Window Phone 8 to Launch by October 2012

There has been speculation that Microsoft is planning an updated version of its Windows Phone operating system this year and those suspicions could well be confirmed with the appearance of WP 8 on a popular app for the OS.
The app is called “I’m a WP7”, a social networking favourite which showcases the capability and features of Windows Phone 7 Mango. It is now showing features and records of the newest version, codenamed Apollo, and a desktop version called Jupiter.
Windows Phone 8, which is due to launch for phones towards the end of the year, is aimed at helping Windows Phone take on Android and iOS. This is the first major overhaul of the operating system since it was launched in 2010. As well as NFC support, which is a feature of Windows Phone Tango on the Nokia Lumia 610, other features expected to be included with Apollo are dual-core CPU support and the ability to be implemented of different screen sizes. One long awaited feature which will help Windows Phone to compete against Android and iOS is the support for microSD cards. Existing Windows Phones have been limited to their internal storage only –usually around 16GB.
Other details of what it could include are still scarce and no announcement is expected until later in the year. Microsoft has just bought Skype so there are also suggestions that this could be integrated into the operating system, which will be good news for those who want to be able to make free video calls on their smartphone. There are currently rumours that Microsoft plans to add support for Kinect into Windows Phone 8, but due to limitations with infrared sensors this might not provide the same level of functionality as Kinect for the Xbox.
Reportedly the new operating system has already entered the testing phase by Microsoft at the end of March, a process known as “dogfooding”.
Apollo is believed to represent Microsoft heading in the same direction as its OS competitors in producing a system that works on PCs, tablets and smartphones. Offering a synchronicity of brand as well as making it much easier for users who work on a variety of devices, and encouraging more PC users to buy Windows Phone smartphones instead of competing phones. Microsoft already enjoys domination in the world of computer operating systems but has so far not managed to transfer this over to smartphones and tablets.
Android was able to build its stake in the smartphone market largely through its partnership with Samsung which saw the hugely popular Samsung Galaxy S2 fly off shelves and thus boost the profile of Android, pushing more developers their way. Microsoft is aiming for the same thing to happen with Nokia. After a shaky start the two companies do seem to be increasing their hold, even if they are still behind RIM in terms of market share.
It might not have been expected until 2013 but as Microsoft has already begun testing it is expected that Windows Phone 8 will make an appearance later this year, most likely around October. Existing Windows Phone users should be able to update to the newer version but will not be able to make use of some of the new features, such as microSD support, for obvious reasons.