When will Cortana and Windows Phone 8.1 be available for the Nokia Lumia Icon? I bought the phone in June, and I was told by the Verizon salesperson that I could expect Cortana in a matter of "weeks". It's now three months, and I haven't heard anything ab

[WhidbeyPhone]

The title said it all. I have a Nokia Lumia Icon, and I'm eagerly awaiting the arrival of Cortana and Windows Phone 8.1. I bought this phone specifically to have access to Cortana, and there is no date on the horizon for the required update for the Lumia Icon. How much longer do I wait?

[AO180]

Lumia Denim update for Windows Phone 8.1 includes improvements to Cortana, camera | PhoneDog

Q4= October, November, and December. I hope Verizon isn't going to wait for Denim, but you never know!

[rednibkram]

"I hope Verizon isn't going to wait for Denim, but you never know!"

Given that Cyan has been out since July 15th and Verizon has absolutely no information they are willing to give, and given my recent communications with Verizon Executives stating there are "trade secrets" that they cannot reveal, my bet is that they are currently working with Microsoft on the Denim update and should be releasing it in Q4, skpping the Cyan update altogether.  If you think about it, this would actually place us AHEAD of AT&T on the firmware updates.  That is, unless AT&T is also working to release Denim at the same time.  Guess only time will tell.

[andyjackoradam]

Not that it's true or helps, but my local guys said outright that 8.1 was not going to be released to the Icon until the exclusive with HTC on the One (M8 Windows version) had expired - and since the HTC was just barely released, they assumed a few more months at least.  Got that answer 2 days ago. Not sure what they think they'll gain from this...

Haven't seen this rumor anywhere else, so just thought I'd add it to the mix.

[#5]

What is gained is Sales Money.

Since no one has patience it is placed under their noses and carriers will see how many bites they get.

In reality that is a good revenue generator. I whole heart believe it should be done that way. Carriers make cash, device makers make cash, OS developers make cash.

And all the so called calls for where are my free phone updates will go away. Since if they are not free the customer  not willing to pay has no basis for complaint.

Good Luck

[AO180]

My Icon is awesome. I could live without the Cortana update (already am!) but it sure would be cool. I'm willing to bet there are way more Lumia users out there that really don't care if they get the update or not. The few represented on these forums that are angry about not getting the update and are ranting about how they're going to jump ship-- pretty sure they're the minority.

I would love to see Cortana come to the Icon, but jumping ship to go to an inferior phone doesn't make sense to me just for that feature.

I'm sure MS will do everything they can to get Verizon to bring uniformity to the WP, since that is their goal across all their devices, so I'm not so worried. I am hoping that Verizon will make some kind of announcement one way or the other.

It is encouraging to see the so much excitement for the update. I think questions like the one above are fair questions and not necessarily a complaint. We're always hoping CS will jump in and respond with something concrete!

Good luck indeed!

[rednibkram]

"I'm willing to bet there are way more Lumia users out there that really don't care if they get the update or not."

Really?!  Apparently, you're not reading many forums.  The number of forum users wanting WP8.1 on Verizon's site alone outnumbers those of you claiming that "no one really cares."  From these forums alone, I know of about 6 users (you included) who claim not "to care about the update."  Whereas I can count at least 6 times that number who claim otherwise.  And that is just in these forums.

Regardless of the update, my complaint is not about "getting the update" or even so much the amount of time to get the update.  My complaint is the total disregard, carelessness and outright rudeness Verizon has for its paying customers by not informing us on ANYTHING regarding updates.  Even if Verizon were to just come out and say, "We are working on something, but due to legal reasons, we cannot discuss it," at least that would be some sort of acknowedgement of our questions regarding these updates.  But to dismiss us, and ignore our pleas for information is just plan rude and not very good customer service.

[AO180]

oh I absolutely believe the majority don't care. There are millions of WP users, and a very, very small fraction are represented on the forums. I'm not going to count, but I'd be willing to bet we're looking at dozens to maybe a couple hundred. Many posts are by the same people.

Either way, like Tvan said, you can get the dev update if it's killing you that bad.

[AO180]

I agree that it would be nice of Verizon to say something to us, but I also know that WP users represent a tiny, tiny fraction of their business. Let's say I want to know when the next update is going to be pushed to my FiOs box because it will allow me to surf pay-per-view events even better and include a fancy new AI that would predict what I would like to watch and make reservations for me. They would tell me to go pound sand. I'm one of millions.

Cortana is the only major reason Halo fanboys are frothing at the mouth, myself included. I don't think they're ignoring us, or being rude. It's just business as usual. In my line of work, if I release a new update to the entire company, and it hasn't been thoroughly tested or is still in beta, that's my job on the line, and a TON of service issues I'll have to deal with. If I'm asked, I'll just say "we're running it through trials right now," or "it's in beta." Nokia has already advised it's in testing; some argue that Verizon isn't testing it, but I would beg to differ. Who knows? It could be something as simple as licensing for the Verizon splash screen. We won't know.

