14 DAY TRIAL // Microsoft has just unveiled that Windows 8 will reach RTM in early August and that the operating system will be generally available starting October 26.
Although the Redmond-based company did not reveal any details regarding the upcoming release of the Windows Phone 8 (Apollo), the first rumors have just surfaced and look pretty promising.
Mary Jo Foley of ZDNet, citing a source close to the matter, claims that Microsoft plans to release Windows Phone 8 to manufacturers sometime in September.
This somewhat comes in line with the recent rumors that Nokia has “something amazing” coming on September 7.
Even though we don’t expect the Finnish company to launch a Windows Phone 8 device on the market, we can speculate that Nokia is going to announce the upcoming availability of a few Apollo-based smartphones.
Mary also claims that GA (general availability) for Windows Phone 8 is slated for November, about a week after Windows 8 reaches GA as well.
There were rumors that Microsoft plans to launch both operating systems at the same time, on October 26, but we don’t have any confirmation on this one yet. Still, we expect Microsoft to offer more details on Windows Phone 8 availability pretty soon.
In the same piece of news, Stephen Elop recently stated that Nokia would be the first company to launch Windows Phone 8 devices on the market, and that they would be released sometime in October.
This means that the Finnish company will either make an announcement during one of its Nokia World events, or the handset maker plans to launch its first devices at the same time Windows Phone 8 becomes generally available.
Shortly after Nokia releases the first Windows Phone 8 devices, other handset makers may launch their own devices in November. We expect these devices to be rolled out in both Europe and North America. Stay tuned for more updates on the matter.