News

Microsoft Confirms Windows Phone 8 Launch Date

• By Gladys Rama
• October 05, 2012

Confirming earlier rumors, Microsoft will officially launch Windows Phone 8 on Oct. 29 in San Francisco.

ZDNet's Mary Jo Foley first reported on a possible Oct. 29 launch date for the next generation of Microsoft's smartphone operating system in late August. Microsoft confirmed the date on Thursday when it sent invitations to various press outlets to "Meet Windows Phone 8."

Microsoft is expected to unveil Windows Phone 8's full feature set at the launch event. So far, the company has released details of only a few of the new features, such as the customizable Start screen and NFC capabilities. The event is also expected to mark the public release of the Windows Phone 8 SDK, which until now has been available only to select developers.

So far, Samsung, Nokia and HTC have each unveiled Windows Phone 8 devices, with Huawei expected to follow suit. Those devices are not expected to become available for sale until later this year, but the Oct. 29 event could signal the start of pre-orders, according to The Verge.

Microsoft is rumored to be developing its own Surface-branded Windows Phone 8 devices, but the company has denied the reports.

Microsoft has two more marquee events scheduled in late October: The general availability for Windows 8 and the Surface RT tablet is slated for Oct. 26, and the BUILD conference is scheduled to begin on Oct. 30.