Microsoft adds ability to install apps from microSD cards in Windows Phone 8

Microsoft has just added a useful new feature to the Windows Phone Store that lets you install apps from the microSD card, if your device supports one. This is convenient for those who don’t have a data connection on their phones.

Now, when you go to an app page on the Windows Phone Store web page, you will see an option to download and install the app manually. Click on that and the app starts downloading automatically to your computer. Once done, you can then transfer the XAP file to a microSD card and then install it on your phone.

Note that this feature only lets you install apps from an SD card, not to it. The apps will still be installed on the internal memory as before. As for Windows Phone 8 devices without an SD card slot, sending the XAP file over Bluetooth does not seem to work, although that may be a device specific issue.

In other news, the Windows Phone Store is now available in even greater number of regions. The new markets are: Angola, Armenia, Bangladesh, Benin, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Chad, Congo (DRC), Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guinea, Haiti, Honduras, Kenya, Liechtenstein, Madagascar, Malawi, Malaysia, Mali, Mozambique, Nicaragua, Niger, Pakistan, Paraguay, Rwanda, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Tajikistan, Tanzania, Togo, Turkmenistan, Uganda, Yemen, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.