Windows Phone 7.8 finally arrives for older Lumia devices, adding apps and Start screen functionality

Nokia has announced that Windows Phone 7.8 has arrived and is encouraging people to update their Lumia devices. In a video uploaded to YouTube, the phone manufacturer highlights what’s new with the updated Windows Phone operating system, and how users can do so through their Zune software.

Promised by Microsoft in early 2013, Windows Phone 7.8 is considered by some to be the company’s “stopgap measure” for older handsets. If you’ve purchased a Windows Phone device that didn’t come with Windows Phone 8, you’re out of luck because you won’t be able to get it without buying a newer phone. To that end, Microsoft released Windows Phone 7.8, with a new Start Screen similar to Windows Phone 8.

Nokia says that the updated operating system has been shipping pre-loaded on its Nokia Lumia 510 device, along with other phones in the Lumia family. For those with Lumia 510, 610, 710, 800, and 900 model phones, update notifications will appear soon.

To update your phone, Nokia says you should connect the device to your computer through Zune for PC or the Windows Phone app for Mac and then follow the onscreen instructions.

Some of the features that the Lumia phones will receive as a result of the update includes more tiles, Internet sharing, Bluetooth sharing, image enhancements like Camera Extras, and release of apps such as Contact Share, Play To, and Nokia City Lens. Nokia says that the Start screen experience has also been refreshed to allow tiles to be resized, there are new options to lock the screen, receive a daily background image from Bing, and increased language support.