About 2000 people attended the //BUILD/ developer conference this past fall in Redmond, Washington. Microsoft attracted attendees from all over the globe in an event that sold out in less than an hour when tickets went on sale in August. You were given a Surface RT , Lumia 920, and 100GB of SkyDrive as part of your $1600+ registration fee. Unfortunately for folks with those Lumia 920’s, you haven’t had early or timely access for the Portico update. At least until today.

If you find yourself in possession of a Lumia 920 from Build, you can check for an update to get Portico on the device. I was at Build and happen to still have my Lumia 920 from then, but can’t check since I’ve since flashed a Rogers ROM to get it unbricked. Anybody with a Build Lumia 920 want to chime in below?

For those Devs with Lumia 920s from Microsoft Build, the "Portico" update is now available for your devices! @nokiadeveloper @bldwin @dvlup — Chanse Arrington (@chansearrington) March 20, 2013

One benefit of this version of the Lumia 920 was its pentaband support for multiple radio frequencies. A must for a device that was given to international attendees and allows me some fast speeds on T-Mobile here in the U.S.

Developers and other attendees from the event have been frustrated with Nokia for how long it has taken them to get Portico. Many were hoping for a ‘Nexus’ like experience and to receive any sort of update first. That hasn’t been the case, AT&T and Rogers users got Portico on their Lumia 920s back in December and now developers from Build are getting it nearly three months later.

That brings up another question, should Microsoft and its OEM partners like HTC and Nokia introduce a Nexus type of device? Unbranded and not locked to any carriers, a device like this would certainly be a hit with the enthusiasts who read sites like ours. Updates would hit first on those devices (whatever happened to that ‘enthusiast program’) and be a great way for Microsoft to test out new updates before pushing them to regular consumers. Anyways, I’m probably dreaming.

Source: Nokia Discussions, Twitter

Thanks for the tip Chris K!

P.S. Yes, I know that's a picture of an AT&T branded 920 above