A bunch of Windows Phone 8.1 Blue features come to light, receive a live demo

A curious story has been transpiringover at WP territory – forums, blogs and such. Namely,with Windows Phone 8.1, aka Blue, drawing ever closer, we'renaturally getting into the leaks phase when the first few snippets ofshady intel begin finding their way into the public domain. That, atleast, is how events usually transpire.

But, the leaks around Windows Phone8.1 Blue are of a different type – they're rather convincing, matchexpectations, and one leakster in particular seems to have more thanyour usual scoop. As is to be expected, @qxerro, the leakster inquestion, has become a sort of the go-to-person for Windows Phone 8.1information, now that the initial skepticism has been mostly washedaway. So, keeping the salt handy, here's apiece of what's coming. 

Among the major changes is the newNotifications Center which will work in a manner similar to Android,in the sense that incoming notifications will be interactable,meaning that, supposedly, you'll be able to answer a Facebook messagewithout having to open the app. Another functionality of the newNotifications Center are the so called 'ghost notifications' -- these won't pop-up in real time and bother you, but you'll see them onceyou open up the Center. Moreover, according to the tipster, Nokia's Pro Cam will be the default camera app, and will be available to all devices running WP 8.1.

Another major bit is that Cortana,Microsoft's answer to Google Now and Siri, has been confirmedonce again by the new leaks.

Anything else? You bet! The trio ofWindows-esque buttons on the bottom of every WP device will now alsofunction in a manner similar to Android:

• Long press the Start button: brings up Cortana

• Double press the Start button: “What is going on area?!”

• Double press the Back button: ends current app

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You probably deciphered two of thesequite easily, though what @qxerro means with “what is going onarena?!” is slightly puzzling, however a candidate guess would bethat Microsoft is working on some kind of an integratedlocation-based service, if the leaks prove to be true that is.@qxherro also posted (available from the source at the very bottom) whatappears to be the first in a series of episodes that we'll beanxiously awaiting to get a more visual representation of how WP 8.1may end up functioning.

Looking to get the full, extendedscoop? Deal, just join us in the slideshow right below.

source: WP 8.1 demo, @qxerro, Windows Phone Central