Microsoft announced in late December that Verizon customers would finally get the Windows Phone 8.1 Update 1 on their Lumia Icons in early 2015, but Joe Belfiore came back a few weeks ago to confirm that February was the month when the update would ship.

And Belfiore's announcement is about to be confirmed, as Verizon is apparently getting ready to ship the Windows Phone 8.1 Update 1 to Lumia Icons in the United States.

Verizon hasn't updated its Windows Phone devices in a while and Lumia Icon didn't even receive Cyan, but together with Microsoft, the American carrier was working to pack all improvements in Denim and Windows Phone 8.1 Update 1.

This means that devices updated to this new version will basically be fully up to date with all the goodies that Microsoft has for Windows Phone users right now, so there won't be a gap between European and American Windows Phone models anymore. At least for Verizon customers.

Release could take place later today

While an official announcement is yet to be provided, a PDF rolled out by Verizon indicates that software update version 02540.00019.15024.38022 is expected to be shipped to Lumia Icon very soon, most likely in the next few hours.

Obviously, improvements include all the recent additions to the Windows Phone portfolio, among which access to personal assistant Cortana, Lumia Camera, folders on the Start screen, Hey Cortana support, and many other new features that were previously unavailable to Verizon customers.

The attached PDF file includes a detailed description of Windows Phone 8.1 Update 1 features, so Verizon customers who were eagerly waiting for this update should really check it out to see all the improvements their phones will have after deploying this release.

At the same time, everyone is expecting Windows 10 for phones preview, which, according to some sources, could also be launched later today, so February 11 could turn out to be one of the busiest days of the year for Windows Phone fans.

Update: the update is now live via the Lumia Software Recovery Tool, so you won't have to wait for OTA.