Nokia vows to keep updating WP7, details WP7.8 features

Nokia has detailed its plans for the current-generation Lumia smartphones, revealing that all of the handsets will receive several new features ahead of the next-generation Windows Phone 8 products.

"After introducing the first smartphones in the Nokia Lumia family to be built on Windows Phone 8, there is one message that needs to be made loud and clear: existing Lumia owners also have plenty to look forward to and are definitely not being left behind," Boc Ly wrote on Nokia's official blog.

Nokia is still recovering from the backlash of announcing this summer that current Lumia handsets will not receive WP8. Prior to this, many believed the Lumia 800 and 900 would get an update, and in an attempt to make amends, Nokia has promised that all current Lumia products will receive a halfway upgrade to WP 7.8 with several key improvements and new apps.

The phones will get a fresh look courtesy of a new Start screen similar to WP8's. Existing Lumia devices will also get Cinemagraph and further updates to Smart Group Shot, which Nokia says will include several surprises to make shooting and sharing pictures easier than ever. In addition, Bluetooth will finally support file transfers to any device, the Contact Share app will receive support for sharing contacts via Bluetooth, and select markets will get a Ringtone app to create personal ringtones.

Nokia's new City Lens app is already available for all Lumia handsets. The app lets you point your phone at nearby businesses for key information such as reviews, in addition to providing things like contact information for and directions to businesses that are farther away. When the Lumia 820 and 920 launch later this year, they will have a slightly tweaked version with an improved layout that has 3D icons as well as the ability to add customized searches and pin different categories of businesses to the Start screen.

Every Lumia device will receive the updates, though Li didn't say when they would arrive exactly.