Windows Phone 8 Field Guide: The Quickest Way to Get It Done with Windows Phone 8

By Paul Thurrott

Windows Phone 8 Field Guide is my gift to the Windows Phone community. I've been enthralled by Windows Phone since Microsoft announced the new platform in February 2010 at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. I was so excited by this release, in fact, that I wrote the first-ever book about Windows Phone, called Windows Phone 7 Secrets, in the middle part of that year, before it even shipped to the public. In doing so, I was also one of the first people outside of Microsoft to obtain a prototype Windows Phone handset, and I took it to Europe that summer after writing the book and continued the conversation by blogging about my experiences. Since then, I've never stopped using or writing about Windows Phone. Few people have more experience with this platform than I do.

• Language: English
• Publisher: BookBaby
• Release date: May 12, 2014
• ISBN: 9781483528304

Book preview

@thurrott.

Contents at a glance

Contents at a glance

Contents

Who this book is for

Acknowledgements

Introduction

1. Getting Started

2. The Windows Phone User Experience

3. Store

4. Search

5. People + Me

6. Phone

7. Messaging

8. Maps + Location

9. Email

10. Calendar

11. Internet Explorer

12. Office + OneNote

13. Music, Videos and Podcasts

14. Photos

15. Games

16. Security + Networking

17. PC Integration

Releases

Contents

Contents at a glance

Contents

Who this book is for

Acknowledgements

Introduction

1. Getting Started

Configure your Microsoft account

Configure Microsoft account settings

Change your account picture

Connect other accounts to your Microsoft account

Choose a Windows Phone handset

Understand Windows Phone hardware components and which really matter

Understand the Nokia advantage

Set up your phone

Complete the initial set up wizard

Connect to a Wi-Fi network

Set up and configure accounts

Set up a new account

Configure an account

Update apps

2. The Windows Phone User Experience

Basic navigation

Use the multi-touch screen

Device rotation

Understand the hardware buttons

Power button

Back button

Start button

Search button

Volume Up and Volume Down buttons

Camera

Understand common software interfaces

Status bar

Onscreen keyboard

Copy and paste

Start experience

Understand the Start screen

Understand All Apps

Customize Start screen tiles

Reposition a Start screen tile

Resize a Start screen tile

Remove a Start screen tile

Pin an app to the Start screen

Apps and Hubs

Understand apps and hubs

Understand the types of apps and hubs you will see on Windows Phone

Single screen apps

Pivot apps

Panorama apps

Understand which hubs are included with Windows Phone

Understand which apps are included with Windows Phone

Understand common app interfaces

App bars

Pop-up menus

Personalization

Understand Settings

Configure other accounts

Change the theme

Make text bigger

Configure ringtones and sounds

Configure the lock screen

Download apps and games

Name your phone

Name your phone using File Explorer in Windows

Download the Windows Phone apps

Name your phone using the Windows Phone desktop application

Name your phone using the Windows Phone mobile app

Use rotation lock

3. Store

Access Windows Phone Store from your PC or tablet

Edit your payment information

View your purchase history and reinstall previously downloaded apps

Browse and find apps

Launch the Store app

Tour of the Store user experience

Browse for apps

Search for an app

Learn more about an app

Install, buy or upgrade an app

Install a free app

Buy an app

Install a paid app you've already purchased

Try a paid app

Convert a trial app to a paid app

Download an app update

Share an app

Rate and review an app

Make an in-app purchase

Protect purchases with a PIN

Get app and game suggestions

4. Search

Understand the Bing hub

Tour of the Bing interface

Find anything

Understand Bing search results

Get instant answers

Learn more with quick cards

Find an image or video

Find a nearby place

Find a movie locally

Find and buy a product

Find out which song is playing

Find out what you're looking at

Scan a Barcode, QR code, or Microsoft Tag

Scan and translate text

Find out more about a CD, DVD, video game, or book

Find your location, directions, or a different place

Find it with your voice

Find an app

Search from Internet Explorer

Share search results

Pin search results to the Start screen

Customize Bing

5. People + Me

Understand how accounts and contacts impact the People hub

Understand the People tile and launch the hub

Tour the People hub

Find a contact

Quick navigate through the list of contacts

Search

Find a contact from other apps

See what's new with all of your contacts

Filter the What's New list

Read a post and post comments

Like a post

View and use post images

Quickly access recent contacts

Interact with a contact

View a contact card and reach out to that person

Pin a contact to the Start screen

Edit a contact

Edit a Facebook friend's contact information

Edit a linked contact

Edit a contact found in only one non-Facebook account

Link (and unlink) contacts

Share a contact

Delete a contact

See what's new with a contact

See a contact's photos

View your communications history with a contact

Add a new contact

Interact with multiple contacts at once

Groups

Create a group

Add a member to a group

Remove a member from a group

See what's new with a group of people

See recent photos from a group of people

Pin a group to the Start screen

Rename a group

Delete a group

Rooms

Create a room

Add a member to a room

Join a room that someone else created

Understand the room user experience

Manage a room

See what's new with all room members

See member photos

Send an email to all room members

