Bittersweet shimmer brings color options to Nokia Lumia's glance screen

As you probably know, the GDR2 Windows Phone update was accompanied by the Amber update for Nokia Lumia users. This brought some new features and capabilities to Lumia phones. One of those features was the glance screen which right now only shows an always on clock and alerts you as to whether your phone is on the 'vibrate' setting. The two hottest Nokia models, the entry-level Nokia Lumia 520 and twin Nokia Lumia 521, did not get the glance screen with the update.

When the GDR3 update comes to Windows Phone, starting with the soon to be introduced Nokia Lumia 1520 phablet, it will allow the platform to run on quad-core processors like the Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 expected to be powering the phablet. It will also allow Windows Phone manufacturers to offer a 6 inch screen (like the one expected on the Nokia Lumia 1520) and allow for 1080 x 1920 FHD resolution like on the...well, you know.

Just like Nokia tossed in the Amber update for its Lumia owners, Nokia will be adding Bittersweet shimmer to the GDR3 update for owners of its Lumia line. One of the things that this update will do is allow you to change the glance screen's color in night mode from the current red to blue, green or 18 other options!

Other changes coming to Nokia Lumia models with both GDR3 and Bittersweet shimmers include custom notification sounds for email, text, voice mail and reminders, the ability to restore over Wi-Fi when you reset your phone, the inclusion of Driving Mode, which blocks many of your phone's capabilities when you're behind the wheel, and the Screen Rotation lock which allows you to freeze the images on your screen in either portrait or landscape orientation.

Some of the update already has leaked, such as the ability to exit apps by hitting the 'X' in the upper right corner on the multitasking page. With GDR3 specifically, Windows Phone is moving closer to Android in the specs race. 2014 could be the year that Windows Phone makes great strides.