Microsoft announced its entry into the tablet space in the form of the Surface RT and Surface Pro earlier this year. There has been a lot of speculation around the price point of the product. Finally Microsoft today unveiled the price point for the Surface RT via their online store.
Continue reading “Microsoft Surface RT priced at $499 for 32GB version, Touch cover not included”
In the past, there have been many rumors about Microsoft releasing Office for iOS. Today, The Verge reports that a Microsoft product manager confirmed that the company is working on versions of Microsoft Office for both iOS and Android, which is expected to be released in March 2013. The comments were made to Czech site IHNED.cz [Google translation] at a press event in that country.
“In addition to Windows, Office will be also available on other operating systems, Windows Phone, Windows RT, Mac OS, Android, iOS and Symbian,” says Microsoft, while separately noting that there will also be a new version of Office Web Apps too. […]
The press release also mentions that Office 2013 will be made available to businesses in December, with a consumer launch scheduled for the end of February 2013. “Office 365 services and other Office products for mobile (phones and tablets) will be released from March 2013,” says Microsoft.
The Verge also says that it saw a press release from Microsoft’s team in the Czech Republic confirming the launch plans. Back in February, The Daily claimed that it had hands-on time with a working prototype of the software but Microsoft, but the company denied the report.
Germany has become a battle ground when it comes to patent cases between top mobile device manufacturing companies. In a recent patent infringement case filed against Motorola by Microsoft which revolves around an application running on various devices, Microsoft lost to Motorola. This news made me a bit happy and surprised as this is Motorola’s first lawsuit they have won in the recent years.
Continue reading “Microsoft loses to Motorola on a patent case in Germany”
Microsoft’s long awaited next generation mobile OS, Windows Phone 8 has finally been signed off for RTM. RTM here stands for Release to Manufacturing. This means that the OS is now code-complete and just needs to undergo testing on carriers and phones before being launched on devices.
The Bluetooth SIG has finally posted the Bluetooth profile list supported by Windows Phone 8 and it looks like the number of profiles supported has improved quite a bit compared to Windows Phone 7. Addition of the OBEX (Object Exchange) profile means that the phone should theoretically be able to both send and receive objects though specifics around that remain to be revealed.
Continue reading “List of Windows Phone 8 Bluetooth profiles revealed”
As part of its rebranding and simplification efforts, Microsoft plans to rename Windows Phone Marketplace to Windows Phone Store on its smartphones. The new branding is expected to be rolled out with Windows Phone 7.8 on current devices and with Windows Phone 8 on next gen smartphones.
Continue reading “Microsoft renames Windows Phone Marketplace to Windows Phone Store”
Microsoft has patent licensing agreements with most of the Android device manufacturers out there. The latest addition is Sharp which is licensing Microsoft’s exFAT file system for use in Android devices.
The latest version of Nokia’s turn by turn navigation solution is now available for Lumia device users everywhere. The upgrade brings several new features to the application including My Commute which learns your driving preferences and then helps you get to your destination quicker by using those along with traffic information to assist with routes.
Continue reading “Nokia Drive 3.0 now available for Lumia devices everywhere”
We’d reported some time back on the International Trade Commission’s ruling that several devices from Motorola’s portfolio won’t be allowed to be sold in the US. The patent in question here is Microsoft’s innovation on email based meeting scheduling. This ban goes into effect starting today in the US.
Continue reading “Import ban on Motorola’s Android products goes into effect”
Bloomberg reports that Samsung will be launching a Windows RT based tablet come October. With Microsoft entering the tablet game themselves by launching the Surface line of tablets, it will be interesting to see how Samsung differentiates itself.
Continue reading “Samsung to launch Windows RT based tablet by October reports Bloomberg”
At the Windows Phone Summit, Microsoft informed devs that the app store has crossed 100,000 apps. With the upcoming shared core between Windows 8 and Windows Phone 8, we should expect a much more exciting app scene for Windows Phone. Developers are now free to use native code for development making it easier to port apps to Windows Phone.
“Lumia customers can expect thousands more apps to be introduced across Windows Phone platform. The announcements underline the progress Nokia is making with the Lumia family of smartphones and in building a winning ecosystem with Microsoft. It shows how the Windows Phone experience continues to evolve at a faster pace than the competition and how Nokia’s continued investments in great location-based services benefit partners, developers and consumers.”
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2jsLcPFlM9M
Microsoft is making a lot of under-the-hood changes to allow developers access to more features. Case in point, speech recognition will be available for each and every app to use. Easier development means more and better apps which in the end is great for consumers.
To better demonstrate the new start screen on Windows Phone 8 devices, Microsoft has uploaded a short video demo. While i was personally quite skeptical at first, the new layout definitely seems to be better in terms of displaying notifications.
Continue reading “Video : Microsoft demos new Windows Phone 8 start screen”
Windows Phone users who are feeling shafted post the Windows Phone 8 announcement can sleep a bit easier tonight. While they still won’t be getting the complete update due to the sweeping changes in the backend, they will still get the new user interface which is one of the more obvious changes in the OS.
The new interface allows users to resize app tiles. Three specific sizes have been defined by Microsoft. Small, Medium and large which would correspond to 1×1 , 2×2 and 4×2 in terms of spaces on the icon grid. Unfortunately apps compiled just for Windows Phone 8 will not be backwards compatible which doesn’t bode too well for current users. In addition there are expected to be some other Windows Phone 8 features which should make their way back to the WP 7.8 update which the company will reveal closer to launch. Continue reading “Current Windows Phone devices to get WP 7.8 update with new start screen”
Here is a video teaser of the just announced Microsoft Surface Tablet . Will the iPad finally see some competition from Windows Tablets and has Microsoft finally managed to get it right in the tablet arena ? Give the video a look after the jump. Continue reading “Microsoft Surface Tablet Video”
At an event in Los Angeles, Microsoft has just announced its first tablet called the Surface. The screen is a 10.6″ unit and is covered by Gorilla Glass. Something unique is that the tablet comes with an inbuilt kickstand.
