Windows Phone 7.8: more info "in coming weeks" says Microsoft

We've now got Windows Phone 8 but what's happened to Windows Phone 7.8?

There was uproar earlier this year when Microsoft admitted owners of current WP phones won't be able to update to WP8 - because it needs new hardware to work.

But it very quickly let it be known - well, showed it on a big screen on a big stage (above) - that WP7.8 would be released including some of the features of WP8, including the new customisable homescreen.

But it never said when.

We're hoping it's soon. Very soon. So in true PR speak, we reached out to Redmond, California, for an answer and Redmond reached back to us....

"More information on Windows Phone 7.8 will be available in the coming weeks. Today we want to talk to you about all of the great new features in Windows Phone 8."

....which doesn't really say very much. More info over the coming weeks, but no release date.

Microsoft needs all the friends it can get for Windows Phone to survive. The OS has been going for two years and still only has an estimated 3.1% of the smartphone market. If owners of current handsets don't get the promised 7.8 update soon, Microsoft stands to lose a lot of friends.

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