Windows Phone Preview Program to give developers early access to updates

[RandomFool]

Starting later today, anyone can update their phone to Windows Phone 8 Update 3, as Microsoft announces new Preview Program

This is a pretty awesome way to get around the carriers taking months to release an update. I'm installing GDR3 on my Lumia 920 now.

http://www.engadget.com/2013/10/14/microsoft-developer-preview/

 

[podspi]

Let us know how it looks! I'm on an ATT MVNO, will I even ever get the update pushed out?

 

[phantom404]

So far so good here on Verizon Lumia 822. No hiccups on the install and everything is still running smooth. The multitasking now has the x on the top right corner of each open app so you can close them and each contact now has their own text tone you can choose I also see the driving mode in the settings.

Thats all I've had time to play with. Oh btw, the update now shows a progress bar when the wheels are spinning.

Also found the screen rotation lock setting. Home screen doesn't rotate even if its on.

 

[bearxor]

It's nice to see Microsoft finally delivering something they were talking about 12 months ago.

 

[RandomFool]

So far so good. Custom text tones are nice and I'm looking forward to testing out driving mode later on. Not a game changing update by ant means but still good. Here's hoping the program carries over to 8.1.

 

[Imaginer]

The close button, is a placater. Never felt bogged down with a history of used items.

But I am excited for the custom, per contact, sound tones and despite not using voice GPS much on a dedicated GPS device, I would be interested in the driving mode.

 

[Deeko]

Screen rotation lock is definitely nice to have. The close button is the most unnecessary, pointless feature they've added....but hey, if it placates the masses who think they need out, whatever....otherwise the big updates here are hardware support related.

 

[Crono]

Screen rotation lock is definitely nice to have. The close button is the most unnecessary, pointless feature they've added....but hey, if it placates the masses who think they need out, whatever....otherwise the big updates here are hardware support related.

They probably don't want to take any chances considering all the flak they took with the start button on Windows 8 (brought back in 8.1) on the desktop.

 

[IamDavid]

updated 1020 and wifes 920. easy update, went smooth.

 

[pantsaregood]

This is a great move by Microsoft because it means all devices will continue to be updated for the duration of their lifespan. This is fantastic for their consumers.

On the other hand, I can't imagine carriers being particularly happy with this. This is labeled as being "for developers," but anyone can sign up for a developer account for free and update - that essentially turns this program into a means of bypassing carriers.

Hopefully AT&T and T-Mobile don't decide to drop support for Microsoft because of this.

 

[Belegost]

Two things I like about this - 1) it divorces the OS update from the FW update (and it's the FW update that generally has the most issues with carrier acceptance) 2) I have GDR3 just days after getting GDR2. Hell yea.

Also, as someone who has a vision impaired friend, I took a look at the new accessibility feature which makes the whole system voice feedback. It got a little annoying for me, but since I don't have vision problems I'm not the target audience. I'll have to hand it off to my friend and see what he says - however, I like the effort to make the system more accessible, my friend complains a lot about his GS4.

 

[Piotrsama]

http://www.windowsphone.com/en-us/s...velopers/178ac8a1-6519-4a0b-960c-038393741e96

To ensure the best experience, your device must be running the latest OS release (currently 8.0.10322.71) or greater to receive early updates via this program

Hmmmm sounds like you need to have GDR2 to update.
Too bad I'm stuck on GDR1.

If anything goes wrong... would a hard reset help me?

 

[sequoia464]

Updated my 521 - found a site that held my hand and walked me through the process - pretty simple if you know the steps (or have some direction).

link .. http://betanews.com/2013/10/15/how-to-install-windows-phone-8-update-3/

haven't had a chance to check it out much, but the update went smoothly.

 

[IamDavid]

just updated my daughters 520 too. 3 for 3 with no hiccups. good job Microsoft.