With Windows Phone only now beginning to gain some momentum, an anonymous source has told The Verge Microsoft is preparing to press the reset button, blocking owners of existing handsets from installing the forthcoming Apollo update.

Said source has claimed the new version of the platform, better known as Windows Phone 8, will come with 'no upgrade path' from Microsoft, in part due to its closer logistical links to Windows 8.

Closing Windows

To put such a claim in context, that means anyone with an existing Windows Phone device – including the flagship Nokia Lumia 900 – would be stuck with Windows Phone 7.

Microsoft's reply to the rumour has, bizarrely, been to confirmed that "all apps in our Marketplace today will run on the next version of Windows Phone." The company added, "Beyond that, we have nothing to share about future releases."

Whether true or not, the fact the rumour is now spreading across the web at pace is a big PR slip-up for Microsoft, with potential customers likely to be put off buying current Windows Phone handsets if the next major upgrade is likely to be unavailable to them.

The news comes after WMPoweruser reported a Microsoft evangelist had, in contrast, claimed Windows Phone 8 would be made available for all existing handsets.

We've reached out to Microsoft for clarification.

[source: The Verge]