Drill, baby, drill because we finally sprung a leak! The well-connected folks at WPCentral have unearthed a ton of new information about Windows Phone 8 (or 'Apollo') and its new capabilities. The article began by comparing Apple's iOS 6 against expectations and from then on they revealed more about what they know about the operating system thus far.

So you know how we were worried about Apple's new Maps service? We're not so worried anymore, because the site has confirmed that Nokia Maps will replace Bing Maps for all Windows Phones going forward -- and not just be a Nokia-exclusive arrangement as we previously heard. That's not the only deep integration a service will be enjoying on the platform, because the report also reveals that Microsoft will be opening up the necessary hooks in the OS to treat VoIP applications as native phone calls. Verbatim from the article: "Skype for Windows Phone 8 will behave like a regular phone call with a little Toast window popping down as you multi-task with different apps--completely seamless." While Skype will most likely be built-in, fans of other VoIP services should be able to enjoy the same level of integration.

Other tidbits revealed include a Windows Phone Wallet service that will be backed by NFC tech, the mention of Lenses which will be camera apps that can completely replace the stock software, support for native development with gaming, and finally an underlying framework based on WinRT. All in all, it sounds like an impressive new operating system and this leak lines up with the most reliable leaks we've heard so far. A little more than a week away, folks. Time to start counting down the hours!

Via: CNET
Source: WPCentral