Paul Thurrott shares his latest Windows Phone 8 book online (and free) (651 pages, all about using WP8 and many of its app's...)

Paul Thurrott's Windows Phone 8 - Windows Phone Book - Version 1.02

I've embedded the SkyDrive version of Version 1.02 above, IFrame style. If it doesn't come through, click through and you can get it via his Skydrive/DropBox/Google Drive links.

Here's a snap of it in SkyDrive (which seems to be a pretty darn nice web representation of the PDF)

Here's some snips from the book (page 3)

Who this book is for

Paul Thurrott’s Windows Phone 8 was written for current and future users of Windows Phone 8. It was written for real people—users—not technical experts, or those who need to manage mobile devices in a corporate environment.

The book makes no assumptions about your experience with prior versions of Windows Phone, but by this point in time, I do assume that you have at least some experience using a smart phone in general.

If you are already at least passingly familiar with Windows Phone, you can use the book as a reference and pick and choose from the various topics. Otherwise, you should read the first two chapters in sequence and then branch out from there. There’s no need to read the book in sequence, though you may of course do so if you wish.

For the few times in which you need to connect your handset to a computer, I assume that the computer will be a Windows-based PC, preferably using Windows 8 or RT. Those with older versions of Windows should be able to follow along. (Those with Macs are on their own. Just as in real life.)

This book is…

Free. Paul Thurrott’s Windows Phone 8 is free, my gift to the Windows Phone community. You should never pay for this book, nor should you acquire it from any source other than its author and copyright holder, Paul Thurrott. Updated versions of this book are available from Windows Phone Book and Paul Thurrott’s SuperSite for Windows. In the future, versions for Kindle and various e-book platforms will be made available as well.

Not complete. This book is comprehensive but it is never complete. That is, I will continue updating the book to address ongoing changes to the platform and to add more content. I will keep providing these free updates to this free book for as long as Microsoft and Nokia, its primary platform partner, provide updates to Windows Phone 8.

Original. Paul Thurrott’s Windows Phone 8 is an original work, written solely by its author.

Not perfect. If you find any mistakes or omissions, or have suggestions for future versions of the book, or ideas for future books, please email me: This book should be as useful as it is up-to-date.

Specifically about Windows Phone 8. When Microsoft finally moves forward with a new version of the operating system (Windows Phone 8.1, 9, whatever), I’ll provide new editions of the book (Paul Thurrott’s Windows Phone 8.1 or whatever). These future editions will not be free, but will be priced as low as possible. Think less than a dollar.