Chat with room members

Send your location to other room members

Share a calendar with room members

Share a photo or video with room members

Share notes with room members

Customize People

Me

Understand how accounts impact Me

Find and launch Me

Tour the UI

Update your profile picture

Post an update

Check-in to Facebook

Toggle your chat status

Read and respond to what other people are saying online

Re-pin a missing Me tile

6. Phone

Launch Phone

Understand the Phone app

Manually dial a phone number

Call a contact

Call a contact with your voice

Call a phone number from elsewhere in Windows Phone

Call a location from a Bing quick card

Call a person who sent you a text message

Call a number in an email

Call a number in an appointment

Understand what you can do during a phone call

End the call

Do something else with your phone

Use the keypad

Enable the speakerphone

Mute the call

Place the call on hold

Add another caller

Create a conference call

Handle an incoming phone call

Answer a phone call

Ignore a phone call

Text a reply instead of answering a phone call

Understand what happens when you ignore or miss a call, or receive a voice mail

Access your call history

Return a phone call

Learn more about a person who called

Remove an item from your call history

Delete the entire call history

Search your history

Access your voice mail

Call your voice mail

Use visual voice mail

Listen to a voice mail

Use phone features while listening to a voice mail

Manage voice mails

Configure your voice mail

Use a Bluetooth headset

Pair a Bluetooth headset with your phone

Answer a call with a Bluetooth headset

Initiate a call with a Bluetooth headset

Customize Phone

Phone Settings

Other settings that impact the phone experience

Configure the ringer, vibration and ringtone and voicemail sounds

Configure a ringtone for an individual contact

Make volume, ringer and vibrate changes on the fly

Configure lock screen reminders for phone and voice mail

7. Messaging

Understand how Messaging uses accounts

Launch Messaging

Messaging tour

Create a new message

Use your voice to send a message

Send a message attachment

Attach a photo or video to a text message

Attach your location to a text message

Attach a voice note to a text message

Attach a contact to a text message

Send a group text

Use emoticons

Handle received messages

Understand Messaging notifications

Understand Messaging tile notifications

Understand Messaging notifications on the lock screen

Manage threads and messages

Delete a thread

Delete multiple threads

Delete a message in a thread

Use Facebook and Messenger

Enable Facebook Chat

Enable Messenger

Set your Facebook Chat and Messenger chat status

Chat with your Facebook friends and Messenger contacts

Switch between messaging services

Customize Messaging

Use Messaging Settings

Configure Ringtones + Sounds

8. Maps + Location

Bing Maps

Find and launch Bing Maps

Find your current location

Navigate through Maps

Find your way inside a mall or other location

Find a location

Clear the map

Get directions

Get driving directions

Get walking directions

Change between map-only and directions list views

Stop using directions

Configure the view

Show traffic updates

Show an aerial view

Favorite places

Add a location to Favorites

Access your favorites places

Access Bing Maps while offline

Pin a location to the Start screen

Share your location

Access Bing Maps from other apps

Customize Maps

Local Scout

Find and launch Local Scout

Understand the Local Scout interface

Find local places

Find places in a different location

Pin Local Scout to the Start Screen

Driving Mode

9. Email

Email and accounts

Understand which accounts support email

Add a new email-based account

Understand the Mail app

Select one or more messages

Mark a message as read or unread

Use message flags

Delete a message

Compose a new message

Voice to text: Compose a message with voice

Work with other folders

View other email folders

Move a message to a new folder

Pin another folder to the Start screen

View and interact with an email message

Communicate more with the sender

Communicate with other people who received the email message

View an attachment

Reply or forward a message from the message view

Delete a message from the message view

Switch to a newer or older message from the message view

Toggle a message flag from the message view

Mark a message as read/unread from the message view

Move a message to a new folder from the message view

Manually sync with the email service

Link inboxes

Link two or more inboxes

Understand how the Mail app changes when you link inboxes

Respond to meeting requests

Customize Mail

Customize Mail settings

Customize account sync settings

Customize email alerts on the lock screen

10. Calendar

Understand how accounts affect Calendar

Launch Calendar

Calendar tour

Navigate between the Day, Agenda, and To-do views

Navigate within the Day, Agenda, or To-do views

Use Month view

Navigate to today

Navigate to a specific day in the current month

Navigate to a different month

Navigate to a different month or year

Manage appointments

View an appointment

Find an appointment location in Maps

Create an appointment

Create a Quick Event appointment

Modify an appointment

Delete an appointment

Manage meetings

Accept or decline a meeting request

Reply to a meeting request

View meeting attendees

View information about an attendee

Add a meeting attendee

Tell meeting attendees you're running late

Delete a meeting

Access a meeting from an email

Use Facebook Events

View details for a Facebook event

Accept or decline a Facebook event

View Facebook event comments

Add a Facebook event comment or like

View a Facebook event guest list

Manage to-do's (tasks)

