14 DAY TRIAL // We reported earlier today Microsoft plans to expand the availability of Bing services on Windows Phone to additional markets. Currently, these services are exclusively available in the United States, but since Microsoft bought Nokia it means it will have to go global with everything affecting Windows Phone.
Now it appears that the Redmond-based company is looking to add another missing feature to Windows Phone ecosystem and that support for printing.
While Windows Phone does not feature native support for printing there are some workaround that users can take advantage of. However, once Microsoft officially adds printing support for Windows Phone, business customers will be even more willing to switch from other platforms.
Microsoft did not officially announce plans to bring printing support to Windows Phone, but the information is hidden in a job application on Microsoft Careers. According to this post, Microsoft is looking to hire people that would work on a printing solution.
“Our team aims to keep Windows the best platform for printer ISVs and IHVs and to design and build the new platforms that will light up these new scenarios. Our team will develop for Windows client, Windows server, phone, tablet, Xbox, and cloud scenarios.
We are hiring software engineers who can help to design, build, and ship the code to enable these new scenarios. Successful candidates will have a solid track record of delivering high quality software solutions, strong problem solving and software development skill, and a passion for designing and building simple but powerful platforms.”
But the best proof Microsoft plans to add support for printing to Windows Phone is the following line in the job application:
“Experience with developing for Windows Phone, working with ISV or IHV partners, or designing platforms and APIs is a plus.”
Microsoft is expected to launch the latest Windows Phone 8.1 operating system by the end of this month and current Windows Phone 8 users will be able to upgrade their smartphones to the new version in the weeks to follow the official release.
However, some of the features included in Windows Phone 8.1 will only be available in certain countries, such as Bing services, Cortana and a few others.
Printing support may be missing from the initial release of Windows Phone 8.1 later this month, but Microsoft plans to launch two major updates to the mobile platform by the end of the year, so the new feature may be introduced this year after all.