Microsoft has been rather cagy when it comes to answering questions about Windows Phone 8 software upgrades for Windows Phone 7 devices. Now WMPowerUser has posted up a translated portion of a video with a Portuguese Microsoft rep which seems to confirm that Windows Phone 8 (code named Apollo) will in fact be made available for all previously released Windows Phone 7 devices.
The translation of the interview with Microsoft Evangelist Nuno Silva states:
What Microsoft said/stated and what I"m allowed to tell you is that all actual devices will get upgrade to the next major version of Windows Phone (we"re talking about Apollo).
He adds that devices such as the Samsung Omnia 7, which was released in 2010, would get the software upgrade to Windows Phone 8 despite being first-gen devices.
It"s possible that Silva was in fact speaking out of turn since no Microsoft representative has gone on the record, before now, saying Windows Phone 8 would be available for Windows Phone 7 products. However, unless this news bit is denied officially by Microsoft, this will certainly be good news for anyone who has bought or will buy a Windows Phone-based smartphone.
It"s also worth noting that every rumor we"ve heard about this refutes it, and have pointed to only the high end Lumia devices actually receiving the update. Take this one with a grain of salt for now, it"s pretty unlikely.
Editor"s note: Silva, according to his LinkedIn profile, is actually an employee of Microsoft. Despite this, it is still unclear what position he has at the company and whether he actually works there