Windows Phone 8: all the rumors ahead of the official launch
Microsoft's biggest upgrade of the Windows Phone operating system is coming up at some point later this year. Rumored to be codenamed Apollo and likely to bear the branding of Windows Phone 8, it's hoped to be the shot in the arm Microsoft's mobile ecosystem needs to compete with the incumbent leaders from Apple and Google. Keep track of all the official and unofficial developments ahead of the launch of WP8 right here.
Microsoft
Windows Phone 8 will reportedly include screen capture functionality
Despite iOS and most Android devices having screenshot capabilities baked in, Microsoft's Windows Phone doesn't officially support the feature. This is about to change in Windows Phone 8, according to WPDang. Microsoft is reportedly modifying its mobile OS to support screen capture through the Windows key and camera button. The screenshot will then be saved into the Photo hub in Windows Phone.
Although the feature is rarely used, it has been sorely missed by reviewers and developers alike....
Windows Phone 8 will reportedly include lock screen notification improvements
Microsoft has revealed very little about the user interface improvements in its upcoming Windows Phone 8 release. Aside from an improved Start Screen with smaller tiles, the company is holding back its other plans for tweak the operating system elsewhere. WPCentral has revealed that Microsoft is planning some lock screen notification improvements for Windows Phone 8.
Existing Windows Phone 7.5 devices support phone, mail, and messaging notifications, but Windows Phone 8 is said to support...
Apps & Software
Windows Phone 8 adds DirectX, native development, easier app porting
At its Windows Phone summit, Microsoft set the tone by talking a lot about "shared core" — it's practically a new mantra. Here's one way we'll see that in action: a native game development platform based on DirectX. A "common platform" for Windows Phone 8 and Windows 8, which is to say there's a shared kernel across the platforms. Shared hardware drivers and the "hardware-based security" of Windows.
More simply put, developers should be able to quickly port their games to Windows Phones...
Mobile
Lumia 900 won't be sold by T-Mobile in Germany due to lack of WP8 upgrade path
Putting another obstacle in Nokia's path to selling its Lumia range as widely as possible, T-Mobile's German arm has decided that it won't stock the Lumia 900 Windows Phone handset. This comes on the heels of multiple European carriers expressing discontent with the quality of the Windows Phone user experience, but seems to have been motivated by an additional factor. A member of T-Mobile's support team in Germany has revealed, after asking around inside the company, that the reason the Lumia...
Mobile
Windows Phone 8 shown running on 64GB Vertu with integrated SkyDrive storage?
Following the leak of several alleged Windows Phone 8 screenshots earlier this week, additional images appear to have surfaced. Chinese site wpxap has posted a number of photos of what it says is a Vertu device running Windows Phone 8. The photos show a device with 64GB of storage, identified as a Vertu in the operating system's settings menu. Vertu was Nokia's luxury phone arm that the company has agreed to sell to private equity group EQT this week.
While we can't be certain this is a...
Mobile
Windows Phone 8 screenshots allegedly leak, show Skype integration and new camera UI
Microsoft is widely expected to unveil Windows Phone 8 at a special event next week, but more details about the mobile operating system appear to have leaked ahead of its debut. Nokia Innovations has posted several screenshots that seem to show how Skype will be integrated into Windows Phone 8. One particular screenshot shows an incoming video call that looks like Windows Phone's native calling app, another shows Skype and RCSe integration in the People Hub.
The site has also posted a...
Apps & Software
Windows Phone 8: Nokia Maps will reportedly replace Bing Maps with 3D navigation
We're just just over a week away from Microsoft's promised "sneak peek" at the future of Windows Phone and details about the next mobile operating system appear to be leaking out. Nokia Maps will replace Bing Maps in all Windows Phone devices, according to WPCentral — coupled with 3D navigation and hardware acceleration.
We know that Bing Maps will bear the Nokia name, and a unified map design along with recent traffic results updates all point towards a merging of Nokia and Bing Maps. W...
Microsoft
Microsoft promises a 'sneak peek' at the future of Windows Phone on June 20th
Microsoft previously announced its Windows Phone Developer Summit early last month, but the company didn't reveal exactly what it was planning to show. We received an updated invitation today that hints Windows Phone 8 might be on the agenda. "A sneak peek of the future of Windows Phone" is promised in the latest invite for the June 20th event. While there's no direct mention of Windows Phone 8, we've heard from our own sources that this event will introduce developers to new ways of creating...
