Category: Microsoft

Microsoft Surface 2 and Surface Pro 2 Launched

Microsoft today unveiled the Surface Pro 2, with several design and internal increments . Microsoft claims, the new tablet has 50 percent more color accuracy, better graphics performance, an improved speaker setup and better speed. The Surface Pro 2 is said to be 20 percent faster than the original.

The device has a 10.6 inch 1080p display and the battery life has got a 75 percent boost. The device supports the Haswell processor inside and runs much quieter than the previous edition. Connectivity options include, three USB 2.0 ports, one USB 3.0 port, mini Display Port, Ethernet, audio in/out and the main charging port.

The Surface 2, on the other hand, has 1080p Clear Type display, the same one that we saw on the new Surface Pro 2. Inside the Surface 2, the tablet now has a Tegra 4 chip. Microsoft also says it’s doubled the BUS speed for the WiFi and the memory, and the CPU speed has increased “dramatically” as well. Additionally, there’s now a USB 3.0 port on board, a step up from the USB 2.0 connection used on the original. All told, says Microsoft, the new model should run three to four times as fast as its predecessor, and the battery life should be 25 percent longer.

These devices will be available with various accessories like the Microsoft’s new Power Cover to give the tablet 2.5x its standalone battery life or the Type Cover 2, which is now 1 mm thinner and backlit priced at $119.99.

Wireless adapters for typing covers for $59.99.

Various Type color 2 also launched at the price of $129.99:

Another accessory for the music lovers or music makers to be specific is the Surface Music Kit:

Last but not the least Microsoft also launched a new Arc Touch Mouse-Surface Edition, which works on BlueTrack Technology and precision control:

The Surface 2 is priced at $449 and the Surface Pro 2 is priced at $899, both these devices are are up for pre-orders starting tomorrow.

September 23, 2013
Microsoft to Launch New Surface Tablets Today

Microsoft is expected to unveil its new Surface tablet and also the Surface Pro in today’s event. This launch comes out to be a month before the launch of its Windows 8.1 which is probably on 17 October.

Microsoft launched the Surface tablets last year in October, the Surface RT has not done that well but Microsoft did cut the price down to $150. However, the new Surface tablets are expected to get lighter and thinner, if rumors are to be believed the new surface devices will be powered with Intel’s Haswell processors along with an Intel Core i5. It is expected to come with an option of up to 8 GB RAM.

Along with the tablets, Microsoft might launch great accessories as well. We will bring you the official features and specifications, so stay tuned!

September 23, 2013
Internet Explorer 11 Release Preview For Windows 7 Now Available

For the past few months, Windows 8.1 Release Preview users have been able to test drive the latest Internet Explorer – Internet Explorer 11. Now Windows 7 users are getting that same opportunity.

Microsoft announced today that the Internet Explorer 11 Release Preview is now available on Windows 7. Just like the Windows 8 version, IE11 will make extensive use of hardware acceleration. According to Microsoft, this new version is about 9% faster than IE10 and 5% faster than the developer preview. Microsoft also claims Internet Explorer 11 is 30% faster than any other browser.

Microsoft also has removed the prefixes from the Pointer Events API for HTML5. That means that the API will no longer an IE-specific flag to work in non-IE browsers. The API governs how the browser reacts to input from multiple “pointers,” including mouse, pen, and touch screens, which are of utmost importance to Microsoft now that most Windows 8 hardware ships with touch screens.

“This release also signals the final preview release before general availability of IE11 for Windows 7 later this fall,” said Roger Capriotti, Microsoft’s senior director of product marketing for Internet Explorer, in a statement.

No word yet on the final release, but given the timing, certainly by the end of the year, we’re guessing within 30 days of the general availability of Windows 8.1.

It can be downloaded from the Microsoft Download site here: Internet Explorer 11 Release Preview for Windows 7.

September 18, 2013
Screenshots From Windows Phone 8 GDR3 Update Leak

Rumours of Microsoft’s Windows Phone 8 GDR3 update have been circulating for much of 2013, claiming that the new software will bring with it a number of new features that include support for larger displays, quad-core processors, screen rotation lock and more. Today is the first time that we’re getting a look at what may be GDR3 in action, though, thanks to a WPCentral forums user that claims to have gotten hold of a Lumia 920 that’s running the update.

