Good thing I reserved a dose of skepticism for those Windows 8 App Store screenshots that surfaced earlier this month, because they turned out to be a sham.
According to iStartedSomething, the images are actually from a third-party Chinese application downloader and manager, called App Marts. The English-language screenshots were likely doctored.
The store seemed fake to me due to blatant similarities to Apple’s existing Mac App Store, including a large featured app on top followed by a grid of rectangular app panels below. The use of the name “Windows App Store” in one of the screenshots also seemed suspect, given that Microsoft is still disputing Apple’s claim on the “App Store” trademark.
But that doesn’t mean Microsoft isn’t building an application store into Windows 8. Leaked planning documents and presentation slides suggest that Microsoft is working on a storefront with the ability to sync apps and data across multiple devices. This would reportedly be part of a big overhaul for Windows, with a newfound focus on cloud computing and tablet support.
Other rumored features for Windows 8 include facial recognition, easy file syncing and sharing and design elements borrowed from Windows Phone 7. Official details from Microsoft, however, are slim.