Microsoft have officially announced the 3rd update of Windows Phone 8. The update which has been rumoured for some time has a bigger start screen for more live tiles, a new driving mode and support for 1080p displays. We should see devices with larger screens running at 1080p as soon as Nokia’s device announcement next week, Microsoft mention in the Windows Phone 8 update 3 announcement that the built in apps are scaled to take advantage of 6 inch screens.

With the new start screen there is room for six live tiles up from four that you currently get and Update 3 will also bring support for the Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 quad-core processor.

Also in the update is a Driving Mode that aim to reduce driver distraction. It works with a Bluetooth device to work out when you’re driving and then limit nonfictions until you stop, you can even get it to send automatic replies when someone calls or text you when you are driving.

Internet Sharing has been improved, with update 3 you can pair a Windows Phone to a Windows 8.1 device with Bluetooth and then it will handle the connections. There are also more ring tones and sounds, rotation lock, an easy way to close apps from the app switcher, Wi-Fi setup during the initial setup and improved Bluetooth support.

Microsoft say the rollout of update 3 will happen over the coming months and there is a new Windows Phone Preview for developers which launches later today which is designed for developers to get early access to new versions of the OS for testing their apps. To able to test it you need to have one of the follow setup:

To participate, you need to meet one of the three conditions: your phone is ‘developer-unlocked,’ you are a registeredWindows Phone Store developer, OR you are a registered Windows Phone App Studio developer.

More details on Update 3 on the Windows Phone blog and details on how to get on the developer program on the developer blog.

Is this enough improvements to keep you with or switch to Windows Phone?

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