User ‘xs2k’ allegedly purchased a Nokia Lumia 920 from Craigslist, the prior owner supposedly a multiplatform app developer. The device appears to be with firmware based from India and there are four screenshots posted so far.

As far as new features are concerned – Driving Mode mutes calls and texts automatically when paired by Bluetooth to a car, or you can choose to mute them manually. You can close apps in the multitasking view too, saving time. There’s screen rotation, so you can orient your display how you like, and custom sounds are coming to text, voicemail, email and reminder alerts. You’ll also be able to restore from back-up over Wi-Fi, which is handy if your device is wiped.

Obviously these leaked screenshots can’t give us a look at some of the bigger features that are coming with Microsoft’s GDR3 update, like support for large 1080p displays and quad-core processors. However, the images do serve as evidence of other new capabilities like closing apps from the multitasking interface and screen rotation lock, two goodies that we’re sure Windows Phone fans are excited to finally be receiving.

September 7, 2013
Microsoft Awarded $14.5 Million In Patent Case Against Motorola

A federal jury late Wednesday backed Microsoft Corp. in a dispute over Motorola Mobility’s licensing of so-called standard, essential patents used in Microsoft products.

In the second of two trials in federal court in Seattle, the jury agreed with Microsoft’s claim that phone maker Motorola, owned by Google Inc,, broke agreements with standard-setting bodies to license certain patents at a fair and reasonable rate, according to Microsoft.

The case revolves around patents owned by Motorola on the 802.11 wireless technology standard and the H.264 video compression. These technologies are used in numerous devices, including Microsoft’s Xbox game consoles. It is common business practice to pay patent owners a licensing fee in order to use the said patents, but it seems that the two tech giants couldn’t see eye to eye on just how much money is really involved.

In 2010, Microsoft filed a lawsuit against Motorola, claiming that the now Google-owned company is charging excessive licensing fees that could reach up to $4 billion per year. While Microsoft has no qualms about paying royalty fees, it could not agree to Motorola’s demand to be paid 2.25 percent of profits from Microsoft’s products using the said patents.

The jury awarded Microsoft about $14 million in damages, Microsoft said, about half what the company had asked for. That consisted of $11 million for the costs of relocating a warehouse in Germany due to an injunction on certain Microsoft products brought by Motorola in that country, and about $3 million in legal fees for fighting that injunction.

“This is a landmark win for all who want products that are affordable and work well together,” Microsoft said in a statement.

September 5, 2013
Screenshot Of 1080p Windows Phone 8 UI Leaks

Evleaks has today added fuel to the Windows Phone GDR3 1080p HD support rumours with a leaked screenshot from the Nokia “bandit” device. The image is 1080×1920, a resolution Windows Phone does not currently support, but it’s reported to be from the Lumia 1520 “phablet”, possibly packing GDR3.

The image shared by @evleaks this morning shows a Windows Phone start screen with an extra Live Tile column than the Windows Phone 8 layout that we’re accustomed to. That extra column enables users will be able to place a large Live Tile and medium Live Tile right next to one another without issue.

The leaked screen shot also reveals what appears to be a new application called Story Teller.

It is expected that larger “Phablet” style Windows Phone devices will be released soon, with Nokia supposedly working on a device which will be called a Lumia 1520 which will have a 6 inch screen with a resolution of 1080×1920. this has apparently been codenamed “Bandit” which you can see below.

The rumour mill has suggested that Nokia is planning to hold an event on Sept. 26 that will be used to show off the Bandit as well as a new Windows RT-powered tablet. There’s no word yet on when either device might arrive on store shelves.

September 3, 2013
Here is Why Microsoft’s Buying Nokia

Microsoft and Nokia have been strategic partners for the manufacture of Windows Phone devices for a couple of years. Microsoft helped the company bail out of its financial woes when Nokia took 1 Billion USD to exclusively manufacture Windows Phone devices and drop plans to make devices on Android, Symbian and Meego. Microsoft’s acquisition of Nokia comes in after the successful transition of Motorola into Google, for the company may be a proud owner of a high tech manufacturing brand. Such an acquisition will enable Microsoft to manufacture devices as per their own set norms and create benchmarks for other partners. Along with the hardware and services Microsoft will also become the owner of a wide array of patents and licenses that Nokia owns, one of which earns US $ 1 for every iPhone sold.

