Microsoft details upcoming Windows Phone software update

Microsoft has taken the opportunity to discuss its future update plans with the Lumia 925 running a yet-to-be-released version of Windows Phone 8.While probably not the final build, the release is set to be rolled out to consumers later this summer, which will introduce a number of features and improvements. So what can you look forward to?

First of all we have support for FM radio, which will please those who have been looking for a solution to tune into local stations using their Windows Phones. Another big feature is Data Sense being activated with and supported by more mobile operators (though we've not had any names provided just yet). The update also makes it easier to select, download and pin tracks in Xbox Music.

It's noted that "hundreds" of small quality improvements will also be bundled and those who rely on Google services will be able to continue using Windows Phone and accounts with calDAV and CardDAV. Not the biggest update we've seen, but at least Microsoft is looking to address concerns and fix issues that have been raised (some more than once).

Source: Windows Phone Blog

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.

237 Comments
  • Yipee! Can't wait for FM radio :)
  • Me too, FM Radio ♥ ;-)
  • :D
    Does anyone have a list of those little updates? Or when can we except one?
  • I hope it's all the things we've been asking for like rotation lock, separate volume sliders etc.
  • If the big feature being touted is enabling the FM feature from WP7, I wouldn't count on any of those other things.
  • expect  I know its a darn keboard auto correct issue!
  • They have the best auto correct I've seen compared to other OSes (Android, iOS, WebOS).
  • Have you tried SwiftKey? It's very good.
  • No swiftkey type shit for the WP keyboard please (put as an option maybe, but not default). This is hands down the best keyboard I have ever used and I have used a lot of them (except the one on the Z10)
    While they may be able to improve the current word prediction, the next word prediction is a lifesaver, its just freakily accurate. Eat that on the swiftkey that doent even learn grammar that well. The WP keyboard "learns" visibly over time even when you dont add those words into the dictionary.
  • Its creepy sometimes as well. When I type any number but 3, it doesn't suggest anything. But when I type 3, it suggests "3 -> Chocolate -> Chip -> Cookies" Because I always tell my friend to get me some from Subway. None of my Android or iOS friends phones do that.
  • Yep. This  is precisely what i was talking about. Its so useful that I cannot overstate its impact. It learns *your* language and your grammar over time with no separate effort. Its worthy of having an advertisement on this feature alone.
    Some of mine are:
    g -> Good -> morning 
    I -> I'm -> on -> the -> bus -> to -> <dgfjkhsagf>
    and many others that are obviously too personal to share :D
  • Heck yeah it is!
  • The WP keyboard needs something similar. Where it guesses the next word, but when you hit space it fills it in. Also, the guessed word is in the middle, bolded.
  • I'd disagree. Though the keyboard is extreamly smooth, its auto correct features arnt upto par and I find myself having to re-write a lot of mistakes if i do decide to let go. Some android addon keyboards are amazing, even though they wernt that smooth.
  • true! and predictive text!...
  • Unfortunately not, but international podcast support is one of them...
  • Finally, MS have realised that people outside the US listen to podcasts as well. How long did that take them?
  • Yay. My WP8 phone will finally be able to do most of the things my WP7 phone could! Someday, we'll even be able to manage music and video on our phones. Maybe even wirelessly!
  • Now that's just crazy talk. What do you think this is, 2010?
  • Ahahahaha‼ :)
  • Notification center, no?
  • Depends if they have finished it or not. My guess is either they are working on it but wont roll it out untill its perfect. Or They will drop it and show support for the 3rd party apps like unification.
  • Yeah they run out of time last fall, they didn't find the time to finish it since then! Jesus!
  • Yup 9 months since Portico's release when this update comes out and they implemented all these awesome new features!!! FM Radio Podcasts outside the U.S. Changed some registry entries to enable Data Sense on a few more carriers CalDAV and cardDAV 9 fucking months to implement that? Do they have 3 people working on WP?
  • Microsoft should hire a software development company to help them with Windows Phone. Kids Corner is the biggest new feature since Mango came out two years ago.
  • There's a 0% chance Microsoft will support Unification.
  • I wouldn't bet on it for any of these GDR. Although I would for the 8.1/Blue release.
  • There's a difference?
  • yep GDR's minor updates for fixes, enhencement and small features  blue is the biggest update everyone waiting for
  • Blue will be announced in September to try and steal thunder from iPhone 6. Available in late October. Just like every year - regular as clockwork.
  • Blue as defined by Microsoft today, is the working name of the Windows 8/RT 8.1 update to be released as a preview in June and as a final probably not long after. Regardless of what people around here want to believe, it is nothing more than a code name for a Windows development cycle. People really need to stop turning opnion and baseless rumors about Blue into facts. Oh BTW, where is your proof to state anything will be released in September to steal Apple's thunder? Seems like more idle speculation being presented as if it is reality....
  • Please check today's parallel blog post regarding Windows 8/RT as to what Blue really represents. Microsoft has stated rather clearly that Blue is the Wndows 8/RT 8.1 update that will go to release preview in June.
  • Joe B has been late to work the past few weeks, and he is actually the only person who works on Windows Phone.
  • FM Radio, finally!  Do we know if a system cache cleaner will be added to this update??
  • I really hope so. Other storage is driving me insane. It is almost laughing at me. Microsoft has to do something about it but it is weird they didn't said something about it in this article.
  • Just make sure Verizon gets group messaging. What an outrageous, inexplicable omission..
  • Group messaging is handled through MMS...is there something wrong with the Verizon MMS settings?
  • idk what it is, but on my trophy i have no issues with group messaging, but on my dad's 822 there is no option under the messaging settings to say "handle group texts with mms" like it does on my phone. so when my dad receives a message that was meant for a group, he gets a lone text just from the person who started it and anyone who replies to it he gets as individual messages separated into contact specific threads instead of looking like a chat room.
  • Yes the Verizon WP8 devices can't do group messaging. I forget if its locked and off or missing from phone settings but it sucks
  • Verizon don't allow group messaging for new phones and, apparently, will be discontinuing it for older phones.
  • Still no Xbox video for WP8?
  • Really...i have been waiting for that so long...
  • I can't believe WP8 didn't ship with this especially since they were pushing the 3 screens ads.  Xbox video is probably the feature I am missing the most.  It better come by at least the next major OS update. 
  • Ya MS is confusing themselves. 
  • Xbox video missing off WP8 is the elephant in the room that Microsoft refuses to acknowledge. If it was going to be fixed in blue they would have mentioned it. Microsoft really squandered this opportunity.
  • I would argue that Xbox Music being broken is the real elephant in the room. Lag, duplicate tracks, DRM issues, etc. Zune on WP7 was flawless.
  • Its why I went back to the droid and I paid FP for my 920...ugh!
     
