Microsoft Home Team App Launches First on Windows Phones

If you’re upset that Microsoft tends to target iPhone and Android first with its new and experimental mobile apps, take heart: The software giant has delivered a new app called Home Team that helps you find high-quality local service providers. And this one runs on Windows phones.

OK, it is coming to Phone too. Soon. But for now, it’s on Windows only.

“Home Team enables users to get and share word of mouth recommendations for service professionals (plumber, electrician, stylist, dog walker, etc.),” Microsoft explains. “When selecting someone to work on your home, manage your look, or care for your loved ones, we all prefer to find a great recommendation from a friend or colleague. Home Team enables you to connect directly with friends and colleagues to get those great recommendations. You can directly connect with friends from Facebook, or join a work network to share recommendations with colleagues.”

Looking at the app, it’s not so much like an ap version of Angie’s List as it is a personal version of Delve. What it does is build a list of “service pros” from your contacts list. You can connect via Facebook, which I did, or create an account with what I assume is a Home Team service. (I did the former.) You can use the app to make public “asks” for service, and add friends and co-workers to your “team.”

I didn’t really have any service providers in my contacts list, so it’s kind of hard to tell how well this thing works. But this is a neat idea, and extending it with public recommendations might really put it over the top.

You can learn more about this app from the Home Team web site, or at the Microsoft Garage web site.

You can download Home Team for Windows phones from the Windows Phone Store. Or snag the iPhone version from Apple’s App Store.