Whether you refer to it as the post-PC or PC+ era, applications have become a significant part of how we interact with our devices and the world around us. There are over a million apps available on Apple’s App Store and Google Play, and new ones appear every day by the bucket load.

Windows Phone 7, Microsoft’s reboot of its mobile operating system has been on the market now since February of 2010. It has failed to gain much traction, as developers have been slow to adopt it and consumers are still getting over the company’s earlier mobile efforts. This autumn will be a key moment for Microsoft as it practically reboots the OS once again, with the release of Windows Phone 8. The platform is not only significant for Microsoft, but for its hardware partners as well, specifically Nokia. The Finnish company who once dominated the mobile phone markets has tied its fate to Windows Phone and is reliant on its quick and widespread adoption to prop up its fortunes once again. Will the new hardware and software features introduced in Windows Phone 8 be enough to bring Microsoft into contention, and will they be enough to save Nokia?