AT&T customers who bought the Nokia Lumia 900 were already losing their patience waiting for the long-promised software update, but Windows Phone 7.8 is finally here.

Nokia Lumia 900 owners will finally be able to enjoy at least part of what Windows Phone 8 (WP8) has to offer. Buying a Lumia 900 and then watching WP8 blaze past it has got to be at least a bit frustrating, especially when an update takes so long to arrive.

Fret not: Nokia just announced in a tweet that the Windows Phone 7.8 update is now available to owners of the AT&T Nokia Lumia 900. The Finnish company started rolling out Windows Phone 7.8 to Lumia owners back in February. The update is mainly cosmetic, however, with minor changes: a slight facelift with Windows 8's oft-updating Live Times, some improved Lock Screen security and the ability to share Internet connections. In other words, Lumia 900 owners hoping to enjoy some of the new Windows 8-optimized apps Microsoft and its partners touted recently will have to take their mind off it.

Nokia Lumia 900 owners had a fair share of issues to deal with since purchasing the handset. First of all, they were left with a device that may never get a taste of Windows Phone 8. Secondly, production runs yielded Lumia 900 units that seem unable to consistently hold on to a wireless data connection. To solve that issue, Nokia had to push out a software fix and offer a credit to appease affected customers.

The update to Windows Phone 7.8, while not as major as one would hope, will bring good news nonetheless to a good portion of Nokia Lumia 900 owners. A new batch of Windows-powered smartphones will hit the market soon, which means that at least some Lumia 900 owners may decide to ditch their current handsets and get shiny new Nokia toys. Nokia is reportedly gearing up to unveil some new Lumia smartphones at a London event in a few days.

Check out Nokia's support page for the Lumia 900 to get more information and learn how to update your handset.