About a month after its release to AT&T Wireless customers, the first Windows Phone 8 update, codenamed “Portico,” is apparently heading out to HTC Windows Phone 8X users on Verizon Wireless as well.
I don’t have any Windows Phone handsets on Verizon Wireless, so I can’t test this update personally. But WPCentral’s Daniel Rubino reports that the update is appearing for Verizon customers. Verizon’s support site still claims the update is coming soon.
I wrote about Portico previously in Windows Phone 8 “Portico” Heads Out to HTC Windows Phone 8X on AT&T and noted the following changes:
Messaging improvements. You can now add multiple recipients at the same time when you send a text message and automatically save unsent text messages as drafts. You can also edit received text messages before you forward them.
Text replies to incoming calls. Now you can send a prewritten text reply to a caller directly from the call answer screen when you can't take a call normally. It's a nice way to let people know that you're not ignoring them.
Internet Explorer improvements. You can now change your settings to prevent pictures from downloading automatically—an easy way to help keep data usage low. (Easy and obvious. It’s unclear why this wasn’t a feature from day one.) You can also delete selected sites from your browsing history and leave the rest intact.
Wi-Fi connectivity. Windows Phone 8 will now prioritize Wi-Fi connections based on your connection history, so that your most-often-used networks are listed first.
Other improvements. Portico includes “many other improvements to Windows Phone”.
According to Verizon (PDF), however, Portico adds the following:
- Wi-Fi and Bluetooth profile have been improved for performance.
- Increased flexibility to manage browser history.
- Added capability to select an MP3 file as a ring tone.
- Incremental security feature allowing user to restrict calls to a limited list of numbers.
- Messaging enhancements to allow user to edit an MMS while forwarding.
- User can auto-retry with connectivity, multi-select recipients for a message and ignore calls with SMS reply
Those interested in updating their HTC Windows Phone 8X handset to Portico can find instructions on the Verizon web site.
