Updates, Updates, Updates! Official NoDo Release, Hacking Trickery to Get NoDo Now, Pre-NoDo & NoDo on T-Mobile, and more!

During the week long hiatus of the site, I missed a gigantic chunk of news, especially in regards to much anticipated software updates. So here’s a super-sized recap of everything that’s gone down lately.

• Microsoft Officially Releases NoDo! Launches Where’s My Update?
  • Yep, Microsoft made it official and the update has been sent out to carriers for their own individual testing. Thankfully, they have also created an extremely useful page on the official Windows Phone site called Where’s My Update? in which you can see depending on your region, carrier, and device where your promised February and March updates are.
• Joe Belfiore Makes Public Statement Regarding Updates Fiasco
  • Joe Belfiore, Vice President of the Windows Phone Program at Microsoft, recently issued a public statement about his appearance on Microsoft’s Channel 9. During that interview Belfiore seemed to be ignoring the recent update issues and user outcry and claimed that everything was going smoothly. Users were angered by his behavior and he sent out a surprisingly genuine response, which is possibly the best public response to anything Microsoft has given to the public. If you’re steamed about updates snafus, read his letter to calm yourself down. [Channel 9]
• Hacking Trickery Gets You NoDo Now! (Jailbreak Only)
  • Yesterday, one lucky dude at XDA-Developers Forum stumbled on to a way to snag the official NoDo update directly from Microsoft. This will only work if you have a developer unlocked (i.e. jailbroken) Windows Phone either officially or through the ChevronWP7 method because you have to ‘debrand’ your phone from your carrier before you can see the update. Basically, you make an internet connection to pose as a user from Hungary and then you connect your phone to Zune. After that things get pretty tricky, so check out the official thread over at XDA-Developers for full instructions and read everything in the first post. [XDA-Developers]
• T-Mobile Releases Their Official February Update (aka Pre-NoDo) UPDATE: NoDo Being Pushed Directly After!
  • In case you’re a T-Mobile Windows Phone user and aren’t so willing to dip your toes into shady territory to get your updates, here’s some good news! Both Dell Venue Pro and HD7 owners have confirmed that T-Mobile is sending out their officially sanctioned version of the February updates that paves the way to a smooth NoDo transition. Keep your eyes on any pop up notifications on your Windows Phone or check via the Zune desktop software for the update. UPDATE: WPCentral has confirmed that not only is the February update being sent out, but NoDo is too! It seems February was pushed out first and then afterwards users received notifications for the much anticipated March update. So far this is only for HD7 users. Have fun! [WPCentral]

Those were the big headlines for all of the update news as of late. Last night I used the unbranding trick to get my Focus up to NoDo so expect a hands-on/impressions article soon!