Microsoft's first Windows Phone 8 update dubbed Apollo Plus?

Football4PDA Twitter account as the source. The Verge subsequently posted that the code name of Windows Phone OS 8's follow-on would be "Apollo Plus." (Maybe the ban on code names ending with "o" doesn't start till Windows Phone 9 OS?)

The Verge's Tom Warren also reported that Microsoft would share details about the update at the Mobile World Congress show in February 2013. The Verge cited unnamed sources as providing the information and said the coming update could include features like VPN support, a Wi-Fi connectivity fix, and audio improvements.

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VPN support is an interesting one, given Microsoft officials said in June of this year that Microsoft had decided against including VPN functionality in the Windows Phone operating system (even though it had been included in Windows Phone OS' predecessor, Windows Mobile). A Microsoft official told me that Microsoft has decided instead to rely on things like Secure SSL to address this need... as they considered Secure SSL "a better, light-weight approach" to providing this kind of functionality in the new BYOD (bring your own device) world.

I've since heard from a number of business users that no VPN support was a deal breaker for their organizations in adopting Windows Phone. I've also heard from users in countries with governments that censor their citizens' Web-browsing that VPN is a much-desired feature for circumventing officially imposed firewalls.

I asked Microsoft whether the next version of the Windows Phone OS was code-named "Apollo Plus" and whether VPN connectivity will be part of it. Not surprisingly, a spokesperson said only that the company doesn't comment on rumors and speculation.

If Microsoft does refer to the minor, interim update to Windows Phone 8 OS as "Apollo Plus," that might help dampen user expectations a bit. With Tango, many users were expecting a lot more, feature-wise, than ended up being part of that update because it had its own special code name.

Meanwhile, I also asked Microsoft about the whereabouts of the Windows Phone OS 7.8 update -- the one that is slated to allow existing Windows Phone 7 users to make use of resizable tiles on their phones. A Microsoft spokesperson said: "More information on 7.8 will be available in the coming weeks."

As to the rumors circulating that 7.8 might be available this week, I'm doubtful. I think Microsoft might announce the release to manufacturing of 7.8 this week, but I'm hearing the update may not be available from the carriers until early next year (maybe even as late as February 2013).

This story originally posted as "Apollo Plus: Is this Microsoft's first Windows Phone 8 update?" on ZDNet.

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Can Highlight be our sixth sense? New version is first, slow step

The new version of Highlight, the people discovery app, which went live today, offers a wider set of tools for sharing personal information and connecting with other users of the service.

It's hard to listen to Paul Davison and not get swept up in his enthusiasm, hard not to want to buy into his grand vision for the app his small company built.

Davison is the high-energy CEO of Highlight, a people discovery app for iPhone that came out last January, and that was widely predicted to start its world domination tour at the 2012 South by Southwest Interactive festival in much the same way that Twitter did in 2007 and Foursquare did in 2009.

Looking back, it's clear that much of the reason so many people expected so much of Highlight heading into SXSW was because of Davison's intensity, because he believes so passionately in what he's doing. But in fact, while a whole lot of people tried Highlight at SXSW, the app -- which at its core automatically alerts users to the nearby presence of others with similar connections and interests, via their Facebook profiles -- didn't move the needle all that much.

Still, eight months later, Highlight keeps humming along. It's now a seven-person San Francisco startup instead of a two-person San Francisco startup, and Davison continues to believe that the app has the very real potential to change the world as we know it. All you have to do is come along for the ride.

New Highlight

The next step in Highlight's evolution starts today, with the release of an all-new version, this time forAndroid as well as iPhone. Geared this time around to offer four times the battery life as it did during SXSW, the new Highlight was built, Davison said, to give users new ways to share, consume content, and interact with others on the service.

Highlight, like competing apps, such as Glancee (which was acquired by Facebook) and Kismet, was built to help users connect with people around them. Davison described the user profile as an all-important element that's "floating above your head," filled with metadata that lets you see things about people nearby that you haven't been able to see before.

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Nintendo unveils first Wii U touch controller commercial

Nintendo has released their first commercial showing off the Wii U's touch controllers.The GamePad, which features a 6.2-inch touchscreen, is the main selling point of the console, but there has been little in the way of gameplay demos outside of this year's E3.

Nintendo will sell the Wii U Basic and Deluxe bundles on November 18th, with the base model costing $300 and the deluxe edition selling for $350. The base model will include the Wii U console with 8GB memory and the Wii U GamePad in all white. The deluxe edition comes with 32GB and a GamePad charging cradle. Additionally, it will come bundled with the game Nintendo Land and offer digital benefits.

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