As you can probably guess, the Windows Phone 8 SDK has been torn asunder by eager fans and there's been a lot leaked so far. Even more has come out in the past few days, so we decided to collect all of the new discoveries here in one concise article.

What have we got on tap? How about the addition of custom alert sounds? Or maybe developers having access to a Battery API? We also think you'd like to know about the increase in the multitasking limit, newly integrated Bing services, and a new chat room feature. So to learn about all of these neat new features, join us after the break.

First up, WPCentral recently published a ton of new information about Windows Phone 8 from its community ties so let's jump in. Bing has finally added a few more of its services as part of the native search feature in WP8. That includes Bing News, Local Deals, Buzz, Top Videos, and Local Results. Most are self explanatory, while Buzz is a part of Bing's News service which can offer a consensus from users and critics about events or movies -- the latter being similar to RottenTomatoes.com. Bing has also added the ability to toggle launching search from the lock screen.


Moving beyond search, WPCentral's other big discovery was with custom alert sounds. The site claims that users will finally be able to set personal sounds for voicemail, email, text or IM notifications. There's some confusion around if this is a guaranteed feature or not though, since the screenshots the site provided don't clearly prove that users can set their own custom sound, so for now we'll just have to take their word on it. In addition, there's now the option to toggle the phone vibration option when the ringer is on or off (pictured).

Meanwhile, a developer by the name of David Hanson has unearthered references in the SDK to a new feature for WP8's People Hub functionality: chat rooms. Connect to a few friends to "share a calendar, photos, group chat and notes" in a private room. WMPoweruser has compared this to Google+'s Hangout feature, but we'd think it's a little bit closer to Google Docs in terms of being an interactive collaboration tool.


Then there was WParea.de, which filmed video proof of a few extra multitasking cards added to Windows Phone. The limit has now been bumped up from 5 to 7, which is a lot more reasonable in our opinion. Finally, a new Battery API has been discovered by .NET App which now lets developers display the percentage and estimated time remaining before a user needs their next charge. It's a simple inclusion, but one that could create a new category of battery live tile apps. (Sample app pictured to the right.)

That's it for now. Which of these features are you most excited about?

Via: WMPoweruser, WP7 Connect
Source: WPCentral, Lord Hanson, WParea.de