Windows Phone 8 devices may be launched by November

The last couple of days have been really big for Microsoft, especially since it is known that it will be releasing Windows 8 on the 26th of October this year. Shortly after that news came to light, another rumour doing the rounds comes from ZDNet, which details the release date of the Windows Phone 8 devices to take place by November.

Mary Jo Foley of ZDNet states that one of her sources has informed her about several release dates of  Microsoft products, most notable of which include the general availability of the Windows Phone 8 devices. The report states that along with the availability of Windows Phone 8 handsets, Microsoft will release Office 15 by February next year, Microsoft Dynamics NAV by October this year, Visual Studio 2012 and Windows Azure updates by September of 2012.

General availability to start by November

The author states, “I had heard previously some talk that Microsoft might be working to hold some kind of a "launch" where it could announce immediate availability of both Windows 8 and Windows Phone 8 devices, but based on these new dates, it looks like any kind of orchestrated launch event would seem to need to be later than October 26.”

When queried about a recent article which stated that Nokia’s CEO said that their first Windows Phone 8 devices will be available by October, Foley stated that it could mean that Microsoft will allow Nokia to preview their Windows Phone 8 device before other manufacturers do so by November. However, this is mere speculation on her part and nothing is set in stone as of yet.

For those of you who do not know what Windows Phone 8 will bring to the table, here is a brief on what to expect. Microsoft’s Joe Belfiore claims that many of the new capabilities available on the Windows Phone 8 OS comes from the Windows OS for PCs. Windows Phone 8 is based on the same core technologies that power Windows 8. As a result, Windows Phone 8 will come equipped with a new wave of features that will suit consumers, developers and businesses.

The Windows Phone 8 OS also comes with a flexible new Start screen. Microsoft states, “We’re making Windows Phone 8 even more personal, with a new palette of theme colors and three sizes of Live Tiles, all of which are under your control. We know Live Tiles are one of the things current owners really love about their Windows Phones, and we wanted to make them even more flexible and unique.”

The other highlighted features of Windows Phone 8 include multi-core processor support, ability to support bigger and sharper displays, more flexible storage capabilities, NFC wireless sharing, Internet Explorer 10, Wallet, better maps and directions, improved apps and games.

There are a variety of manufacturers set to unveil Windows Phone 8 smartphones and some of them include Nokia, Huawei and HTC.

Let us know your thoughts on the first Windows Phone 8 devices launching in the comments below and tell us if you think that it can make a much better impact than the previous version.