  • Were can we find data sense availability of which carriers do support it mtn won't probably -_-
  • Please reply rich :(
  • I think he might be a bit worse for wear at the moment...
  • I'd love for datasense to come to Rogers. I almost always go over my bandwidth and I have no idea what app is doing it.
  • I'd like the data monitoring aspect to be available to everyone. As my carrier (Telstra) have said they have no interest in implementing it. I don't care about the data compression side, I just want to know what's eating my data!
  • Indeed. In the Netherlands no single carrier shows love for wp8. They just give us the unlocked versions (which is nice so we get al updates without the carriers have to test them first) but no data sense and other carrier related stuff.
  • Can't wait for data sense hope this is provided to all WP users! Glad this is finally coming to WP after speaking with Nokia, MS and EE seemed like this would never become available - all passed the buck to one another.
  • I want custom SMS tones ☹
  • Ill take those too
  • Me too. Is this definitely not happening??
  • I'd be so happy if they make that option available.
  • +1
  • +5
  • +10000000000
  • Slightly disappointed . Was expecting more
  • +1
  • +2
  • +3
  • Small update it seems. 
     
    Anyway, i think i read somewhere 620s will not get FM since the phone has no FM radio thing
  • This is true.
  • which is freaking hilarious since that phone is aimed at developing markets.
  • Try Tueln Radio. It provides radio on stream.
  • It looks like you will be able to launch a camera lens by default when clicking the camera button. For instance launch the Fotoroom camera lens by default.
  • This will be a nice touch!
     
