenues. Krisp’s smart noise suppression tech silences ambient sounds and isolates your voice for calls. Gurgen Khachatryan claimed that the "illegalities have been taking place in 2020." Partner news Most popular in the section | European Parliament to discuss repression in Azerbaijan The European Parliament will discuss repression of civil society in Azerbaijan on April 24 PACE wants concessions from Azerbaijan to accept Baku back A PACE co-rapporteur said that Azerbaijani authorities must make certain concessions so that the country can return to PACE. Cyprus parliament honors Armenian genocide victims Acting House President Zacharias Koulias noted that April 24 marks the “black anniversary” of the Armenian genocide. Armenia PM, France envoy discuss regional matters Issues related to the consistent development of Armenia-France cooperation were discussed. |