Hot on the heels of a Microsoft executive's confirmation that Windows Phone 8 will be upgradeable, a new report claims to have some details on the Redmond firm's Windows Phone update plans. Yesterday, a rumor emerged claiming that a device codenamed the HTC Tiara will be coming to market in May with the Windows Phone 8 GDR2 update preinstalled, making it one of the first handsets to feature that new software. It wasn't clear at the time exactly what "GDR2" meant, but according to a source speaking to ZDNet's Mary Jo Foley, the name stands for "General Distribution Release 2." That naming scheme is apparently one that's been in use at Microsoft for some time.

So if this forthcoming update is GDR2, that must mean there's a GDR1, right? Foley has heard that the "Portico" update that's been making its way onto various Windows Phone 8 devices lately is considered to be the GDR1 update. Meanwhile, we're told that there's also a GDR3 update in the pipeline, after which the oft-rumored Windows Phone Blue update will roll out, bringing the developer platforms of Windows 8, Windows RT and Windows Phone together along with some minor UI improvements. Finally, Foley also touches on the Apollo Plus update that was rumored last year, saying that that name is likely just a reference to all of the Windows Phone 8 updates that will be released.

While it's not known exactly what enhancements the GDR2 and GDR3 updates might bring, the rumor that Windows Phone 8 users can expect a couple more updates before the arrival of Windows Phone Blue is pretty exciting to hear. If the HTC Tiara is indeed one of the first devices with GDR2 when it hits in May or so, it'll likely be a couple of months after that before we see GDR3, meaning that the Windows Phone Blu update may not hit until later in 2013. Good thing that Windows Phone 8 folk will have the GDR2 and GDR3 updates to keep them busy in the meantime.

Via ZDNet