  • Seems to be so pathetic. Lacks Vpn. Lacks  No week view in calendar. No custom Sounds. No multiple volumes. No notification Center, 
    Fanboys will get mad. But the truth is that Windows Phone compared to latest android and IOS is almost a feature phone with a huge lack of API's and etc.
    And the worst, that MS although all the user voice doesn't even care. Nokia is dying, can't even release a full hd phone, only because MS fault on  release nice Windows Phone upgrade.  The shareholders last meeting was right, Nokia will die in this way. The best OEM, dying with such policy. What bad choose Elop. 
  • How do you know that none of those small changes don't address some of those? Separate volume and week view are fairly small features.
  • Because not. It says so. This small updates is only for fixing and improving performance. You can check in any website that is talking about this update. The sad truth we got compared to latest android and IOS  API's , almost a featured phone. It doesn't suprise me that is so smooth. Lacks a lot of things.
  • where does it "say so"? srsly I see you complaining the whole week whats wrong with you? pls do us a favor and just stop! There is no website that knows even a tad bit more about this update than wpcentral... gosh I hate trolls
  • I am not trolling, you can look in article source and other sites.
  • You sir, are an idiot. So adding FM radio, international podcast support and many more bits is just improving performance and bug fixing? u dont even know what the update is actually about. Wait ,look what it is about and then complain.
  • Adding podcast and fm radio is just doing what even a feature phone can do and by some odd reason wp8 cant.
  • You are wrong.  It says in the article there are small updates for "quality" which could very well mean small features.  I could be wrong of course, but you are certainly wrong because you claim the article says it's only for performance, which it doesn't.
  • They absolutely are not.  The calendar on WP is terrible and there are no 3rd party apps that work with Exchange to use in its stead.  Seperate volume controls is absolutely fundamental to a pleasant phone experience.  Does the phone work without it?  Sure.  But it is a royal PITA.
     
    Some things, like driver support for the FM radio, must come from MS.  But, as the poster alludes, MS needn't fix all of WP8's issues.  Many things could be fixed just by providing the needed APIs.  If 3rd parties could access the phone's calendar data, for instance, no Exchange support would be needed (since the phone would supply it), and we might get a week-view in the store.
     
    The lousy browser could be fixed by letting real 3rd party browsers into the store...if they could, I'm sure FF would be ported overnight.
  • The truth. No better description. 
  • Even feature phones have more basic features than wp. MS has made it pos.... I mean, c'mon people it's 2013 and FMRadio is not new feature, MS is giving back that feature.Release video api, provide file manager. It must be tactic of MS not to support WP and let Nokia die and then acquire it peacefully.... Nokia should have continued meego research, this giant doesn't care about users, whay's Nokia for it.....
  • Why don't u people enjoy the OS as it is instead of cribbing of some features ..
  • Because it doesn't even can be called an OS compared to latest Android and IOS. The worst that many users ask for simple features using the MS channels and they still do this poor job.
     
  • First, you are aruging about an unreleased version that Microsoft doesn't even have all the details about.
    Second, if you bought the phone then be happy with the phone you bought.  Otherwise, there are other options for you out there if it really makes you this upset to hear about the details of something we know very little about at this point.
     
    In other words, take a chill pill.  You'll live longer.
  • Thinking in this I guess you should be well served with a feature phone. Did you buy one? 
  • We prefer NOT to compare it to iOS or Android.
    It's like comparing a Ferrari to a station wagon..... Yeah a station wagon can hold more, but a Ferrari is sleak, elegant and beautiful!!!
  • I agree when you talk about android. But IOS is smooth, elegant and beautiful too. And has apps and nice features. 
  • Why do you use it then? I'm not really "missing" as much as you obviously are. Its not about grass in greener, iEnvy for me, though. Calling it a "feature phone" or saying that it isn't an OS at all, is just hyperbole because it doesn't have something that YOU want it to. I have a wish list fir the OS myself, but I don't see the productive poi t of having a tantrum about it.
  • Exactly, better still would be to add their complaints to http://windowsphone.uservoice.com/forums/101801-feature-suggestions instead of whining on here about a perceived lack of features!!?!
  • did shout there manier times......Nothing happens.....
  • I can't agree more. Nokia is dying, releasing wonderful smartphones, wonderful cameras, but with a terrible OS. It lacks everything. The BB10.1 will offer HDR for BB10 and other nice features. Microsoft offers FM Radio. hehehehehe.
     
