Nokia has unveiled the rollout schedule for its Windows Phone 8.1-based Lumia Cyan update, which will eventually come to all Canadian-sold Lumia devices running WP8.
The update folds in Microsoft’s general Windows Phone 8.1 improvements with some Lumia-specific functionality, such as improved Nokia Camera, Creative Studio, Storyteller, as well as a new Device Hub, which tracks accessories attached to the device.
Windows Phone 8.1 introduces new features, like a swipe keyboard and notification centre, that customers have been waiting a long time for. The OS also adds important business and enterprise features, such as VPN and S/MIME support, and improved versions of Office, Skype, OneDrive and Outlook.
Users will also see immediate aesthetic improvements on the home screen thanks to the ability to use a background image, which flows freely through the always-useful live tiles. The pull-down notification area, dubbed Action Center, displays notifications generated by apps, and provides one-touch access to WiFi, Bluetooth and Airplane Mode toggles, among others.
Unfortunately, it looks like Microsoft’s promise to make Cortana, Windows Phone 8.1’s much-heralded voice assistant, available to Canadians at launch will not pan out; the service will be US-only for the immediate future. Users can change their language settings to English(US) to activate Cortana, though, but may miss Canadian-specific apps in the Windows Store.
While no Canadian carriers have announced the update for their devices just yet, they’re all “Under testing” and will roll out in the coming weeks.