Change the display of the to-do list

Mark a to-do as complete

Delete a to-do

View and edit a to-do

Add a new to-do

Handle appointment, meeting and to-do notifications

Understand Calendar notifications

Understand Calendar tile notifications

Understand Calendar notifications on the Lock screen

Customize Calendar

Use Calendar Settings

Use Ringtones + Sound Settings

11. Internet Explorer

Find and launch IE Mobile

Tour of IE Mobile

Web page navigation

Navigate to a web page

Stop a web page from completely loading

Refresh the current web page

Navigate to the previous web page

Find text on the current web page

Search the web

Search the web from IE Mobile

Search the web with Bing

Change the browser search provider

Tabs

Access tabs

Delete a tab

Create a new tab

Open a link in a new tab

Access tabs from the address bar button

Open links from other apps in a new tab

Recent

Access Recent

Manage pages in the Recent list

Favorites

Access Favorites

Edit a Favorite

Delete a Favorite

Add a web page to Favorites

Access favorite web pages from the address bar

Access Favorites from the address bar button

Pin a web page to the Start screen

Save a picture from a web page to your phone

Watch a YouTube video

Share information from web pages

Share a web page

Share or copy a link

Copy and paste text from a web page

Customize Internet Explorer Mobile

12. Office + OneNote

Office hub

Tour of the Office hub

Understand and configure Places

Use SkyDrive with the Office hub

Use Office 365 with the Office hub

Add a SharePoint document library to Places in the Office hub

Access recent documents

Create a new document

Work with documents

Open a document

Pin a document to Start

Delete a document from the phone

Save a document to a different location

Share a document

Understand commands that are common to Word, Excel and PowerPoint

Exit

Save

Save as

Open the location that contains the current document

Share

Word Mobile

Open a word document

Edit a document

Navigate around a document

Select a word or a block of text

Copy and paste text within a document

Toggle the virtual keyboard

Format text

Find text

Use Outline view

Add a comment to a document

View document comments

Delete a comment

Excel Mobile

Open a workbook

Navigate through a workbook

Select a cell or a range of cells

Switch between available worksheets

Format a cell

Use a function

Use AutoSum

Find text or numbers

Sort a range of values

Apply a filter

Make a chart

PowerPoint Mobile

Display a slide show

View the slides in a presentation

Edit text in a presentation

Move a slide

Hide or unhide a slide

Return to Slide Show mode

Add or edit slide notes

OneNote Mobile

A OneNote primer

Launch OneNote

View and manage available notebooks

Open a notebook

Navigate through a notebook

Delete one or more notes

Create a new note

Edit a note

Edit text

Add a to-do list

Add a bulleted list

Add a numbered list

Insert a picture

Add an audio note

Increase and decrease the indent

Format text

Search for text across all of your notebooks

Share a note

Pin a note to the Start screen

Customize Office and OneNote

13. Music, Videos and Podcasts

Find and launch the Music + Videos hub

Tour of the Music + Videos hub

Collection

History

New

Apps

Xbox

Digital music

Tour of the Music experience

Explore an artist

Find more music from an artist

Get the buzz

Read an artist biography

Find related artists

Download music from your cloud collection

Download one song

Download multiple songs at once

Purchase or download music from Xbox Music Store

Find music with Search

Play music

Control music playback

Control music playback from outside the app

Return to Now Playing

Automatically shuffle your entire collection

Playlists and Smart DJ mixes

View a playlist

Play a playlist

Create a playlist

Create and play a Smart DJ mix

Save a Smart DJ mix as a playlist

Pin favorite music to the Start screen

Add music to Kid's Corner

Digital videos

Explore the Videos experience

Play a video

Manage videos

Podcasts

Find a podcast in Windows Phone Store