    I have to laugh to not cry....
  • Can't help but to agree! The OS is looking old compared too the new GS4 and HTC ONE!
  • Like other posters have said...  This is not 8.1 this is 8.0.2.  8.1 will have the next big set of features.
  • While I like WP (using 7.8) I have to agree with this.
    My old LG Lotus (look it up... not exactly a high-end or popular phone) had MORE basic features than even WP8 does. That's nuts. It's crazy that the Lotus had contact-specific vibrations, and WP does not. It's crazy that the Lotus had a file manager, while WP does not. It's crazy that the Lotus had individual volume controls (AND a completely silent mode)  while WP does not (why??)
    I've complained about this before, but it's really a mystery.
    And yes, FM radio was removed, and then added back in. That should never count as a new feature.
  • I can't understand that either. It is like we are dev community, like the XDA's roms. We beg for some feature, and they decide if they will losing their time listen us. It is like Windows Phone team is running in a garage with some guys that believes that understand about development.
  • And from 7.8 I missed screenshot option. It is terrible to not have it. Who cares doing a nice job playing games if you can't share to your friends your scores.
  • I agree with you. Nokia should have just continued developing Meego, it has such a great potential.
  • many of these concerns will be addressed, but not in this update.  1080p support is coming in the following update.  Notification center is coming possibly with WP Blue.  Week view and volume control are some of the most requested features and I am sure will come, but they are not a priority as of yet compared to much more fundamental changes being made to the OS.
    This is a minor update, but the 2nd update of 3 minor updates for the year with a major update coming at the end of this year or the beginning of next.  MS is playing catch up, that is true, but they are catching up very quickly.  I am not seeing iOS or Android push so many feature updates every year.  iOS lacks direction, and Android is going through its own issues while it starts the process of merging with Chrome, and MS is making good progress right now.
    As for Nokia, not all is lost yet.  Last year was rough for sure, but sales are picking up, and efforts are paying off.  Moving to Android would have been a bad move.  Android is a saturated and highly competitive market to break into, and Nokia would have been lost in all of the noise.  Nokia may die with MS, but they would already be dead if they went with Android, and there is no way they could make all of the cuts they made in the last year while supporting 2 ecosystems.  If they had to choose one, then MS was the right choice for the time.
  • If week view and volume control are the most requested features then they should be a priority. A friend of mine is dating a MS programmer and recently I asked him why WP doesn't have week view and his response was "why would you need that?" How much longer is MS going to tell me what I do and don't want before they actually start listening to me?
  • How can you say MS is catching up quickly? I started with WP shortly after NoDo and upgraded to Mango in Summer 2011. Since then the biggest new features have been Kids Corner and resizable tiles. It is incredible that MS has neglected the platform like this and makes me wonder if they have any full time WP developers.
    You might say that replacing the kernel was a big feature, but it hasn't been so far. WP8 doesn't seem to have any benefit from it and doesn't even share the same UX as Windows RT. Maybe Microsoft should introduce the team that works on Windows RT to the Windows Phone developer. They could have lunch or something and talk about how they can share code or interface design.
  • Pretty pleasing. Just wish it would either overhaul Xbox music and have it rival Zune (as in all that metadata and stuff) or bring back Zune. But the big stuff is what the fall update is for, right? I wonder what that update will be called? In keeping tradition with last letter "o" words, I vote for Windows Phone 9 to be called Shango. Look up that word and one would probably see why I'm calling WP9 that. When it comes, I'll be playing Masters of the Universe by Juno Reactor off their album "Shango". Laugh if you want, but look up the meaning of Shango and it'll be very comparable to Apollo (WP8).
  • or WP Django - The Unchained Update (or Edition?)  =)
  • lol....lol...lol...lol.......I am dying read this...lol...lol...lol. My tuesday changed. hahahahahahahhahahhaahahha
  • haha glad it made someone laugh!
  • After reading this pathetic update, your joke saved the day.
  • lmao. MS is slow, and so i guess people shouldn't set such super high expectations for what is really only supposed to be a minimal, incremental update.  all the cool stuff will come at summer's end with the "Blue" update.
  • I hope so....
  • i mean, some of these features NEED to come if MS wants the platform to survive and be profitable. so i think it would be safe to say they will eventually come, MS is just slow. i'm jus thappy what theydo get around to put out is of good quality and not rushed. i couldn't be happier with my experience on my current phone, so it can only get better.
