Well to some handsets and carriers anyway.
I have seen posts from the UK that indicate it is hitting handsets over there and here in the US it was available for the unlocked Nokia Lumia 925 loaner I have from Nokia Connects.
Still zilch on my Nokia Lumia 920 on AT&T.
Of course I applied the update to the loaner device I have, what geek misses a chance to update a device anyway, and the update and installation process was not unlike any past phone updates received OTA (Over The Air).
The entire process took less than 25 minutes and resulted in the following updates:
– Google accounts. Windows Phone 8 now supports the CardDAV and CalDAV protocols that allow people to sync Google contacts and calendar information when they get new phones. (Existing phones that are synced to a Google account prior to December 31, 2013 will continue to sync as before.)
– Xbox Music. It’s now easier to select, download, and pin music. Plus, music fans will see more accurate metadata (such as song and album information) and many other performance improvements.
– FM radio. Listen to FM radio right from the Music+Videos hub. (Not available for all phones.)
– Data Sense. Stay on top of your phone’s data usage with Data Sense. You can set a limit based on your data plan, or just keep track of which apps use the most data. (Not all mobile operators offer Data Sense.)
– Skype. Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) apps like Lync and Skype now feature improved stability and performance.
– Internet Explorer. Several fixes, including improvements to media playback reliability, will make your web browsing experience better than ever.
– Camera. Set your favorite Lens so it opens automatically when you press the camera button. (Not available for all phones.)
– Other improvements. Includes many other improvements to Windows Phone.
I poked around in the update to grab screen shots of some of those updated areas that are mentioned above:
First is your standard notification, downloading of the update and its readiness for installation.
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The before and after About screens showing the OS version build numbers.
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FM Radio in Xbox Music Hub. Your headphones act as the antenna for your radio so they need to be plugged in. I tested this with the headphones that came with the loaner device but it also worked with my standard Zune headphones as well. Just in case you are wondering it is real radio you are receiving and not Internet streaming radio. The radio feature lets you set favorites to save for later and has the same Lock Screen controls as the Xbox Music player does. It is also nice that it uses the Radio Data System to display call signs, station info and song/artist info.
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Two other handy features included in this update is Data Sense which helps you manage your data usage and keep yourself from exceeding your wireless plans quota. The other one is the ability to designate a specific Lens as a the default when you push the camera button.
So as many other areas of the world are seeing this become available the inevitable waiting game begins for when it will hit carriers in the US. Unfortunately, the carriers themselves have some impact on pushing the button for the update to be available so it is really hit or miss as to when we will see it.
