14 DAY TRIAL // One of the features that has been long requested in Windows Phone and which appears set to make a debut in the next major update for the platform is a notification center, allegedly screenshots of a leaked internal build show.
Microsoft itself confirmed a while ago that such a feature was planned for the platform, but that the development teams did not have enough time to include it inside the final flavor of the OS, yet it seems that users might be able to enjoy it in the not too distant future.
The aforementioned leaked screenshots reportedly show Windows Phone build 12084.WPMAIN(wpbldlab).20130509-1407, which was compiled on May 9, and which indeed shows an early notification center.
Other enhancements are also visible in these shots, including a series of multitasking improvements (allowing users to close apps straight from here), as well as better usability of the app view, with the option to sort applications by name and frequency.
The screenshots come from a lost Windows Phone Blue-powered Nokia Lumia 920 smartphone, which landed in the hands of a Reddit user who bought it on eBay.
Apparently, a tester lost the smartphone in the bus, and the finder decided to sell it, most probably without knowing what they actually had in their hands.
As The Verge notes, the screenshots appear to be legit, since they also show a series of “Z” applications, which are usually included in developer units.
Furthermore, it seems that Microsoft itself has already contacted the Reddit user to claim the smartphone back, and that it offered to reimburse him for the cost of the device, and also to deliver a replacement handset to him.
The software in the screenshots that were published by the user is still in the early stages of development, and changes are expected to be made to it before the final release arrives.
However, Windows Phone Blue, which should arrive on devices sometime at the beginning of the next year, is expected to feature at least some of the improvements showed in these leaked photos, if not all of them.
For the time being, however, Microsoft is mum on the matter, and might remain so for several more months, but additional info on the next major Windows Phone release could emerge before that, so stay tuned to learn the news.
