1 - JDPiChlAs a part of his Ask Me Anything Q&A session on Reddit today, Windows Phone exec Joe Belfiore said that users of Microsoft’s mobile operating system will soon have more control over where their files are stored on a device.

Once the app launches, Windows Phone will be one of the few mobile operating systems that has first-party support for managing the phone’s file system. There are a number of Android apps that let people manage files on phones running Google’s mobile OS, but the Mountain View-based company hasn’t released an official way to do so. Apple intentionally hides much of the iPhone’s file system, so users interested in fine control over which files are stored on their device usually need to turn to third-party tools or jailbreaking their phone.

Embracing the traditional file system could help attract people who are used to having granular control over where their files are stored, which would be a good thing for growing Microsoft’s mobile platform.

Belfiore said that the app, which will be available for devices running Windows Phone 8.1, is slated to launch by the end of May, though that date could change. In addition, he said that he has been running a beta version of the app for the past week, and it is “getting to pretty good shape.” 

The app will allow users to manage the file system on their Windows Phone 8.1 device, including moving files to and from the phone’s SD card, and managing folders for documents and other files. According to Belfiore, the file manager is one of the most-requested features for Windows Phone.

Microsoft’s new app will join a fleet of other improvements coming with the latest version of Windows Phone, including Cortana, the company’s virtual assistant, which was announced at last month’s Build developer conference in San Francisco.

Here are some more screen shots of the new app (click on any image to open the slide show):

 

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