Windows Phone 8 Features Allegedly Leak Online; More To Come At Developer Summit Next Week

Nokia Innovations posted screenshots that are said to be of the upcoming Windows phone software and shows how Skype will be integrated into smartphones running on the OS. The images indicate that users will have the option to answer a Skype call with or without video, and Skype chat can be initiated from a user's profile.

Windows fans also get a preview of the PureView technology that will be included in new Windows 8 Nokia devices. One of the alleged screenshots of the camera user interface shows a vertical bar that could be used to zoom, along with two buttons. One button seems to let users switch between the main camera and the front-facing camera, as Nokia Innovation points out. The other is for the Lenses function that will be introduced, according to WPCentral. This is expected to be unveiled next week at Microsoft's summit.

The images also hint that a new feature could be coming to Windows Phone 8 that its predecessors lack. The screenshot shows the ability to manage data natively, with two horizontal bars and a pie chart visible on the screen. The first bar shows how much data is left and the second shows how many days are remaining on a user's data plan. It appears a data report is also provided in the pie chart, allowing users to adjust their data plans accordingly.

This could be the first images of the DataSmart feature that The Verge reported in early February, but these photos have yet to be confirmed by Microsoft.

WPCentral also lends some credibility to the leak, although the pictures are still viewed with a skeptical eye.

In fact, the only reason we're giving these screenshots some credibility is the fact that Lenses button is 100 percent accurate, writes Daniel Rubino of WPCentral. The rest we cannot vouch for, but it does jive with what we've learned and seen ourselves.

In addition to Skype integration, data management and a new camera user interface, Microsoft is expected to beef up its hardware support for multi-core processors, four screen resolutions and NFC radio support with a contact-less wallet experience in Windows Phone 8.

This isn't the first time an operating system in development by Microsoft has leaked recently. At the end of May, a Chinese version of the Windows 8 Release Preview reportedly leaked a day before it was officially unveiled. When Microsoft was set to announce the Release Preview on May 31, an accidental blog post slipped onto the Internet before the reveal was made official.

Be sure to head over to Nokia Innovation to check out the alleged Windows Phone 8 screenshots for yourself.