Today, the v. 1.3 release of the Microsoft Partner Information Mobile App will be coming to Windows Phone and Android users around the world, and it brings with it some very exciting new additions! (If you’re an iPhone owner and want the Microsoft Partner Info app, you might want to tell Apple!) Here is a quick overview of what you will be seeing in todays release of the Microsoft Partner Information Mobile App:

First, as you know, just over two weeks ago I presented you with a question, “Do you want to see product feeds included in the Microsoft Partner Info mobile app?” Thank you to all of you that sent me your input and thoughts on this through the online survey, through my Twitter account, my LinkedIn account, my Facebook account, and through email. I do appreciate the input and I hope you enjoy the outcome: You will now find product feeds in the Microsoft Partner Information app!

The v 1.3 release includes: Dynamics CRM Exchange Server Internet Explorer Lync Office Office 365 Office Mac SBS Server SharePoint SQL Azure Virtualization Windows Windows Azure Windows Phone Windows Server

Next, to make your experience even easier within the application, while also bringing you more information, you will find that within many of the sections you will get information from multiple resources. Here are some examples to show you what I am talking about:

In this example to the right, you can see the top menu of the 1.2 version of the app on the left next to the top menu of the new 1.3 version of the app on the right with the example of Jon Roskill called out with the #1 in the pictures. In the 1.2 version, Jon Roskill’s Twitter feed and the Partner Perspectives blog, which he is the key contributor to, were presented as two separate items. Now in the 1.3 version, you will find both sets of data presented in one stream, in chronological order, by pressing the Jon Roskill menu item. You will notice several other areas where multiple feeds have been combined in the 1.3 version vs. the 1.2 version.
	Here is another example of how in the 1.3 version you’ll have access to more information in an easier way. If you look at the pictures to the left, you’ll see in the 1.2 version that for the U.S., there were separate menu items for the U.S. Partner Blog, the @MSUSPartner Twitter account, and the U.S. TS/2 Team blog. Now in the 1.3 version, not only are all three of these combined into one menu item, but you will also get the East Region, Central Region, and West Region partner blogs included all within the U.S. Partner feed! You will notice this type of combination of accounts in other country menu items as well.
Speaking of countries, you will find several new and expanded country partner sources of information included in the new 1.3 version of the Microsoft Partner Info Mobile App. Here are the new countries added in version 1.3: Brazil Canada Korea Mexico Norway Spain
	In addition to the feedback I received regarding product related feeds to incorporate into the Microsoft Partner Info app, I also received several requests for additional types of information, such as: latest news, what’s coming up, etc. Because of this feedback, I am happy to let you know that the 1.3 version now includes: Microsoft News, Next@Microsoft, and Why Microsoft sections to bring you this type of information. These include press releases, announcements, info from Steve Clayton’s Next@Microsoft, and the Why Microsoft team.

Thanks again to everyone who has been sharing your input and feedback with me on what you like about the Microsoft Partner Info Mobile App, what you would like to see included in it, how you are using it, and various other points of input regarding it. By all means, keep it coming! There will be additional updates coming in the future, so don’t worry if your suggestions didn’t make it in this update, it doesn’t necessarily mean they won’t be included. Also, if you have the Microsoft Partner Information Mobile App installed on your phone, I’d love it if you could take a quick moment and do an actual review and/or rating of the app. It takes less than a minute and here’s how do it:

Access your list of installed apps on your Windows phone by clicking the right arrow in the upper right-hand corner of you Windows Phone home screen.
	Scroll down your list of installed apps to the Microsoft Partner Info app icon. Press and hold the icon until the expanding menu shows up on your screen. Press “rate and review” in the drop down menu.
From here, you can rate the app itself by choosing a rating of between 1 and 5 stars (5 being the highest if you really like it). Below the rating itself, you can enter your comments about the application in the text box and those comments will be associated with you rating.

If you don’t have the Microsoft Partner Info app installed on your phone yet, here’s how you can get it right now. You can download the Microsoft Partner Info app for your phone in the following ways:

• On your Windows Phone, go to Marketplace, click search, type in “Microsoft Partner Info”
• On your PC, you can add it to your Zune Marketplace for download to your phone by clicking here
• If you own an Android phone, you can install it from the Android Marketplace by clicking here
• If you own an iPhone and want the Microsoft Partner Info app, help me let Apple know!

Did you find this information helpful? If so, you may want to make sure you are utilizing all of the areas I share information online, such as: my Facebook page, my Twitter account, my LinkedIn account, and my blog.

Thank you and have a wonderful day,

Eric Ligman – Follow me on TWITTER, LinkedIn, and RSS and see “What I’m thinking”
Director, Worldwide Partner Experience
Microsoft Corporation
This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no rights

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