Microsoft puts it out there, the company claims that buying a manufacturer like Nokia will enable Microsoft to deliver a

“first-rate Microsoft phone experience for users”.

Microsoft has been trying to be a hardware manufacturer in the past few years, as it attempted with the “bust” Windows RT and 8 based Surface Tablets, the Acquisition of Nokia could lead to new Hardware under the Microsoft name in the mobility segment. What the future of the once world leader in Mobile telephone will be post the acquisition is unknown, but we hope that this does not pan out similar to the HP – Palm acquisition, which ended the life of a very innovative company.

Microsoft could easily be blamed for this acquisition as well, 3 years ago Nokia was valued at well over US $ 25 Billion, Microsoft’s so called “Strategic Partnership” basically ended the marketshare that Nokia had enjoyed in the good old days of Symbian and S40. Analysts claim, if Nokia had stuck to new operating systems like Meego and relatively young Android ( at the time), the company would have prospered and would have been close to the likes of Samsung and Apple in number of movements.

Today Nokia heavily depends on its feature-phone sales for its revenues, and in a global world where the 100$ smartphone is overtaking the 100$ feature phone, Nokia may have realized the limited lifecycle it had left.

Microsoft is no stranger to takeovers, and with many a past companies under its sleeve, Nokia would be more of a trophy, just so the execs at Redmond can say “Hey, We manufacture our own phones! Just like Apple and Google.”

Microsoft really has an opportunity, with the vast array of designers and young minds at Nokia, years of experience and a complete team of experts in mobility, maybe the top brass at Microsoft will be more open to world changing ideas, than they were back at Nokia. Heck in 2006 a fully capacitive touchscreen phone was rejected within the Finland HQ at Nokia stating that the world was not ready for a full touch phone. In 2007 June, the iPhone was launched, Nokia couldn’t have been more wrong.

September 3, 2013
Nokia CEO Stephen Elop, Stepping Down Because Of The Upcoming Transition

Microsoft’s Acquisition of Nokia Devices and Services will also result in the end of tenure for Nokia CEO Stephen Elop. After the completion of the deal, CEO Stephen Elop is to step down to become Executive VP of Devices & Services, and should join Microsoft (If he choses to do so).

The shift in rank should minimize any perceived conflict of interest during Elop’s transition: Nokia says.

Chairman of the Board Risto Siilasmaa will assume an interim CEO position while the company looks for a permanent replacement for Elop. Meanwhile, key Nokia executives Jo Harlow, Chris Weber, Juha Putkiranta and Timo Toikkanen are also expected to follow Elop to Microsoft, Executive VP of Design Marko Ahtisaari plans to step down on November 1st, and will leave the company on November 30th to once more become an entrepreneur. Having said that, Microsoft is getting most of the cellphone industry’s better known leaders all together, should they head down Google-rola’s Path.

September 3, 2013
Xbox One Voice Commands Won’t Work For Everyone

After slashing the number of countries getting the Xbox One this year to just 13, Microsoft’s website shows that voice command for the Xbox One will only be available at launch in five countries – the US, UK, Canada, France and Germany.

As Videogamer spotted, the Xbox One website’s footnote reads: “Xbox voice commands will not be available in all markets on the product release date. Voice commands will be available at launch in US, UK, CA, FR, and DE.”

Microsoft’s tiny disclaimer doesn’t explain why the limited launch of voice interaction is necessary, but it might be related to the voice localization issues that previously resulted in delays for eight other European countries. Although, it could also be server load or production volume related.

Microsoft at E3 demonstrated how the Xbox One can be turned on by simply saying, “Xbox on”. And while Microsoft has since stepped back a bit from the lofty aspirations it carried into E3, there’s no question that voice controls feature largely in its plans for the future of the console. In fact, the Xbox One “Get the Facts” page specifically states that “advanced voice and motion control open up new game experiences like never before,” and that it can be turned on, off and controlled in various ways using voice commands.

