Portico

With yesterday’s alleged leak of HTC’s next Windows Phone, one of its eyebrow raising aspects was the use of “GDR2” when identifying the OS. The term was new nomenclature for those who follow Microsoft’s update cycles and product code names. Now, ZDNet’s Mary Jo Foley has learnt of its meaning and Paul Thurrott helps put it into focus.

The term GDR2 stands for “General Distribution Release” with the two denoting its sequence. The first GDR was “Portico” (build 10211), which was delivered starting at the end of December by Nokia (AT&T Lumia 920) and continuing within the last few weeks for the Lumia 810, 820 and HTC 8X devices on various carriers.

The big picture of these new updates is something we spoke about on the last podcast: there will be more frequent but smaller OS updates on Windows Phone 8 over the next 8-12 months before “Blue” is released.

According to a number of sources, the Windows Phone 8 update -- codename "Portico" OS build 8858 -- is rolling out across a number of European markets for those using unbranded hardware. WPArea.de reports that they have received the notification to upgrade their unlocked Windows Phone in Germany, while a handful of our readers from both Denmark and Sweden have got in touch.

We've just got word that UK mobile operator EE has begun rolling out the Portico update for Lumia 920 Windows Phones that are tied to the network. The Windows Phone 8 update introduces a number of improvements, including SMS call reject, persistent Wi-Fi, Wi-Fi hotspot and addresses stability issues (such as those annoying soft-resets).

Some sites today are erroneously spreading word that Nokia has begun a “global rollout” of the Portico Windows Phone OS update for the Lumia 920 and 820. Presumably this includes unlocked phones and even ones on various carriers.

Unfortunately, these sites didn’t verify the information or took liberties with the source.

Good news for those of you on T-Mobile US with their exclusive Lumia 810 Windows Phone 8 device, starting today at 10AM PST/1PM EST, users can begin to get OS and firmware updates for their phones. This follows a few weeks after T-Mobile rolled out a similar update for their HTC 8X lineup.

The update will bump the OS to version 10211 aka 'Portico' and the firmware to 1249.

Want to update your Lumia 920 early? Read below on getting started, including the risks.

Although folks on Rogers and AT&T have successfully received the Windows Phone “Portico” and firmware updates for their Nokia Lumia 920s, there’s a good chunk of the rest of the world who has not. In fact, the plan is not roll out that update for another month or so, which is a bummer for those looking to improve their camera or get new features.

What follows down below is a very detailed and well written guide on how to manually update your Lumia 920. The information is actually well known and many of us have used the same “system” for updating our previous Lumias, but this one is clearly written and regularly updated. Started in our forums by Nabkawe5, it’s one of our hottest threads.

But first, we need to explain a few things…

Although the majority of people who are on AT&T or Rogers who have upgraded their Lumia 920 to Windows Phone “Portico” are having no problems (in fact, quite the opposite), there is one bug that seems to affect a few people: auto-screen brightness.

As detailed in our Lumia 920 forums, the problem exhibits itself when you turn on the phone in a mildly lit room and the brightness seems to ramp up to max and then back down again, resulting in a staggered and constantly fluctuating display brightness.

T-Mobile and HTC have begun pushing out Windows Phone 8 "Portico" to HTC 8X phones at 1PM ET.

T-Mobile and HTC have had quite a back and forth recently regarding the Windows Phone 8 “Portico” update (build 10211) We first heard about the 8X update just a few days ago and the original intent was to roll it out yesterday, December 19th. But at the last minute, we received word that T-Mobile was halting the rollout due to some last minute "tweaks".

The fear of course was that this could stretch into weeks as Microsoft, T-Mobile and HTC work to fix whatever it was holding up the update. Luckily, the delay now looks to be have been only 24 hours as T-Mobile and Microsoft have just now thrown the switch, delivering the update to customers.

Nokia has begun to push out the first over-the-air (OTA) update for Windows Phone for their Lumia 920 and 820 devices

This morning at 10AM PT (1PM ET), Nokia and Microsoft along with their carrier partners Rogers and AT&T have officially begun to roll out the OS and firmware updates for the Nokia Lumia 920 (and Lumia 820 on AT&T).

Last night, we reported that this much anticipated update was to arrive this morning and unlike T-Mobile, we have absolute confirmation that Nokia and their partners are on track for this update. Read on for all the exclusive details...