Microsoft
Huawei rumored to be working on Windows 8 phones and tablet
Despite saying on record last year that it was interested in producing Windows Phones, Huawei has yet to introduce a smartphone running Microsoft's mobile OS. According to WPDang, Huawei has put together a group of 70 or so engineers to focus on a phone based on Apollo as well as a new Windows 8 tablet with a built-in LTE connection. The company also reportedly has a team in the US working with Microsoft to coordinate these efforts. There's minimal details on what the phone might look like...
Microsoft
Microsoft developer evangelist retracts claim that Mango devices will get Apollo
Microsoft developer evangelist Nuno Silva has retracted comments from an interview earlier this week, in which he claimed that every Windows Phone sold to date should be getting the upgrade to the next "major version of Windows Phone," contradicting our sources on the matter. Silva says today that he was merely attempting to make the point "that existing Windows Phone applications will run on the next version of Windows Phone," and that he "mistakenly confused app compatibility with phone...
Microsoft to integrate carrier operated services directly into Windows Phone 8
Microsoft is planning to unveil a number of customization and differentiation improvements in Windows Phone 8 to OEMs soon. Netbooknews first broke details earlier today of what appears to be an invitation-only event at Microsoft's UK offices in Reading in the coming weeks. The agenda focuses on Windows Phone 8 "Apollo" schedules, application development capabilities, and connectivity / APN management for the upcoming smartphone operating system.
One particular feature that Microsoft has been...
Microsoft
Sources: current Windows Phone devices will not get 'Apollo' upgrade
Earlier today, a developer evangelist for Microsoft was quoted as saying that all Windows Phone devices would get an upgrade to the "next major version" of the operating system. Now, a trusted source close to Microsoft tells us that is absolutely not the case, that instead there will be no upgrade path from Mango to Apollo. This matches up with a previous report from Mary Jo Foley and explains the particular language Microsoft used when it responded to the story earlier today, saying "We have...
All Windows Phones to get upgrade to 'next major version,' according to Microsoft developer evangelist (update)
According to an interview that Microsoft developer evangelist Nuno Silva gave to Zwame, every Windows Phone sold to date should be getting the upgrade to the next "major version of Windows Phone." Silva further made it clear that he wasn't just referring to current devices, but also the first-generation of Windows Phone devices going back to the Omnia 7. Presumably, the "major" here isn't a simple tease for an interim update, but rather the version that's codenamed Apollo.
Sadly, Zwame has...
Mobile
Nokia Lumia PureView concept appears, looks crazy enough to be real
Chinese site it168 has posted what it claims are slides depicting a Windows Phone 8 Nokia Lumia PureView handset, featuring the same 41-megapixel sensor as the upcoming Symbian 808 PureView. The site describes them as picturing a concept, rather than a finished product, though we'd go so far as to say they're most likely the product of a fan's hyperactive imagination. The geometry of the 4.3-inch device on show doesn't make much sense, and the claimed spec of Adreno 320 graphics would require...
Mobile
Is Microsoft testing Windows Phone apps on Windows 8 builds?
Microsoft could be testing Windows Phone apps on its Windows 8 operating system, if a popular Windows Phone application is to be believed. I'm a WP7 tracks the version numbers and codenames of all Windows Phone devices and currently reports that one percent of its users are running Windows 8 desktop software. The builds in question are 8283 and 8288, making them more recent than the Windows 8 Consumer Preview (build 8250), released on February 29th.
I'm a WP7 also states that the codename of...
Nokia preparing 'Prodigy' and 'AC/DC' Windows Phone 8 handsets?
Nokia is currently preparing two new Windows Phone handsets for AT&T, according to sources close to the company's plans. Nokia Prodigy is expected to be one of Microsoft's "superphones" for Windows Phone 8, due later this year, and the AC/DC will be a mid-range handset — both will launch on AT&T. Plans for Verizon, Sprint, and T-Mobile are unclear, but Microsoft is understood to be testing dual-core chipsets with a view to Sprint picking a potential Windows Phone 8 device.