  • Being slow isn't excuse. They're not taking WP seriously.
  • relax i wasnt making an excuse for them lol. i was stating a fact. they are slow. doesn't mean the features/updates won't come, though. you want a phone that has some of the missing features you desire/require to be in WP, then go with another phone, no?
  • Although my mad around MS and even Nokia sometimes, I just do that because like early adopters we need to be critics around them, otherwise they will not be improved. Google for example improved android experience applying V-Sync and Triple buffering in their OS. Right now you only get 3 or 5 forced closed per week not the 10 up to 20 forced closes per day in the first android releases. IOS got notification center and has nice features. I guess Windows Phone is trying to follow IOS example, offering better experience than fast updates.
  • yea who knows, as long as they get done what they aim to.  i started with my htc trophy 2 years ago just after the no-do update, so i know what it's like to be an early adopter.  being critical is fine, but a lot of people whine. whining and ranting and complaining won't get the updates out faster. and if someone is that uptight over it that they need to whine then why not just go use an android or iphone and then they would have no need to whine.  like i said, i have no complaints with my experience thus far and any big updates/improvements can only make my experience even better.
  • SHANGO, hahah!!! The god of thunder in Yoruba mythology.
  • Yaawwwn. Did they at least add smart playlists to Xbox music? The new and replacently played section is a mess compared to how I used to set up my autoplaylists on wp7 sighs....
  • So slow MS...
  • I'll be happy if xbox music finally works and makes managing music on the device easier.  Playlist download!
  • +1000
  • That's all I want
  • I don't give a damn about FM Radio. This isn't the 50's.
    That said, finally Data Sense! It's not like that was announced as a core feature of WP8 almost a year ago or anything... Also, I want a solution to the Others problem. I think that's more important than radio. Curiously, Microsoft announced the Blue Update for Windows 8 in June...
  • We don't really need a notification center. That's why we have live tiles but if they do i would want it by swiping left and not from the top like ios and android. I just hope they can stop the random reboots.
  • Using Lumia 920 since 3 weeks .. Not a single reboot but my phone hanged for the first time yesterday
  • What about all the apps you don't have pinned?
  • Yes, we do need a notification center
  • Yep live tiles R your notifications. But I think the proper term is "Toast History". Swipe the screen to the right and get a list of missed toasts. They are so quick to disappear and some, ESPN are too long and I can read scores. But a toasts history, screen left of the start screen would be nice.
  • That's exactly what i would like :)
  • I agree with jasqid.. It would be very convenient if we can view our missed toasts.
  • Great description. "Toast History" would take care of the issue of missing toast notifications for apps that are not pinned to start screen, and the swipe of home screen to the right is a currently unused gesture. Makes perfect sense.
  • Of course we need it! For example if you have tons of live tiles on your screen, you don't use viber often so you don't have it there, I text you in viber you miss the notification and then what? You reply a month later I guess.. :P
  • Unless you have every app on the start screen, you need a notification center to know they sent a notification...
  • exactly.
  • U know what I'm tired of all these people saying that we don't need a notifications center... I miss so many messages because we don't have one, so please stop and speak for yourself. If u don't want it or like it then simple, DON'T USE IT! MAN!
  • I think the issue is that people that don't see a need for it, don't understand why some people want it. I am one of the people that don't understand the necessity. I don't have any apps that provide notifications that aren't pinned and I check my social networks every few hours. I can't really see a necessity for a notification center outside of that. Why would I want to check another screen that would tell me that I have to go to another app because something new happened rather than just checking that app in the first place?
  • We do need a notification centre, because at the moment when you hear a toast alert it's a friggin race to whip the phone out and see what it says before it's gone forever.  It's just a total fail if the app is not pinned, or it is pinned and the background task is not running for whatever reason, or the app maker did toast alerts but not tile updates.
    Also, your phone must have a hardware fault, you should get it replaced.  I've had my Lumia 920 for over 5 months and never had a random reboot.  It has hung maybe 5 or 6 times (twice caused by Nokia Music + Flight Mode).
     