Stream or download a single podcast episode

Subscribe to a podcast

Find and manage subscribed podcasts

Pin a podcast to the Start screen

Delete a podcast

View a podcast and manage it further

Play a podcast

Other ways to enjoy podcasts

Sync a podcast from iTunes

Other podcast apps

FM radio

Find a radio station

Add a station to favorites

Remove a station from favorites

Access your favorite stations

Pin a radio station to the Start screen

Pause live radio

Switch to the internal speaker

Configure FM radio for your region

Customize Music + Videos

14. Photos

Manage and enjoy photos

Set up and configure accounts for photos

Launch the Photos hub

Tour the Photos hub

View your photo albums

View photos in a photo album

Share a photo

Edit a photo

Add or view tags for a photo

Delete a photo

Save an online photo to your phone

Add a photo to Favorites

Set a photo as the lock screen background

Set a photo as the Photos hub background

Use favorite photos as the Photos hub and tile background

Take photos and videos

Launch the Camera app

Configure the Camera app

Set photo settings

Set video settings

Take a photo

Toggle the flash

Zoom the viewfinder

Toggle between the cameras

Record a video

View previous photos and videos

Extend Camera with Lenses

Find lenses

Pick the best lenses

Take a screenshot

Customize the Photos hub and Camera app

15. Games

Understand Xbox LIVE

Get additional Xbox Games apps

Find and launch the Games hub

Tour of the Games hub

Find a game in the Games Store

Launch the Games Store

Understand the layout of the Games Store

Search for a game

Find Xbox LIVE games

Explore a game

Play a game

Send and receive game requests

Earn an achievement

Pin a game to Start

Uninstall a game

View and configure your online persona

Have fun with your Avatar

View your profile

View and edit your Xbox LIVE bio

Customize your avatar

View your achievements

Interact with your Xbox friends

See which friends are online

View a friend's profile

Send a message

Read, respond to, and delete a message

Remove a friend

Send and respond to friend requests

Customize the Games hub

16. Security + Networking

Security

Lock screen PIN

Wallet

Tour of the Wallet user experience

Protect Wallet and on-phone purchases with a PIN

View your payment methods and membership and loyalty cards

Add a new payment method

View or edit a payment method

Purchase an app, game, or music

Add a new membership or loyalty card

View your deals

Add a new deal

View and use a saved deal

Make a purchase with NFC Tap to Pay

Kid's Corner

Set up Kid's Corner

Use Kid's Corner

Customize Kid's Corner

Backup

Enable and configure Backup

Restore a backup

Find My Phone

Configure Find My Phone on your handset

Access Find My Phone on the web

Find your phone on a map

Ring the phone remotely

Lock your phone remotely and send a message to the lock screen

Erase your phone remotely

Phone Update

Networking

Cellular data

Understand which type of cellular data connection you have

Configure cellular data

Wi-Fi

Enable Wi-Fi

Connect to a Wi-Fi network

Handle Wi-Fi toast notifications

Connect to a hidden Wi-Fi network

Configure advanced Wi-Fi settings

Bluetooth

Understand which Bluetooth features work with Windows Phone

Pair a Bluetooth device

Pair a Bluetooth device with NFC

Data Sense

Configure Data Sense on first use

Understand Data Sense

Find nearby Wi-Fi connections

Configure Data Sense

Use the live tile to track data usage

Internet sharing

Toggle Internet sharing

Configure Internet sharing

Access a shared connection from another device

Airplane mode

17. PC Integration

Understand your options for PC/phone copy and sync

Choose what happens when your phone is connected to the PC

Use the Windows Phone mobile app

Copy files from the PC to your phone

Copy files from the phone to the PC

Learn more about the storage usage on your phone

Use the Windows Phone desktop application

Sync files from the PC to your phone

Copy files from the phone to your PC

Learn about your phone's storage usage

Rename your phone

Copy files using File Explorer

Import photos from the phone

