Job Postings Confirm Windows Phone Blue in the Works

Rumors have already begun to swirl about the next big update to Windows 8 and respective Windows services -- including Windows Server 2012, Hotmail, and Skydrive -- codenamed Windows Blue, thanks to job postings referring to the upcoming refresh. A recent job posting, however, also confirms that there is a Windows Phone Blue update in the cards.

Though there is no confirmed, exact timeframe for the release of Windows Phone Blue, a tipster did inform Mary Jo Foley of ZDNet last year that the Windows Blue update is scheduled for a late summer 2013 launch. The "Blue" codename may not refer to a single release either, as an inside source claims that it refers to the next "wave of Windows-related operating system and service updates from Microsoft."

And according to Foley, this is no mere under-the-hood series of tweaks; Windows Blue is expected to bring updates to the interface in an attempt to bridge gaps between the different Windows platforms. "Experience updates" and other new, albeit unspecified, features are also expected.

The most recent Windows Phone Blue job posting referred to the existence of an "Excel MX," which is presumed to be a touch-optimized version of Excel in the Metro UI style, much like the OneNote MX and Lync MX apps that are currently found in the Windows App Store.

Source: ZDNet