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Technology Stocks : Windows Phone -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Eric L who wrote (1020)	10/14/2013 9:22:12 AM
From: Eric L	Respond to of 1099

Paul Thurrott: Windows Phone 8 General Distribution Release 3 (GDR3) for WinPhone 8 ... Note: Windows Phone 8 Update 3 (8.0.10512) is primarily designed for upcoming hardware and will be released with new Nokia devices, which will be unveiled later this month. Registered developers or those with a developer-unlocked device will be able to install WP8 Update 8 after having General Distribution Release 2 (GDR2) installed. More on this here: allaboutwindowsphone.com >> Windows Phone 8 Update 3 Preview Good news, finally ... you can get it early and for free Paul Thurrott Supersite for Windows October 14, 2013 winsupersite.com Microsoft today will detail the features coming in its third major update to Windows Phone 8, now called Update 3 but previously known by the internal moniker GDR3. Update 3 will be made available for free to existing handsets over the next several months, as you might expect. But the good news is that the firm will also allow developers--really, anyone--early access to Update 3 starting tomorrow. So why now? Update 3 will of course be included on new handsets, starting with some exciting new models that Nokia will announce next week. So this feature set serves as a general preview, if you will, of some of the new features we can expect on those devices. Mile-high view Update 3 is an important step for a platform—Windows Phone 8—that was designed to have a not-so-speedy 18 active month life cycle. It increases the build number of the OS to 8.0.10512. According to Microsoft, Update 3 had three main engineering goals: Enable a new generation of incredible Windows Phone 8 devices, enhance the platform with new capabilities for current users and partners, and improve overall quality. *Major new features* Update 3 delivers the following improvements to Windows Phone 8. Bigger screens. Update 3 allows Windows Phone 8 to be used on screens of 5- to 6-inches, enabling so-called "phablet" handsets. 1080p. Update 3 also allows hardware makers to deliver devices with 1920 x 1080 (1080p) screens. Such a screen provides room for room for six small-sized live tiles horizontally instead of four, as is the case with today's screens. Built-in apps and hubs like Mail, Photos, People, and Music & Videos will also be "carefully scaled" to take full advantage of the additional on-screen real estate. Quad-core processors. While today's Windows Phone 8 handsets are limited to dual-core processors, Update 3 will add support for the Qualcomm 8974 quad-core processor. Driving Mode. A new feature called Driving Mode works with a connected Bluetooth device to limit notifications on the lock screen—including texts, calls, and quick status alerts, Microsoft says—until you're safely parked. You can configure Driving Mode to send automatic replies to people who call or text while you're driving. Mobile Accessibility. One of the big complaints about Windows Phone is that its accessibility features are decidedly lacking. With Update 3, Windows Phone 8 picks up a suite of apps called Mobile Accessibility that seek to improve this situation. Apps include a screen reader for blind and visually impaired as well as tools for the hearing-impaired that help with notifications like alarms, calendar events, and low-battery warnings. Tethering improvements. The Internet Sharing feature in Windows Phone 8 is being updated to include a special pairing mode for use with particular PCs that uses Bluetooth to make the connection: No more manual entry of passwords. Better ringtones. With Update 3, you can use custom ringtones for more events, including instant messages, emails, voicemails, and reminders. You can also configure custom ringtones for contacts for text messages. (Previously, you could only do so for phone calls.) Screen rotate lock. Yep, you can now lock the screen rotation, just like a real smart device. Improved storage management. While GDR2 added the ability to automatically manage "other" storage in the Phone Storage settings app, Update 3 now provides a new category view that shows exactly what apps and other items are using up that space. *Manually close an app. Now when you access the App Switcher multitasking screen (by pressing and holding on the Back button), you will be able to manually close an app using a large and obvious close ("X") button. Wi-Fi access during Setup. In the current version of Windows Phone 8, you cannot connect to a Wi-Fi network during Setup, so you must have a cellular data connection to add a Microsoft account. With Update 3, Wi-Fi configuration occurs before this step, solving a major complaint, especially for those of us buying no-contract phones like the Lumia 520 where a cellular connection is not guaranteed. How you can get Update 3 this week* < ... Snip ... see text at link above > Information for developers < ... Snip Rest ... see text at link above > # # # - Eric -