Microsoft's Windows Phone 7.8, the next iteration of the WP7 platform, is coming in early 2013, the company announced Wednesday.
The news disproves a recent rumor that pegged the release for Nov. 28, though Microsoft did publish a blog post revealing the actual launch time on that day.
In the post, Microsoft says the Windows Phone 7.8 update is coming to WP7.5 devices, but that there will also be new devices launched with the new OS, mostly at lower price points.
The post also mentions several of the most important (and mostly already publicized) new features in 7.8, including resizable Live Tiles, double the number of theme and accent colors (now totaling 20), Bing-adorned lock screen and -- finally -- the ability to set up a PIN/password that protects accidental wiping of devices connected to Exchange accounts.