Microsoft resumes Windows Phone 7.8 update

The Windows Phone 7.8 update is finally back on track. Microsoft had stopped rolling out the update only a few days ago after many users complained of heavy battery loss post the update. According to the company, the new Live Tiles update seemingly used heavy amounts of data, causing the battery to die faster.

Now with the Windows Phone 7.8 update finally rolling out, users can expect to receive the following improvements:

• Start – The Start option comes with a host of resizable small, medium and large Live Tiles, allowing users to customise it. 
• Accent colours – The update has increased the number of available accent colours to 20. 
• Lock Screen – The Windows Phone 7.8 update improves the lock screen experience. It comes with accidental wipe protection features and includes the Bing image of the day wallpaper. 
• Marketplace and Xbox – Both the Windows Phone Marketplace and Xbox support has been widened to include new countries and regions. 
• Fonts – The Chinese font has been improved in the Windows Phone 7.8 update. The appearance of Arabic and other languages has been improved too. 
• Live Tiles – In this update, the performance issues from a previous update has been fixed. 

Only a couple of days ago, Nokia had confirmed via its Russian Twitter account that it will stop rolling out the Windows Phone 7.8 update across to Lumia users. The tweet was in response to a Lumia user asking Nokia about the battery issue. Roughly translated, it means, “Microsoft decided to temporarily suspend distribution updates WP7.8 for finalization. ^ MB.”

Nokia originally started rolling out the update to devices back in January. The devices that got the update included the Lumia 510, 610, 710, 800 and 900.

Windows Phone 7.8 allows you to choose from three different tile sizes. Other features in the update include Internet Sharing, Bluetooth Sharing, imaging enhancements like Camera Extras, and apps such as Contact share, Play To and Nokia City Lens. Language support has also been expanded.

Microsoft had stated last year that none of the existing WP7 devices, including the Nokia 900, would be updated to Windows Phone 8. In order to avoid a riot outside its stores after the announcement, Microsoft promptly stated that Windows Phone 7.8—a sort of "value pack", if you will—would be rolled out for WP7 smartphones.