Have Windows Phone 8 Update 3? Rotation Lock lets you pin the setting to your Start screen

Locking the screen rotation on Windows Phone 8 is simply wonderful. Before Update 3 (aka GDR3), if you were preparing to lay in bed with the Kindle app at the ready, you'd have to watch out for the pesky gyroscope which would switch the screen orientation. It was a minor nuisance. Now with rotation lock, you're able to hop into the phone settings and lock the display to portrait or landscape. That said, it can be a pain to navigate through the settings area. Cue Rotation Lock, an app to solve this problem.

So what does the app do? Rotation Lock simply enables you to pin the setting to the Start screen as a tile. This tile can be configured for all sizes (see above photo) and that's about it, really. There's not a whole lot to it, which is definitely a strength. When launching the app, you're greeted by a single screen that asks you to pin a tile to your Start screen. That's it, job done. You now have quick and convenient access to the screen rotation lock settings.

You can download Rotation Lock from the Windows Phone Store for free - note that this app requires Windows Phone 8 and the GDR3 update.

Rich Edmonds
Senior Editor, PC Build

Rich Edmonds was formerly a Senior Editor of PC hardware at Windows Central, covering everything related to PC components and NAS. He's been involved in technology for more than a decade and knows a thing or two about the magic inside a PC chassis. You can follow him on Twitter at @RichEdmonds.