Here's an interesting rumor for Sprint subscribers. It appears that the carrier might be among the first networks to offer a dual-core Windows Phone 8 handset.

The folks at The Verge reports that Microsoft is currently testing a Windows Phone 8 handset with a dual-core 1.5GHz Qualcomm MSM8960 chipset. While that info is exciting enough it also appears that this device will be among the upcoming Sprint mobile phones for 2012.

Here's an exciting update for Windows Phone fans. The details for the next major software update for Microsoft's smartphone operating system has been published by the folks at PocketNow. It appears that the rumored Apollo OS will be called Windows Phone 8 and will include major changes for the platform. 

The features of the upcoming Windows Phone 8 OS were apparently revealed via a video hosted by Joe Belfiore, the senior vice president and Windows Phone manager.

Verizon Wireless has not yet officially unveiled the Motorola DROID 4 but the anticipated Android smartphone recently showed up at the carrier's briefing with CNet. It was revealed that Verizon intends to launch two 4G Droid tablets for this month. The briefing also included details and images of the DROID 4.

Nokia has announced its first handsets that run on Microsoft's Windows Phone 7.5 Mango operating system at the World in London. The manufacturer hopes that the Lumia 800 and Lumia 710 will help to revive its declining smartphone business. 

Let's take a closer look at these upcoming Windows Phones after the break.

T-Mobile has announced the release date for its latest  WP7 smartphone. The HTC Radar will be available starting November 2 for $99.99 after rebate with a new agreement. 

The HTC Radar is the first T-Mobile handset to run on the Windows Phone 7.5 Mango OS. This handset features a 3.8-inch WVGA display, a 1GHz Snapdragon processor, and a 5MP rear camera.

HTC has unveiled a couple of new smartphones running on Windows Phone 7.5 Mango as predicted by previous rumors. These handsets were introduced at a European event. The HTC Radar and HTC Titan will first be available in Europe but it is not yet clear if the smartphones will hit the US market.

Here's an interesting update for Windows phone 7 fans. The details for the HTC Eternity and HTC Omega, which are expected to be unveiled at during the IFA trade show in Berlin this Thursday evening have been revealed.

The folks at BuyMobilePhones have obtained the initial information on these upcoming Windows Phone Mango smartphones. This leak also gave us the first images of the HTC Eternity and HTC Omega.

Smartphones running on Microsoft's Windows Phone 7 operating system have been on the market for several months. Like other smartphone platforms, Windows Phone 7 provides a marketplace for apps, games and other downloads. The Windows Phone Marketplace is a venue for consumers to obtain music, video content, podcasts, and third-party applications. Some of these products come with a reasonable fee, but one can also acquire some awesome apps free of charge. Let's look at the best free Windows Phone 7 apps offered at Microsoft's application market.

Nokia has decided to enforce major changes to revive its struggling smartphone business. The top cell phone manufacturer has reached an agreement with Microsoft to adopt the Windows Phone 7 platform as its primary smartphone platform moving forward.

This decision means that Nokia will abandon the Symbian and Meego platforms as the main OS for its upcoming smartphones. Symbian handsets will still be released this year but it will be phased out over time until Windows Phone 7 accounts for 100% of Nokia's smartphones. The MeeGo platform will be relegated to "experimental" status.