Releases

Who this book is for

Windows Phone 8 Field Guide was written for current and future users of Windows Phone 8. It was written for real people—users—not technical experts, or those who need to manage mobile devices in a corporate environment.

The book makes no assumptions about your experience with prior versions of Windows Phone, but by this point in time, I do assume that you have at least some experience using a smart phone in general.

If you are already at least passingly familiar with Windows Phone, you can use the book as a reference and pick and choose from the various topics. Otherwise, you should read the first two chapters in sequence and then branch out from there. There's no need to read the book in sequence, though you may of course do so if you wish.

For the few times in which you need to connect your handset to a computer, I assume that the computer will be a Windows-based PC, preferably using Windows 8 or RT. Those with older versions of Windows should be able to follow along. (Those with Macs are on their own. Just as in real life.)

Acknowledgements

This book was a solo effort and a major update to my first attempt at self-publishing a full length technical book. I'm still learning. Thanks to Microsoft for creating and maintaining Windows Phone and to Nokia for really turning things up a notch with superior hardware, software, and services. And thanks to Rafael Rivera, my Windows Secrets and Windows 8.1 Field Guide co-author, for putting up with my inane chattering about this book. Finally, thanks to my readers and listeners from around the world. I've always thought about my work as a conversation about technology, and that was never truer than during the very public development of this book. Let's keep the conversation going: It's this back and forth that makes the whole thing worthwhile.

Introduction

Welcome to Windows Phone 8 Field Guide, my gift to the Windows Phone community. I've been enthralled by Windows Phone since Microsoft announced the new platform in February 2010 at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. I was so excited by this release, in fact, that I wrote the first-ever book about Windows Phone, called Windows Phone 7 Secrets, in the middle part of that year, before it even shipped to the public. In doing so, I was also one of the first people outside of Microsoft to obtain a prototype Windows Phone handset, and I took it to Europe that summer after writing the book and continued the conversation by blogging about my experiences. Since then, I've never stopped using or writing about Windows Phone. Few people have more experience with this platform than I do.

Long story short: Windows Phone was—and is—everything that Android and iPhone are not. It provides a wonderful new way of doing things. Oh, and unlike iPhone, it can actually make error-free phone calls too. Bam.

I've certainly had my ups and downs with regards to Microsoft's treatment of this platform. While Windows Phone has emerged during the writing of this book as the clear number three smart phone platform behind Google Android and Apple iPhone but ahead of Blackberry, it has yet to achieve what I consider to be a sustainable level of usage. But the trends are positive. My fingers are crossed.

But I've never wavered in my support of both Windows Phone and the people who use it (or are considering using it). I test new smart phones regularly, and while I've kept up on the advances in Android and in Apple's recent me-too moves with iOS 7, these platforms simply are not interesting to me. Yes, the iPhone was innovative when it arrived in 2007, but that's also when Apple stopped innovating and started protecting their product. Android? That was never innovative. Android is a mess.

Windows Phone isn't just different. Windows Phone is better. And you can tell that's true every time a feature emerges in the competition that copies one from Windows Phone. Social networking integration. Integrated experiences. Beautiful Swiss-influenced design and killer typography. Windows Phone did it all first. Windows Phone still does it better. And it keeps getting better.

