Microsoft’s Greg Sullivan promise Windows Phone 8 upgradable to 8.1

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Computerworld reports that Windows Phone PR head Greg Sullivan has confirmed Windows Phone 8 handsets will be upgradable to Windows Phone 8.1, as long as the carrier distributes the update.

"We will not have the same experience as we had when Windows Phone 7 was upgraded to Windows Phone 8," Greg Sullivan said in an interview Wednesday at the International CES show.

Microsoft has a policy of supporting updates for 36 months on a device, Sullivan said.

He noted WP8 was a "powerful OS" that can support upgrades and that "we won’t run out of head space on Windows Phone 8 any time soon.".

In an interview that was chockfull of other titbits, Computerworld claims that Microsoft will continue to use the Nokia name on some smartphones.

"We will have the license for the Nokia name," Sullivan said.

Greg also said Microsoft expects to continue Nokia’s focus on using smartphone cameras with high-quality imaging technology such as the Lumia 1020 with a 41 megapixel camera.

He also noted that Microsoft was not looking at supporting Intel and AMD’s new dual Windows and Android chipsets.

"A dual OS creates a lot of complexity for users," he said.

Lastly, while an upgrade to Windows Phone 8.1 was assured, the future of the OS itself was still in question.

Following reports that Microsoft wants to reduce the number of operating systems it offers, Sullivan said "it’s important to support both" Windows RT 8.1 for ARM-based devices and Windows 8.1 for Intel-based devices. The debate at Microsoft is whether it will continue "Windows Phone or Windows RT — that’s the question," Sullivan said.

After the Windows Phone 7/8 “upgrade” fiasco I am sure we are much less trusting of assurances, even when it comes from named officials like Sullivan. Do our readers think even the most humblest Windows Phone 8 handset will be upgraded to 8.1? Let us know below.

Via winbeta.org

More about the topics: Upgrade, windows phone 8.1

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