Today, we've noticed a few slight tweaks to the official Windows Phone website and the Windows Phone Store.

The website has apparently flipped the switch on universal search for both its app results as well as its how-to articles. So for example, when you search for the query 'Game' using the search box in the top-right corner you will now see condensed results for Apps + Games on top, and a few more results from the how-to articles (tips that clarify how to do things with your phone) below. See the screenshot above to see what we mean.

Previously, the WindowsPhone.com search had an odd execution where if you would search from the home page, only articles would appear. If you wanted to search for apps, you had to navigate to the Apps + Games section first and then search — cumbersome to say the least.


Meanwhile, the web-based Store has also seen a few improvements/changes today. When you visit the main page's "App Wall" of all the featured apps, there are now two large-size apps on display at the top instead of just one. In addition, there have also been changes to every app's details page. As you can see above in the screenshots taken from the Angry Birds details page, the 'More from Developer' section now displays the tiles of the apps which the developer has published while the 'Required' section now specifically lists which versions of Windows Phone the app supports. Previously, the latter would report the vague "Windows Phone _ or higher" statement so we're liking this change.

Have you noticed any other changes to WindowsPhone.com that we might have missed?

Update: Looks like we did miss one after all! If you have a Windows Phone 8 device, you can now manually install apps to your phone through the MicroSD card slot. If you click on the 'Download app manually' link (pictured right), it will download a .xap file. Simply copy it to your phone's SD card, then open the Store app on your phone and you should see an option called SD Card. Tap on that, check whatever app you want to install, and presto! Read the full guide on how to do it here.

Source: WindowsPhone.com