  • Yeah we do need one, desperately. I don't want all my apps on my him screen, and even if I did, I don't want to have to scroll endlessly just to see them! Further, while i agree a that a swipe from the left bezel should bring up notification center from any area of the phone, truth is I don't really care if it's from the top, bottom, or whatever as long as we get a notification center and it works well.
  • why are we even having this conversation setill? They said it missed the cut on the last update and so i expected it to be in the next release. If the only just ran out of time (Joe B made it sound that way not me) and they are doing a roll out then if it isnt there they are going to extra effort to hold it back. Why? probably to make wp blue look good but thats stupid we just need to keep the user base happy and recommending it to friends. New features, a steady stream is what a new eco system needs to help build momentum esp for devs.
  • Well the time for talking is over i think we should hit this hard with a major and i mean major leaflet campaign
  • I mean swiping right so it appears on the left. :)
  • dammit, I was hoping for Bluetooth 4.0 :/
  • 2 questions for me:
    1. will Other finally be fixed.
    2. will T Mo push this to the 8x and 810 now that they've EOL'd them.  We have one of each, and I'm afraid I'm going to be SOL. 
  • And I haven't got 1308 yet. Really frustrating. I don't want to have to reset my phone to fix the damn proximity sensor.
  • just give me notifications and ill be happy
  • Where is number #1 uservoice demanded feature for sound profiles? Without this, the phone is useless - where I need to have sound for all the mails or for none of them. I don't know how many years its going to take for it to come on this platform!!!
  • The mountains will be moved, the skies will be turned, the oceans might be frozen, the mankind will be in danger, but you will see MS releasing FM radio fix on the next update.
  • +1
  • LoL, Nokia should adopt WP team and MS should pump some $ there,and pfff,a miracle, this platform will rule smartphone industry for decades......
  • I hope they get everything we've been asking for implemented this year!! Because if not I think I'm done with them until they learn how to compete in a smart phone market..lol!
  • I feel the same way but will probably still be here this time next year ;)
  • Custom notifications, separate volume controls, rotation lock, the ability to silence the keyboard... These all need to be in the update.
  • but you can silence the keyboard already o.O
  • My keyboard has been silenced - simple setting on Nokia L920.
  • Just so freaking stupid they still haven't implemented a simple screen rotation lock. It isn't that hard but they just don't do it. One single button next to the volume (when you press the volume buttons), is that too much to ask?
  • What about Xbox video?
  • Lol I want tht :P
  • I have to agree with others i too don't give a damn about fm radio. Why cant Microsoft allow us with expandable memory to store apps on the sd card?
  • Can someone please tell me why we can't make custom message alerts, and why Microsoft hasn't addressed this yet Seriously one of the biggest complaints of my friends who I've convinced to switch to WP.
  • I agree with that too the nearest i got was by downloading an app called ringtones i have got Axel Foley theme as my ringtone and have got Fleetwood Mac The Chain as my alarm tone.
  • Unbelievable that custom tones and screen lock are still nowhere to be seen. Not to mention separate volume. Pathetic.
  • I wouldn't go as far as pathetic since my iPhone took 4 or 5 years to have it. But I agree, I want custom sms tones for each of my contacts on my L920. SMS has become such a hassle for me. So many people text me and I really couldn't care any less. So I find myself ignoring texts only to realize my wife has been texting me - which is important ;) So it's safe to say I miss custom tones a lot. In fact, I've been emailing Microsoft, posting, and even hinting to Microsoft reps about it.
    Not sure what you meant by custom screen lock? I think the lock screen is really customizable on the Windows Phone. I love it.
    Seperate volume control is something else I miss. The iPhone had its issues with dual volume control. And to get around that they ended putting volume control on many screens which didn't seem to be a solution in my opinion. Perhaps Microsoft is looking into a better solution.
    Keep in mind that many portions of the OS were locked and could not be demo'd. Therefore we really have no clue what's included...
  • I think he is referring to the screen orientation lock feature, which is requested by many.
  • FM radio support... Do any windows phone 8 devices even have a tuner?
  • I think the 620 is the only one that doesn't.
  • And hopefully the XBox Videos situation is fully fixed. If Microsoft can't fix the basic things they screwed up then what's the point? I love Windows Phone but its time to start expecting the best from Microsoft now.
  • Guys this is just a minor patch! Until GDR3 it is still WP8! So don't expect major changes in small patches...i believe we gonna see them when WP 8.1 is out! That will be the real deal and we'll for sure if MS has heard us or not! So i say: lets judge after we see what MS will bring with 8.1!
  • LoL, and at that time, WP users would have been annoyed like hell due to lack basic features and unnecessary tight restrictions and then MS will give you something stupid in 8.1 but not custom ringtones and everybody will throw lumias on radmond's headquarters... It would be fun to see the damage....
  • All I really want is the ability to use custom sms tones and apply custom sms tones to individual contacts. I really miss this feature from my iPhone and BlackBerry. The rest of the features are bonus.
  • You know it's funny...i was on the old iPhone 3G and I don't recall ever having this feature. Moved on to WP7 which as you know doesn't have it either. Now im on WP8 and I still don't have it and have never wanted it until hearing everyone here complain about it. The more I hear it the more I think it would be kinda cool to have.
