Windows Phone 8 Portico update rolling out with SMS and WiFi fixes

I get the opportunity to test out a LOT of smartphones, but am now pretty well established on using the iPhone 5 on Verizon, Galaxy Note II on T-Mobile, and HTC 8X on AT&T. I am really loving the Windows Phone 8 experience and even though read a lot of discouraging comments and listen to podcasts slamming the OS, I honestly think it is one of the best out there for the masses. It is stable, simple to use, extremely responsive, has deep social networking integration, and is a breath of fresh air in the mobile space. According to WPCentral a new update is also rolling out to fix a few nagging issues, such as SMS drafts, call reject with SMS, and WiFi hibernation when display is off.
These fixes with the "Portico" update are not critical, but are welcome considering Windows Phone 8 was just released last month. I never create draft SMS messages, but my wife sure does. I do like the reject call with SMS that I have had on Android forever and that was just added to iOS 6. The WiFi issue is my most welcome fix because I hate how it disconnects every time the display turns off. I like that I now have control over this and can make the decision if I am willing to sacrifice some battery life to keep WiFi on when the display is off. I would love to see this integrated in a profile manner where I could decide to do this just when I am home. Then again, I only turn WiFi on while at home or in the vicinity of an active hotspot so I guess that serves the same purpose for now.
I understand the update is rolling out now to the international HTC 8X, but of course those of us in the US will have to wait for carrier approval so who knows when we might see the update :(
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