Microsoft #TileArt Launched for Home Screen Customisation on Windows Phone

The 6MB #TileArt app available on Windows Phone Store has five main features - create custom tile layout by pining images/ photos, upload transparent png images, customise lock screen, share home screen with friends and access free #TileArt gallery.

"We know that people love to personalise the things they own. So we built the #TileArt app to make it easier for you to pin your favourite images to the home screen, to personalize your lock screen and to share your awesome creation with the world," notes Microsoft's #TileArt app listing.

Microsoft has also announced a global #TileArt Talenthouse competition to find the four best animators, illustrators and designers from the Talenthouse community.

The winners will get a Digital Artist Kit which includes a Lumia 930 (also given to the ten shortlistees), a dedicated page in the #TileArt app, a Surface Pro and $1,500. Entries are accepted till February 24, after which there'll be a round of voting which ends on March 27th. The grand winner will be announced on March 31, says Microsoft.

On Monday, Microsoft launched the Picturesque Lock Screen app, which allows Android users change stock lock screen with Bing home page images.

(Also see: Microsoft Next Lock Screen for Android Gets Quick Glance Notifications, More)

The app can change images (choosing from the past 6 days of Bing home pages) with just a shake of the phone or by swiping to the right. Just like the Next Lock Screen and Android 5.0 Lollipop, the Picturesque Lock Screen app allows users to access missed call notifications, text messages and also the search function directly from the lock screen without unlocking the phone.

Notably, back in July last year, Microsoft launched the Live Lock Screen Beta app for Windows Phone 8.1, with a total of 6 new lock screen layouts.