Thanks for reading. And thanks for using Windows Phone. You made the right choice.

Paul Thurrott

July 2013

1. Getting Started

In this chapter, you will discover how to configure your Microsoft account optimally for Windows Phone, learn about the Windows Phone hardware features that matter most, and step through the initial configuration of your new Windows Phone 8 handset.

Configure your Microsoft account

To integrate its diverse families of online services, Microsoft has created a centralized account, called Microsoft account. It's the key to accessing your personal data in these services on a variety of device types, including Windows 8 PCs, Windows RT tablets, Xbox, and of course Windows Phone. (It also works cross the web, of course, and on competing devices such iPhone, iPad, and Android-based handsets and tablets.)

Microsoft account has become so central to how we as users access our information in Microsoft services that we can use this account to sign into a Windows-based PC, device, or phone. Because of that latter capability—which you'll experience when you set up your new Windows Phone handset for the first time as described later in this chapter—you should take care to properly configure your Microsoft account before purchasing the handset.

But this is not just about signing in to an online account. By configuring your Windows Phone handset with your Microsoft account, you will also automatically populate the phone with all of the data that is associated with that account. And it's potentially a lot of data: Email, contacts, appointments and tasks from Outlook.com, Skype contacts, SkyDrive-based documents and other data, your cloud music collection from Xbox Music, photos stored in SkyDrive and associated services such as Facebook and Twitter, your collection of purchased apps on Windows 8/RT and Windows Phone, your Xbox Gamertag and associated achievements, Gamerscore and other data, connected social networking services like Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter, previous Windows Phone backups, synced settings from Windows 8/RT and Office, payment options, and much, much more. And all of this information appears in the appropriate Windows Phone experiences, as you'll see throughout this book.

Of course, many of those associations don't happen automatically. And that's why it's important to properly configure your Microsoft account before you acquire a Windows Phone handset and set it up for the first time.

Note: Microsoft account was previously called Windows Live ID and is still occasionally identified by that name online.

Here's the kicker: Chances are, you already have a Microsoft account. In fact, you probably have more than one. When you sign up for Outlook.com (or its predecessors, Hotmail and MSN), Xbox Live, Xbox Music and Video (previously called Zune), Office 365 Home Premium, and other Microsoft services, the account you're creating is in fact a Microsoft account. And it will work across all of the services listed here and noted above, and with others as well.

If you do have more than one Microsoft account, you will need to think about which you will use as your primary Microsoft account. That's because certain services on Windows Phone can only be used with the same, primary Microsoft account. These include your sign-in, Xbox Live Gamertag (for games and Xbox entertainment services, which on Windows Phone is pretty much Xbox Music), and SkyDrive. You can later configure your other Microsoft accounts on the phone as well, and access email, contacts, calendar, tasks, and other data throughout various experiences on the phone too. (But you cannot use these secondary Microsoft accounts for the phone sign-in, for Xbox services, or for SkyDrive.)

While it's not totally inconceivable that you do not have a Microsoft account, I'm going to assume you do. So head over to Outlook.com or Microsoft Account Sign-up with a PC-based web browser and sign up for one otherwise. (You can choose between @outlook.com, @hotmail.com and @live.com email addresses, or you can use an email address from another service, like Gmail, as your Microsoft account. I recommend not doing that, however, as there are some limitations when you use an existing email address from another service as your Microsoft account.)

Configure Microsoft account settings

To configure your Microsoft account, open Microsoft Account Settings in a PC-based web browser and sign-in.

(There's a lot of personal information on this page, so please excuse the edits.)

As you can see, there is a wide range of information that can and should be configured on this and subsequent pages on this site. And some of the key options you will configure are related to account security, so it's important to ensure that the account is configured properly. Here are some of the options you should spend time configuring.

Display name. On the default Overview page, you can change your display name, which will appear in a variety of places, including sent emails. Generally speaking, you should simply configure this setting to your actual name. So my display name is Paul Thurrott.

Personal Info. You can configure birth date, gender, profession, and home and work addresses.

