Report: Features of Windows Phone 7.8 get revealed and confirmed 
Although Microsoft has yet to reveal anything official about the upcoming Windows Phone 7.8 update (besides the new Start screen) more and more information is coming out. Part of the reason may be because the update is rumored to be have been finalized and is now in OEM partner hands. Now the process of customization and testing by the likes of Nokia, Samsung and HTC will take place.
We have a few reports tied into one massive write up for your reading ease. We’ll start with the simple and work our way up to the more detailed information about what's new in Windows Phone 7.8.
Build numberThis is a relatively easy one but it’s still interesting “for the record” kind of information. From what we’ve been told from our sources the build number for Windows Phone 7.8 will be 7.10.8858.136. That’s a confirmed build number for at least some of what Nokia is working with though we do expect variations based on device and region, so consider that an approximation but not necessarily universal.
Current builds of Windows Phone 7.5 are at 7.10.8779 making the jump to 8858 somewhat significant.
Promotional materialInformation about Windows Phone 7.8 is already being printed and distributed. Such is the case in the above image given to us by reader of the site Kaljami. He recently visited his local DNA store in Finland to test out some new Nokia Lumias and spotted this brochure, which he snapped up. Although written in Finnish, we’re told it states
“…there will be more theme colours to choose from, it also says that there will be more than the new start screen. And what´s really important is that it confirms that there will be another update after the WP 7.8 update. “
Indeed that’s the second mention of a post Windows Phone 7.8 update that we’ve heard now, the earlier coming from a leaked Nokia slide deck. So while for some 7.8 won’t be “enough” to satisfy or make up for no Windows Phone 8 on legacy devices, it looks like Microsoft (and by extension Nokia) will be still adding new features after this new update.
Nokia Lumia 510 with 7.8 gets detailedOver at the site Winp.cn, they’ve managed to get their hands on an early build of Windows Phone 7.8 officially placed on the upcoming Nokia Lumia 510 entry market device. The device was spotted earlier with Windows Phone 7.5 but there are 7.8 beta builds floating around now too.
In a rather lengthy post, Winp.cp go through and detail all the new features. While there are no huge revelations, there is continued confirmation of rumored new features. So here is what is officially in 7.8 so far:
- New Boot Screen – Reflects Microsoft’s new Windows Phone logo and actually matches that of Windows Phone 8
- New Start screen – The earlier confirmed 3-sizes for Tiles
- New Core apps re-design – Xbox Games, Office and Store all get updated with new logos
- 20 Accent colors – We saw this with Windows Phone 8 and now 7 .8 too gets 10 new accent colors (plus one for OEMs or carriers to customize)
- Live Lock screen Wallpaper – Users can now take advantage of Bing wallpaper, which dynamically updates every day. We’re not sure if this extendable to third party applications as in Windows Phone 8 but presumably it is possible.
- Nokia Network+ settings – we’ve seen this in current Lumia 810/820/822 and 920 devices where Nokia adds some advanced network configurations, such as call forwarding, call waiting and SMS options
Finally, there are some advanced changes that only Nokia is applying to their Lumia line as these are OEM customizations. Some of these should make folks very happy:
- Bluetooth sharing of non-DRM multimedia files
- More ringtone editing abilities
- Contact transfer and sharing app upgrade with new features
So there you go, what we know so far about Windows Phone 7.8. What we can now definitively say is yes, it will be more than just a Live Tile update but not nearly as much as everyone will want. OEMs will in fact play just a big a role as Microsoft in increasing functionality of the update if they choose. So far, Nokia seems to be taking the lead with the most additions but we’ve seen a report just yesterday that HTC may also be adding a few tricks, including the coveted “keep WiFi alive” feature and SMS drafts.
There is still no word on actual distribution of the update but things are starting to fall in place for an early Q1 release.
Nokia’s Imaging Chief Damian Dinning Leaves the CompanyNokia just cant catch a break it seems. Right after launching their latest PureView imaging-focused smartphone, the Nokia Lumia 920, it appears their head of imaging, Damian Dinning, will be leaving the company this November 30th.
Dinning and his team are much lauded for the achievements behind the Nokia N8, the 41 Megapixel Sensor Nokia 808 PureView, and the PureView Lens on the Lumia 920. Three phones with cameras that have yet to be beaten by any manufacturer, in terms of quality. Nokia’s imaging strengths and phone cameras are well regarded as the company’s biggest advantage apart from Maps, so this news is particularly hard hitting.
No word on where the Imaging chief will be headed next, but he did tweet recently that he was “incredibly excited” about something happening on December 10th that has nothing to do with Nokia.
I’m incredibly excited about the 10th Dec, can’t say more than that right now other than to say it’s nothing to do with Nokia directly… — Damian Dinning (@PhoneDaz) November 21, 2012
In the meanwhile Nokia has released a statement on Dinning’s departure from the company, which you can find below. Personally, I do feel that while this is a significant loss for Nokia, their PureView technology is created by more than one person. Some of the team members I’ve met from the Imaging department are just as enthusiastic and focused, so hopefully Nokia will choose a good replacement.
Nokia StatementFollowing the relocation of key strategic roles to Finland, and with great reluctance, Damian Dinning has made a personal decision to leave the company effective November 30, 2012. During the past nine years, Damian has made many innovative and valuable contributions to Nokia, most recently as a lead program manager in our Smart Devices business. We thank him for his service to the company and certainly wish him the best.
Thanksgiving breaks Instagram records: Over 10M photos shared at a rate of up to 226 per secondInstagram saw a new record set during Thanksgiving 2012 in the US: 10 million photos shared at a rate of 226 per second during the peak at 12:40PM PST. For several hours on Thursday, its users posted more than 200 photos about the American holiday every second.
In fact, the day broke all Instagram records, making it the busiest day for the mobile photo sharing service ever. The Facebook-owned company says it saw the number of shared photos more than double from the day before.
The numbers are huge if you remember that Instagram typically sees over 5 million photos uploaded each day, and that Facebook averages about 300 million daily. It shows Instagram still has a long way to grow, which is exactly why Facebook bought it.
Unsurprisingly, the two-year-old company is very happy about the news:
We’re thrilled to see people use Instagram to share their holidays. Whether celebrating with friends and family or sharing photos with them halfway across the globe, we’re excited to see the intimacy and immediacy of the Instagram experience bring us all closer together over this holiday season.
In April 2012, Facebook announced its plans to acquire Instagram, but the social networking giant only officially welcomed Instagram into its family in September, right as the app passed the 5 billion photo mark. A week later, the app had over 100 million users, growth which Facebook has helped foster and will undoubtedly push pass the 200 million mark.
The biggest changes are yet to come: Instagram is taking huge hints from Facebook in redesigning its profiles as my colleague Harrison Weber details details extensively here. Furthermore, the two are going to get even closer and closer together as Facebook looks to monetize its purchase, as my colleague Ken Yeung explains.
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