HTC is also said...
Microsoft
Microsoft testing Windows Phone 8 with dual-core Snapdragon S4 for Sprint?
Microsoft's Windows Phone engineering team is currently testing the Qualcomm MSM8960 chipset, according to sources familiar with the company's plans. The dual-core 1.5GHz system-on-chip is undergoing tests to make it ready for at least one Windows Phone 8 handset due later this year. Qualcomm's Snapdragon S4 has been making waves recently thanks to its impressive performance in recent Vellamo benchmark results, beating Samsung's Galaxy S II and Motorola's Droid 4 by more than double....
Mobile
Qualcomm: 'no structural problem' to using dual-core Snapdragon S4 in Windows Phone
When asked about its ongoing partnership with Microsoft on Windows Phone in a roundtable with journalists today, Qualcomm's Rob Chandhok noted that it's still "strong" and that the company has been "amazed" by how deeply and effectively Microsoft has been able to integrate and utilize Snapdragon's capabilities. We specifically asked about the possibility of seeing the Snapdragon S4 — Qualcomm's latest high-performance processor with two Krait-based cores — in the platform, to which...
Mobile
HTC prepping new Windows Phone devices for Apollo launch
HTC's new One family of Android phones may be the company's big news of the day, but that doesn't mean it's sitting still when it comes to other platforms. Both Pocket-lint and MobileBurn spoke with the company's chief product officer, Kouji Kodera, who informed them that HTC is developing a new range of Windows Phone devices that will be introduced in conjunction with the Apollo upgrade to Microsoft's mobile operating system. Apollo is expected to ship in the fourth quarter of this year,...
Microsoft
Windows Phone 8 'Apollo' video details Skype plans, Windows 8 integration, and hardware support
Microsoft's Director of the Windows Phone program, Joe Belfiore, has detailed a number of Windows Phone 8 features in a leaked video intended for partners. PocketNow managed to secure a copy of the video and the feature list is long. Through speaking to PocketNow editors, we can confirm that the video is authentic, intended for internal use only, and Microsoft is planning the following for its next-generation of Windows Phone:
Hardware
Belfiore details all the forthcoming hardware support...
Microsoft
Windows Phone roadmap leak points to Tango release in Q2 2012, Apollo in Q4
Now that every Windows Phone out there is upgradable to Mango, Microsoft appears to be pushing ahead with Tango and Apollo, the next two versions of the software. WMPoweruser has obtained an alleged roadmap that indicates the Tango update will arrive in Q2 of 2012, and Apollo in Q4.
The roadmap is said to be "up to date as of October 2011," implying that Microsoft’s plans may have changed since it was put together. The Mango update is listed as a Q4 2011 release, whereas its distribution...
Microsoft
Windows Phone job listing suggests new backup and restore features coming in next version
Microsoft filled in a lot of missing functionality with Windows Phone 7.5 Mango, but the platform is still lacking in one area: convenient backups. A recent job listing suggests that will be changing this coming year, with Redmond currently in the hunt for a software engineer to join the Windows Phone Backup, Migrate and Restore team. According to the post, the team is building features to ensure that users can "quickly and seamlessly get their phone back to a good state," whether it's been...
Mobile
The fall of Microsoft's Andy Lees: inside the Windows Phone power shift
Over the past couple days we've gotten some additional details surrounding the circumstances that led to Andy Lees' removal from his role at the top of the Windows Phone org chart inside Microsoft.
First off, we're told that although Lees still reports to CEO Steve Ballmer, his ill-defined new role "focused on driving maximum impact in 2012 with Windows Phone and Windows 8" is, in fact, a demotion — the exact phrase that was used with us was that "he's been benched." The specific "Windows...
Microsoft
Windows Phone 'Apollo' coming mid-2012, according to Nokia VP
Windows Phone Mango (aka 7.5) has spread its sweet multitasking nectar to just about every WP7 device out there, but Microsoft's software strategy doesn't end with with a juicy fruit. Engadget spoke to Nokia VP Michael Halbherr, who confirmed that Windows Phone Apollo will be a "very different game" when it arrives in the "middle of next year."
That's not the first time we've heard the word Apollo, mind you, as rumors about the supposed Windows Phone 8 have run rampant for months, appearing...