  • My old Nokia from 2006 had this, it is a good feature.
  • I like these updates but a little bit more wouldn't hurt
  • One more thing its about the call history. I cant seem to see how long i was on the phone to someone for. I see the time they or me phoned them but i cannot see how long i was on the phone to them for on ios and android they had a call time counter like 3:45 with date and time. On WP i don't think we have it unless I'm blind. Does anyone else have that problem?
  • Try the app RapDialer :) its awesome!! Honestly the best. Only thing is u can't see missed phone calls notification on it because of wp8 access. But, everything else works amazing with it. TRUST ME! :)
  • I agree with the playlist overhaul, it took me about 5 months to create playlist on the 920. The playlist management should be as easy as the blackberry.
  • Ability to attach multiple files in an email, should be considered.
  • I hope one of those small improvements is gapless music playback!
  • Never gonna happen.
  • why?
  • Hopefully a notification section like what android has or blackberry has would be nice.
  • Finally I can listen to FM radio while driving... if only I could adjust the volume properly 
  • So they were working on a notification center but ran out of time for wp8s launch but still haven't completed it for gdr2 this is ridiculous
  • The wait is over!
  • But don't they already have a fm radio app?
  • Is the CalDav/CardDav generic, so that I can use it with ownCloud for instance? Or is it only for Google Accounts?
  • Notification? I got a radio. Several in fact. My L920 has a radio. What it doesn't have is notification. Any word there?
  • I wish they would add an option to double click the volume up button to change music tracks without ever having to unlock or look at the screen
  • Fix the hardware that is already on the phone.
    Bluetooth doesn't function correctly with many, many vehicle preinstalled systems.
    Bluetooth doesn't function correctly with far to many bluetooth headsets.
    The SD card system,
    Music and metadata
    Sync directly to PC outlook
    The 'Other' storage
  • There'd better be a whole host of features added and bugs squashed, and that list is at least the length of my arm. WP8 needs it. Getting real tired of having to reboot my phone to get my camera button to work from the lock screen. It's happened three times already over the last two days. 
  • Same whining about 'missing features' as before.
    If you aren't happy with WP, get another phone. Simple as that. Learn to use your phone!!!
  • You just don't get it, do you?
  • Yeah... I do. Just tired of hearing the same old thing. WP is missing this and that.
    Makes me wonder why some users ever bothered getting a WP based phone at all....
  • I think because they discover it after they changed OS. Because it are really basic features that are missing and all other mobile OS's do have. I know what you mean but Microsoft could make much more out of WP simply by adding simple but really useful features. That's why they running behind iPhone and Android. Simple additions. But Microsoft is lazy. Like a screen rotation lock. Easy to make but still not available at wp8...
  • All these missing features in the OS.... Yeah I wonder why people use Windows Phone, too.
  • Because even with all the "missing" features.. Windows Phone blows all other phones out of the water.
  • The other side of your pessimistic and dismissing tone is that if people are asking for the same features repeatedly, why are Microsoft doing absolutely nothing about it? They've have way too much time to do updates, and we've gotten literally nothing useful. I still have to restart my phone every two days to get the camer hardware button to work, and this is my second 920 and I've restored it to factory fresh twice. Microsoft is the problem, not the users continually asking for the same things over and over. You'd think they'd take a hint. But like most things that aren't Windows (the OS) they're more than happy to release a half baked product and let it wither and die on the vine.
  • Some basic things that were on my KIN (WP6 or lower, I don't remember) aren't here on WP8... and its not like anyone else I know had a WP so there was no way of knowing what was missing.
    I did expect it to at least have the features of WP6.
    And a notifications or toast center is very much needed for games and apps that don't have live tiles.
  • How about being able to store movies you buy on XBOX video onto your phone? I would love that.
  • Release date maybe?
  • I am looking forward to this update. Further, I am hoping one of the feature updates is an ability to do an on demand, real-time lication of members of a room. For example, I have a family room and would love it if one of the screens displayed the current location of the family room members (opt-in). One tap and BOOM, a Nokia/Bing map is displayed with the phone locations featured. Seems apps available are constrained to half-hour location reporting.
  • Can someone tell me if the apn problem of the nokia lumia 822 will be fixed with any of these updates please?Had to downgrade the firmware to fix the problem and I want to know if I will be able to update it to this new os version without losing the ability to add 3g to it.
  • Toast notification history from all apps... Available by swiping to the right. Hopefully it could be sorted by time or by source app.
  • Would love a Lumia running on the latest Android OS. Tired of doing hard resets to get the lock screen/ live tiles to update, those were supposed to be the features that made the OS unique
  • I would do a factory reset as that is not a normal trait of WP...
  • Hopefully it will once again play wav files like windows phone 7
  • damn son, this turned ugly real quick
  • Please, for the love of Zod, just give us a worthy successor to Zune. The current sync set up for Wp8 is, quite honestly, embarrassing.
  • +1000
  • Just in case someone at MS is counting....
     
