Rumors

Although we’re less than 24 hours from Nokia doing the big unveiling of their new Lumia range expected for AT&T and other carriers, the leaks are still happening (which may be planned, for all we know).

The latest shows the back of the Lumia 820 in purple—that device is expected to have removable backplates for different colors akin to the Lumia 710.

The other shows the familiar stance of the Lumia 920 and its colors, including Yellow, Red, White, Black and evidently Silver/Grey.

Besides the removal of the chrome bezel for a presumably more scratch-resistant gunmetal grey bezel and matching buttons, there isn’t too much else to be gleaned. But that’s okay, as all will be shown tomorrow morning and we’ll be there live to cover it.

Source: Evleaks 1, 2

By now it’s old news that the Zune Desktop as we know it will be phased out—in fact we’ve seen features already removed over the last few months.  What was to replace it though was always a bit of a mystery though there are only so many options available.

Now an image has leaked out of what appears to be the ‘companion app’ for Windows Phone and Windows 8—think of it as Zune Desktop the next generation. There's really not too much to the image though we suppose it is better than nothing.

A leaked image of a Windows Phone Quick Guide that surfaced with drawings of the HTC Accord has some believing the new Windows Phone will be named 8X.

Very little is known about the Accord but leaked specifications have the device fitted with a dual core snapdragon processor, 4.3" Super LCD2 screen, 8mp camera, NFC, and 1gb of memory. We're just not sure if too much is being read into the "Windows Phone 8X".

The HTC Accord with a centred USB connector

What appear to be schematics for the HTC Accord Windows Phone have been leaked on Twitter by Football (@Football4PDA). As with any rumour, we recommend you take this with a pinch of salt, but we're starting to seriously look at the design and see increased probability that this could well be what HTC will be bringing to the table this year.

We last looked at the HTC Accord being leaked by Football, but were unsure just how accurate the renders were. Should the above diagram be real, we could well be looking at a colourful HTC Windows Phone. The issues we had with the previous renders were the Windows Phone 7.x interface and the interesting use of purple. While the above image could easily have been created from those renders, we couldn't pass up the opportunity for another look (and this new 'leak' is making its way around news websites).

Beats Audio coming to Windows Phone 8 too?

Although we thought Beats Audio was dead for HTC, the company is pushing forward with the technology and are reportedly bringing it to Windows Phone 8 this fall.

According to the Verge, the HTC Accord (a 4.3” display device) will feature the high-end audio technology with the familiar Beats branding on the back of the device.

One of the new Nokia devices running Windows Phone 8

Earlier we saw some renders of the supposed Lumia 820 and now it looks like we have another contender to deal with as numerous real photos have been passed on.

Showing with OS version 8.0.09735.09, the device being handled looks to be a real enough and bares resemblance to the 'Phi' we've seen previously though sources say this is the '820'. It is currently not known if the devices are one and the same or different.

The prototype device sports the now common button layout in keeping with the Lumia 800 and 900 but with the new Windows Phone 8 logo near the bottom...

The usual warnings of rumour caution apply here but this looks like this could have some weight. In what appears to have been discovered from a HTC ROM, a new HTC device sports a mind-bending shade of purple. We have already reported on the leaked specifications of HTCs future Windows Phone 8 wares, and this colour usage certainly receives our attention.

We have to point out the obvious here and say, its running Windows Phone 7.5. Granted its not sporting a standard colour scheme so could just be HTC experimenting with getting those shades right.  The body design is certainly not what we normally see from HTC, perhaps this signals some exciting things coming from one of our favourite device makers?

As the fallout from the Apple v Samsung case is being realized, there is a lot speculation as to what that decision will mean for the likes of Microsoft and Windows Phone. Opinions range from it will big big for Microsoft to it won’t matter for them at all.

The Korea Times, a paper with a mixed reputation on these matters, has gone on record in saying that Samsung is looking to form a stronger relationship with Microsoft as a result of the Apple decision. But is it accurate?

Mark your calendar, October is shaping up to be a busy month for Microsoft. Rumors have surfaced for release dates for both Windows 8 and Windows Phone 8.

Okay... we've known for some time that the general availability for Windows 8 is October 26th. It now appears that on October 25th, there will be a Microsoft launch event for Windows 8 and the Surface RT in New York City. No specifics on the event as of yet but Windows 8 and the Surface tablets should become available at midnight following the event.