[MoonshineDylan]

I wanted to know if it would be possible to update windows phone 7 to windows phone 8 by force. Probably for the old wp7 it wont be able to, but what about the newer phones like lumia 800. how much more different can the hardware be?

[SnailUK]

No. There will be no official upgrades from wp7 to wp8.

I'm sure the hacking community will manage it on some phones at some stage.

Sent from my HD7 T9292 using Board Express

[theboo]

You have to be aware that the kernel isnt getting updated but replaced. So depending on hardware specs, drivers etc it might be nearly impossible without huge efforts.

Lets just hope they put another few wp8 features (hello multitasking) to 7.8 and we are all happy :)

[crystal_planet]

I believe WP8 requires a multi (or at least dual) core to operate. WP7 doesn't - so even if you were able to strip the old o/s to put on 8 on an old phone, it would probably crash and burn right off the hop.

The best you can hope for is a 7.8 update with some new features.

[socialcarpet]

I wanted to know if it would be possible to update windows phone 7 to windows phone 8 by force. Probably for the old wp7 it wont be able to, but what about the newer phones like lumia 800. how much more different can the hardware be?

No, WP8 has a completely new kernel which means new drivers are required for the phone hardware.

Microsoft isn't denying you WP8 just to spite you. There are good reasons for this, one of which is the fact that new drivers would have to be written by OEM's and third parties who make the multitude of different chips and components in the phone. Other reasons include a lack of support for NFC and other features in the hardware of the older phones.

Even if it were possible to do this, and it's not, you probably wouldn't want to because you could not count on the phone to give you the performance Microsoft intended from WP8 nor would be you even be able to be sure it would be stable or reliable.

I have a Lumia 900. I'm in the same boat. It's not a big deal. We aren't getting WP8, it's not the end of the world. Just let it go. You'll have it on your next phone and by then all the bugs will be worked out. It's not like you're going to be missing out on THAT much by not having WP8 when it is first introduced.

[socialcarpet]

I believe WP8 requires a multi (or at least dual) core to operate. WP7 doesn't - so even if you were able to strip the old o/s to put on 8 on an old phone, it would probably crash and burn right off the hop.

The best you can hope for is a 7.8 update with some new features.

I haven't seen anything to indicate it requires dual core processors. Have you?

There are going to be single core Windows Phones for a few more years at least since they are trying to target the mid and low end markets and I don't think they are planning on keeping all of those phones at 7.5/7.8 forever.

[crystal_planet]

I haven't seen anything to indicate it requires dual core processors. Have you?

There are going to be single core Windows Phones for a few more years at least since they are trying to target the mid and low end markets and I don't think they are planning on keeping all of those phones at 7.5/7.8 forever.

I took a look at the youtube Microsoft presentation from the developers and that was one of the things they had touched on. Mind you, it might have been something like "Windows phone 8 will take advantages of a dual core processor".

[jdevenberg]

I took a look at the youtube Microsoft presentation from the developers and that was one of the things they had touched on. Mind you, it might have been something like "Windows phone 8 will take advantages of a dual core processor".

Takes advantage of and requires are two separate things. A Mitsubishi Evo can take advantage of 110 octane race fuel to run even better, but it doesn't require race fuel. My plasma can take advantage of an he signal to show a beautiful picture, but it will display old 480i just fine too.

Microsoft has said budget windows phone 8 devices will be possible. They have also always said windows phone 8 supports multi core, or takes advantage of multi core, but haven't said once that multi-core Is required. I don't think this is a coincidence. I think there will be a tango like form of wp8 that supports lower spec hardware, and I think the number one reason current devices won't get it is that no one wants to take the time to write new drivers for products that aren't making them money any more. Anyone who says you can't swap kernels on a phone is ignorant. I have personally done it on android devices. Also, look at the HD2, a Windows Mobile 6.5 device that has been made to run both Android and Windows Phone 7.

[jimski]

I believe WP8 requires a multi (or at least dual) core to operate. WP7 doesn't - so even if you were able to strip the old o/s to put on 8 on an old phone, it would probably crash and burn right off the hop.

The best you can hope for is a 7.8 update with some new features.

Either one or two of the new WP8 phones leaked by HTC are not multi core. So yes, WP 8 will run on a single core. But to get it working on a WP7X device, you would need: 1) a complete reflash of the phone, and 2) new drivers to accommodate the new kernel. No problem with 1 for experienced users, but 2 will take a lot of work, and will be different for every device.

Sent from my Lumia 900 using Board Express Pro

[fwaits]

Either one or two of the new WP8 phones leaked by HTC are not multi core. So yes, WP 8 will run on a single core. But to get it working on a WP7X device, you would need: 1) a complete reflash of the phone, and 2) new drivers to accommodate the new kernel. No problem with 1 for experienced users, but 2 will take a lot of work, and will be different for every device.

Sent from my Lumia 900 using Board Express Pro

Where did you see this? (Regarding the leaked HTC WP8 devices) My understanding is no launch WP8 device will run anything but a Qualcomm S4 Plus chip.

[jdevenberg]

Where did you see this? (Regarding the leaked HTC WP8 devices) My understanding is no launch WP8 device will run anything but a Qualcomm S4 Plus chip.

who says all three leaked htc's have to be launch devices

[Flan Tamarind]

I'm not going to go searching through the presentation, but I could have sworn Joe Belfiore said something along the lines of all Windows Phone Devices moving forward from this fall's launch of Windows Phone 8 would be at minimum Dual Core Qualcomm chips. I could be mistaken.