14 DAY TRIAL // Microsoft is getting closer and closer to releasing a new update for the Windows Phone 8 platform, namely GDR3 (General Distribution Release 3), and we can now learn more on it, courtesy of a series of leaked screenshots, paired with a video walkthrough, embedded below.
Available courtesy of a WPCentral forum member, said screenshots were allegedly taken on a Lumia 920 and are meant to provide a glimpse of some of the main features that GRD3 will bring along.
Apparently, Windows Phone 8 GDR3 will provide users with a better multi-tasking window, while also offering the possibility to close applications (an “X” button will be present in the upper right corner to enable that).
Furthermore, each app’s name and icon will be listed on the multi-tasking window, it seems, something that was rumored before.
WP8 GDR3 is also said to arrive on devices with the option to switch auto rotation for the orientation screen lock on and off.
At the same time, the upcoming OS flavor is expected to land on devices with Driver Mode and silent NFC, and screenshots apparently confirming that are also available for your viewing pleasure.
Other features that should be present in the new software include custom sounds for text, voice mail, e-mail, and reminders, along with a series of improvements to the Bluetooth.
Furthermore, the platform update will bring along the option to restore over Wi-Fi after resetting a smartphone.
Apparently, Microsoft is already pushing the update to some of its “trusted sources,” which suggests that it might be in the final stages of development and that an official announcement on it could be near.
Finnish mobile phone maker Nokia, which will soon become a Microsoft subsidiary, won’t be the only company to launch handsets running under GDR3 in the near future (the Lumia 1520), as HTC is also rumored to plan such a smartphone, supposedly called HTC Harmony, though no details on it have been provided as of now.