    Notification Center!!!!!!!
     
  • All I want is a stable phone, one that doesn't hang 3 times a day. Still waiting for 1308 or later. On an unlocked, unbranded Lumia 920. Nokia Australia are just the worst, 3 months behind USA..
  • Still no VPN support
  • How about integrated wireless printing? Emailing files without the recipient having to use SkyDrive?
  • Dang, its gonna be a while before we get them updates.
  • Will fm radio require any special hardware other than the phone, just wondering if any windows phone will be able to do this ( i have an HTC 8X) cheers
  • vpn! we need
  • What about the capability of using the microUSB cord as a way to play music through a car etc....?? That would be one of the best features while in the car. Safer too than looking down trying to follow directions with a small speaker
  • You can't play music through a cable plugged into the micro USB port? That ridiculous.
  • Why can't we have a view data usage feature that does not need carrier support?
  • Hopefully the sort by distance, opening times in local scout, bing panorama view has been enabled by default for other countries apart from the US. Don't know what im talking about? change the country  to US under browser and search language (if your not in the US or change to UK for example if you are). Also the apps view or showtimes don't show up for other countries via the cinema section in bings' panaroma view (the latter is not a problem) these are disabled if your country/region is not set to US -.- . I noticed these the day i got the phone lol. I was hoping GDR1 would address these but it didnt, speaking of Portico - it disabled the year view in the stock calendar T_t also - which I hope they add it back and include the stop button for music etc (although I don't see that happening).
  • I hate always complaining but why is Microsoft so slow to update and the updates so insignificant? I mean are we really asking for FM radio? Or do we want a notification center, 1080p support, a google now competitor or some type of innovation? I get it, live tiles are different. Now what else? I'm starting to feel bad for Nokia as well.
  • WALLET!!!!!!!!! WHEN in G.O.D.'S name will the wallet do something other than sit there taking up space? This was a big deal for me with 8. Its the most useless part of my 920. So is NFC! IF they activate the wallet features so I can pay for things, I would so use it. So when Microsoft? When can I use this feature?
  • So JUL 2014 is the end of the updates and support for the OS. Don't rush Microsoft lol. By the time 8.1 hits our phones it will be Jun 2014.
  • WP8 was all about the new kernel. New features that take advantage of that kernel won't ben here until WP9. Windows 9 will use yet another new kernel, so WP10 will be all about porting to the Windows 9 kernel. Notification center will come in WP11.
  • Ooo Xbox Music? If I can select all for download from my cloud collection or have a filter that shows songs that are only in the cloud that would help me though the death by a thousand cuts that is Xbox music right now.
  • They need to fix the "other" category for memory because it takes up so much space! I can't get any apps because of it.
  • I absolutely agree. This has been the worst filesystem management I have ever seen. They fail to disclose the real amount of disk space an app will use up.....or the other storage is some kind of surveillance. Who knows!!! I should be able to because its my phone but Microsoft does not let me. 
  • Wireless Sync
  • heard that the 620 does not have the radio hardware in it is it true...
  • Microsoft need to update the sync apps for windows phone 8. I am so spoiled by using Zune software that syncing all my media does not interest me in buying a WP 8.
  • I hope FM radio will come to L620 also. It would be greatful, if I would be able to set Windows button to blink if I have a missed call, SMS or e-mail. And also would be greatful, if the phone could say the caller's name, like on Symbian.
    Edit: NFC should work with Symbian devices!
  • I was hoping the new phone would make coffee!!! Oh well will have to wait...all good thing come to those who wait..happy about fm radio miss that from my L800..and a toast notice centre sounds good for those who need that sort of thing...for me I don't have that many apps that need it I just use the live tiles it works for me
  • Hopefully the "missed call tones" that play even when the phone is on silent will be fixed soon. I wonder if ms even knows about this. (only on Verizon wp8's)
  • Please add VPN already!!!!
  • Microsoft gotta be quick. If GDR3 which is rumored to add support to Quad-cores and 1080p screens couldn't come out by October, Nokia would have a hard time trying to raise the holiday sales.
  • My 620 won't get the FM Radio or the double tap to wake feature from Nokia. All I can expect is the SmartCam.
  • I hope one of those "hundreds of quality improvements" include some for Bluetooth.  I have a Nokia 920 and a Volvo XC60 and have a great deal of trouble ...  text messages are not audible unless I am on a phone call, even for the notification. 
  • Would like to see the ability to store my apps on my SD card rather than in the phone's memory (I used to do this in my Windows Mobile 6.5 phone...strange that I can't do it with this one).
    FM will be nice if my Lumia 521 supports it, but would love to see FM-HD, like I have in my Zune HD mp3 player.
    Also, I hope that they fix a problem I have where an album that I copy from my hard drive is split into two separate albums - the genre in a few songs is being changed from Rock to World for no apparent reason.
  • Other storage!!!!!!
  • a symbian user can't wait for FM radio update!!!
  • Just give me a fix for other storage, nothing else because I can't do shit with a 820 right now.