Add or change aliases. The Outlook.com email address (which can actually be an @outlook.com, @hotmail.com, @live.com or even @msn.com email address) supports multiple email aliases so you can send and receive email from other addresses, and even sign-in to devices from these aliases. Windows Phone does not directly support aliases, however, so if you sign-in with the actual account address, you will not be able to send or receive email from the aliases from Windows Phone.

Password. For now at least, a strong password is your first line of defense between your Microsoft account—which, again, is the gateway to a lot of personal information—and hackers and identity thieves who may wish to illegally gain access to this account and its contained data. You can and should configure a strong password and might consider having Microsoft require you to change it regularly. And as noted below, there are other things you can do to further secure your account.

Security Info. When you sign-up for or configure your Microsoft account, Microsoft will require you to create some form of account verification, or security info, typically a mobile phone number, that the firm can use to send a confirmation code to prove you are who you say you are. Microsoft will also require you to configure one or more alternate email address at which it can reach you. This information and other security settings can be configured through Security Info. Spend time here, and make sure you configure at least one mobile phone number, alternate email address, and security question. You can also optionally configure two-step authentication, which is a bit ponderous but can make your account more secure. Please refer to my web-based article Enable and Use Two-Step Authentication with Your Microsoft Account for more information about this crucial part of the security puzzle.

Notifications. From this interface, you can configure how and with which email account/alias you will be provided with notifications associated with this account, as well as your marketing preferences. (You can prevent Microsoft from sending promotional email to this account.)

Permissions. There are a number of important settings in this area, but one is particularly relevant to Windows Phone: Manage accounts. This is where you configure the other online accounts that are connected to your Microsoft account. And since this is so important, we'll examine it further in the section Connect other accounts to your Microsoft account.

Billing. Because you can purchase apps, games, and music on your phone, and may subscribe to optional services like Xbox Live Gold, Xbox Music Pass, and Ad-Free Outlook that make Windows Phone and your Microsoft account better, you will want to configure one or more payment options. These include credit and debit cards, of course, but can also include a PayPal account or a redeemed Microsoft gift card, which will add a particular dollar amount to your account that you can draw from as you purchase items from the phone. See the section Wallet in Chapter 16: Networking + Security for more information about paying for items on your phone.

Change your account picture

It may seem frivolous, but you should consider changing the picture that is associated with your Microsoft account since this is the default picture that others will see when they add your Microsoft account to their own contacts lists. To do so, navigate to the Microsoft Account Profile site with a PC-based web browser and sign-in.

Now, click Change picture and upload a favorite photo.

Connect other accounts to your Microsoft account

One of the original goals of Microsoft account was to provide a single sign-on service that would work across various online accounts, including those for social networking services like Facebook and Twitter. Microsoft achieves this vision by letting you connect various online services to your Microsoft account.

To connect social networking accounts to your Microsoft account, open Microsoft Account Settings in a PC-based web browser and sign-in. Then, navigate to Permissions, Manage Accounts and click the link See what you can add.

From this page, you can connect a variety of third party (i.e. non-Microsoft) online accounts to your Microsoft account. Three—Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter—are particularly relevant to Windows Phone, which offers nice integrated features that let you access contacts from these accounts, make posts, comment on posts, and more. (And if you're in China, Sina Weibo also offers this kind of connectivity.)

Note: You can only connect one of each account type to your Microsoft account.

Let's look at connecting Facebook as an example. Click the Chat with your Facebook friends link.

Click Connect. On the Facebook web site, you will be prompted to sign in with your Facebook email and password. Do so. The account will then be connected to your Microsoft account.

Click Done. Now, you can configure which information is shared through the connected account. On the left, click Manage Your Accounts.

Under Facebook, click Edit.

This page will vary from account to account, but for Facebook you have a wide range of integration capabilities on Windows Phone. Examine the settings and see whether you'd like to disable any of them. (If you actually use Facebook regularly, you will want to do so from Windows Phone and will most likely wish to leave most of these settings enabled.)

Note that you can also use this interface to remove a connected account.

Done? It's time to choose a phone.

Choose a Windows Phone handset

Hardware makers such as HTC, Huawei, Nokia and Samsung sell various Windows Phone handset models in markets around the world, and your options will vary not only by locale—some phones are only sold in the United States, for example—but by wireless