Windows Phone 8 to Launch on October 29

Microsoft is gearing up for a massively busy fall season. Between the launch of a brand new OS that's hoping to change the desktop landscape for good, a software update for the Xbox, and Windows Phone 8, the company is certainly going to make the most of 2012's final quarter. Today, it emerged just when Microsoft is going to be launching Windows Phone 8, the newest iteration of its mobile OS, Windows Phone.

According to Mary Jo Foley over at All About Microsoft (ZDNet), the company is aiming to launch Windows Phone 8 within a few days of its Windows 8 release. Foley cites sources that say Microsoft will launch its brand new Surface tablets in NYC on October 25, the day before the Friday launch of Windows 8, with availability set for midnight that night. The following Monday, the company heads for west coast for its October 29 Windows Phone 8 launch. Foley's sources say this will serve as the consumer launch and Windows Phone 8 devices will be available one or two weeks after, in the first half of November.

Such a packed quarter will put Microsoft in an excellent position for the all-important holiday season. With new phones, new computers, and an Xbox update, the company is covering all its bases in time for the biggest shopping days of the year.

Microsoft gave us a sneak peek at Windows Phone 8, AKA Apollo, back in June. The OS will share a kernel, file system, media foundation, device drivers, and parts of the security model of Windows 8 and will boast support for multi-core processors, displays up to 1280x768, and external SD storage. It will also bring Internet Explorer 10 to mobile, as well as in-app purchases, Nokia Maps, and improved enterprise features (including device management for administrators, Office apps, support for BitLocker encryption, and secure boot mode).

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