Windows Phone 8 Is Updating…
Currently the update is only if you have a Windows Phone Developers account (as part of the new Developers Preview Program) however the contents of the release are worth noting.
The Windows Phone blog cites the three main engineering objectives of Update 3 as: –
- Enable incredible new Windows Phone devices.
- Enhance the platform with new capabilities for current users and partners.
- Improve overall quality.
(Quoted verbatim from the post)
Windows Phone intends to achieve this with the following new features: –
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Support for bigger, hi-res screens.
- 5 or 6″ displays are mentioned with 1080p HD
- This is going to allow room for 6 Live Tiles instead of the existing 4.
- This means greater customization of the Start Screen (or Windows Phone’s desktop)
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More power.
- Support for the Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 quad-core processor; are you ready for Windows Phone on high octane?
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Driving Mode.
- Microsoft have decided to implement a socially responsible feature set that affects how your phone behaves when you are driving in relation to Bluetooth devices, calls and SMS.
- If you have a Bluetooth speaker paired with your phone in your car then this can automatically trigger Driving Mode for you where you can opt to block the distraction of calls / SMS whilst driving.
- All this and a slew of other features…
The Warptest POV
As a standalone OS update this delivers serious improvements, clearly some of which came from user feedback. However, the ramifications and intent behind this update is way more interesting.
With the announcement of a Nokia Phablet / Tablet running Windows Phone expected to occur at the October 22 Nokia World, Abu Dhabi Event the Windows Phone is evolving onwards
Microsoft had a choice to deliver Phablets /mini-tablets with Windows RT on or upscale Windows Phone OS.
The big question I’ve touched on in previous posts is where does this leave Windows RT? ? What do you think?