I'm not arguing with you; I would LOVE for Verizon to say SOMETHING, but Elector is right. Customers dollars as a whole are the deciding votes, and unfortunately, WP isn't as big as Android or ios yet.

[g2ricotta]

Hello

I need disagree with your theory that the limited number of WP users is a reasonable explanation for the slow release of the update. NOTE: ATT (with the same limted number of WP users) has released the update to all 5 of its phones. So your theory of a big company not having to care about a small group of customers is not subscribed to by ATT.

Thanks

[rcschnoor]

g2ricotta wrote:

Hello

I need disagree with your theory that the limited number of WP users is a reasonable explanation for the slow release of the update. NOTE: ATT (with the same limted number of WP users) has released the update to all 5 of its phones. So your theory of a big company not having to care about a small group of customers is not subscribed to by ATT.

Thanks

And since AT&T normally distributes android OS updates before Verizon, why wouldn't one believe it would do the same for other platforms, including WP??? The theory that the low number of Verizon users with WP would even lead one to believe the lag between AT&T and Verizon for WP updates may even be GREATER than the lag between AT&T and Verizon for android updates.

[AO180]

Of course, all theories about this are pure speculation. Like I said before, no one really knows except Verizon, and maybe Microsoft. Verizon has a much larger network and user base than AT&T; it doesn't surprise me that AT&T could get the update out first.

Either way, sign up for the free developer update if you want it before the official release. You'll be able to upgrade to Denim soon anyway, assuming it gets released on Verizon lol.

[rednibkram]

"You'll be able to upgrade to Denim soon anyway, assuming it gets released on Verizon lol."

It BETTER get released on Verizon!  Microsoft has already publicly stated that the 930, 1520 and the Icon will receive the Denim firmware update FIRST.  If Verizon does not release the Denim update, be prepared for the towns folk to start gathering around Verizon Headquarters with pitch forks, torches and hound dogs!  lol

[Tidbits]

AO180 wrote:

Of course, all theories about this are pure speculation. Like I said before, no one really knows except Verizon, and maybe Microsoft. Verizon has a much larger network and user base than AT&T; it doesn't surprise me that AT&T could get the update out first.

Either way, sign up for the free developer update if you want it before the official release. You'll be able to upgrade to Denim soon anyway, assuming it gets released on Verizon lol.

People also have to think about something that isn't speculation.  CDMA radios REQUIRE additional testing to get a signed package from Qualcomm.  There's no way around this.  GSM radios do not require the testing so it's never a surprise that AT&T or T-Mobile will get an update out faster than Sprint or Verizon.  Without going through the testing by Qualcomm and getting the signed package it can't be submitted to the FCC to ensure it doesn't cause interference(this has to be done when radio firmware or anything that may affect frequency interference potential).

[rednibkram]

While I might be able to agree with your CDMA/Qualcomm summation that testing/approval is required, I'm a bit more skeptical regarding Verizon/Microsoft's ability to get Qualcomm to "play along."

Prime example is the upcoming Denim firmware update.  Microsoft only recently upgraded the firmware and yet Verizon's Lumia Icon (a CDMA device) is scheduled to be one of 3 devices to be the first to receive the update.  How is it that if Qualcomm is so "difficult" to get things tested/approved, Verizon/Microsoft was able to get the Denim firmware update approved so quickly?  It would appear that if MS/VZW push Qualcomm hard enough, testing/approval really isn't that much of a problem.

[Julius]

"Samuli Hanninen, who runs software program management for the Nokia phones, told me later that going forward, the Lumia group will be focused on things where the hardware can add differentiation on top of the core Windows Phone operating system, like the camera; interaction technology, such as using the sensor core to enable the glance screen or "Hey Cortana"; and connectivity solutions, such as the NFC–enabled screen sharing.

Of course, there's a current update called Lumia Cyan that works with Windows Phone 8.1. I noted that as a Verizon user, I can't get that yet on my Lumia 928, which Hanninen attributed to a need for testing with the special modem in that unit."

[Tidbits]

Which is rumored and not actual factual

[Tidbits]

Also they could possibly be wanting to do the update first on the Icon using the same firmware pertaining to the radio.  So it's under testing right now before denim is complete.  We can run all the speculation, and since the software is proprietary we won't know exactly unless Nokia says something.

[rednibkram]

Microsoft CEO announced it in his webcast just the other day.  I watched it.  He clearly stated,

"Lumia Denim will FIRST be available on our flagship phones, the Lumia 930, Lumia 1520 and the LUMIA ICON.  It will include a wealth of other features and it will then be available to all Lumia smart phones running Windows Phone 8.1 in Q4-2014."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=caNta0c0x_Q

Above quote taken from minute 6:45 of linked video.

I doubt he would make that comment if it wasn't true.

[rednibkram]

My view of that means they are currently working with Verizon to complete the Denim update and will skip the Cyan update altogether.  Why would they approve the Cyan update only to turn right around and upgrade again to the Denim update?  Wouldn't make sense.

[DC4000]

You're right about back to back updates. They'll probably release Cyan and 8.1 in  December, and then Denim next summer.