Another update to Windows Phone 8 that’s been announced today is a new feature in the People Hub called Rooms. We had heard about this vaguely in leaks, but now it’s official.
This allows Windows Phone 8 users to parcel up their contacts so they send group messages to particular sub-sets of people, share location, calendars, shared to-do lists and more.
WP8 will include a Family Room as standard but users can create Rooms for any contacts. ”A Family Room is part of Windows Phone 8 right out of the box,” said Joe Belfiore. Rooms are designed to “gather people into sets away from the crowd… perfect for close friends, immediate family.”
Microsoft is also including support for Windows Phone 7 and Apple iPhone users — so that Rooms don’t have to be exclusively populated by WP8 owners.
Below (right) is the calendar view an iPhone owner will see when they participate in a WP8 Room
Austin, TX
Seattle, WA
San Diego, CA
Menlo Park, CA
San Francisco, CA
Berlin, Germany
