Microsoft Dishes Out First Windows Phone 8.1 Update To Developers

Microsoft took the veil off of Windows Phone 8.1 Update last week, and while it's not a "major" update by any stretch, it's certainly one worth looking forward to if you are a WP user. It's also one that could prove very useful to those in the UK, China, Canada, India, and Australia, as it's the update that introduces Cortana to phones in those countries.

As discussed last week, 8.1 Update brings a number of notable features, including the long overdue ability to organize apps with folders. Another useful addition for business is "Apps Corner", which lets you choose which apps can be run on a device, with the added perk of configuring the phone to boot into a certain app each time it's turned on. Fortunately, any profiles that are created on one phone can be exported and imported on another.

All-around, Microsoft says that 8.1 Update is more secure and offers even faster performance. One particular gain on the security side is the ability to allow you to connect to the Internet through a VPN whenever you connect to a public network. The company even notes that a VPN at home would prove useful for those wanting to keep as anonymous as possible.

Unfortunately, 8.1 Update isn't going to be available to end-users for some time, but as the title of this post suggests, it's available now to those who are registered with Microsoft's developer program. Anyone can sign up as a developer for free and access the update, but it's highly recommend that you exercise caution, and do some research to make sure that others have succeeded in updating to the latest version with the same device you own. After all, developers typically have multiple devices, and can usually deal with a problematic update on one easier than a normal consumer who just has a single device could. That said though, it's great that Microsoft makes it so easy for anyone to access these updates, even if it's a little subtle about it.