While the Xbox One will still be usable in all of its launch markets, players simply won’t get a reaction if they buy the console from outside of the five supported regions.

Hindi voice commands soon please!

August 30, 2013
Skype Developing 3D Video Calls

Skype has said that it has developed a method for making 3-D video calls–but is being held back by the tech found in consumer devices.

Microsoft’s corporate vice-president for Skype, Mark Gillett, told the BBC this week that the company had recently achieved the futuristic-sounding scenario in a lab, although it could be many years before the technology is rolled out to businesses.

“We’ve done work in the labs looking at the capability of 3D-screens and 3D-capture,” Gillet said.

“We’ve seen a lot of progress in screens and a lot of people now buy TVs and computer monitors that are capable of delivering a 3D image, but the capture devices are not yet there. As we work with that kind of technology you have to add multiple cameras to your computer, precisely calibrate them and point them at the right angle.

“We have it in the lab, we know how to make it work and we’re looking at the ecosystem of devices and their capability to support it in order to make a decision when we might think about bringing something like that to market.”

That might even be a barrier to ever seeing 3D video over Skype, as technology manufacturers might decide that there is not enough interest in the format.

Gillett also told BBC that Skype will likely offer 1080p ”super-high definition” video call resolution to devices other than the upcoming Xbox One.

August 29, 2013
Xbox One At Gamescom 2013

Xbox One claims a new generation of gaming and entertainment and to push the boundaries of realism. With Xbox One, you can quickly jump from TV to movies to music to a game. Just with the sound of your voice says Microsoft.

Xbox One is said to be the perfect balance of power and performance. In addition to Xbox One’s architecture, the combination of its CPU, GPU and ESRAM is made to give users the best experience like having a supercomputer in your living room claims the company.

There’s been 50 games announced for the console so far, 23 of which will be available at launch. The other ones includes titles like Watch Dogs, Dead Rising 3, Battlefield 4, Call of Duty: Ghosts, Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag, Killer Instinct and Ryse: Son of Rome.

Few more include games from Electronic Arts(EA), 2014 editions of Madden, NBA Live and FIFA. For starters, EA has confirmed that you’ll be able to carry over a season from current-generation consoles to next-generation and Microsoft has announced that all consoles pre-ordered in Europe will include a free copy of the game.

Xbox One consoles require the Kinect motion controller to be plugged in at all times. However, that’s not deterring the company’s plans to keep the Kinect a mandatory addition to any future console bundles.

“Xbox One is Kinect. They are not separate systems. An Xbox One has chips, it has memory, it has Blu-ray, it has Kinect, it has a controller. These are all part of the platform ecosystem,” Phil Harrison, a Microsoft corporate vice president said in response to a question on whether or not the Xbox One will ever be sold without the Kinect.

What will be your choice, the PlayStation 4 or the Xbox one ? Both are said to be available in the month of November.

August 23, 2013
Microsoft Issues Apology And Explaination For Outlook Outage

During this week, Outlook.com suffered from an outage causing users to not be able to read their emails nor could they retrieve their files stored on Microsoft’s SkyDrive service. Today, Microsoft has offered an apology and an explanation on why this outage happened.

The company posted a message on its service status page to describe the problems, explaining that it was all just a glitch caused by a caching service.

Here’s the full message posted by Microsoft on the recent Outlook.com outage:

“This incident was a result of a failure in a caching service that interfaces with devices using Exchange ActiveSync, including most smart phones. The failure caused these devices to receive an error and continuously try to connect to our service.

This resulted in a flood of traffic that our services did not handle properly, with the effect that some customers were unable to access their Outlook.com email and unable to share their SkyDrive files via email.

In order to stabilize the overall email service, we temporarily blocked access via Exchange ActiveSync. This allowed us to restore access to Outlook.com via the web and restore the sharing features of SkyDrive. These parts of the service were fully stabilized within a few hours of the initial incident.

A significant backlog of Exchange ActiveSync requests accumulated as we worked to stabilize access. To avoid another flood of traffic, we needed to restore access to Exchange ActiveSync slowly, which meant that some customers remained impacted for a longer period of time.”

Microsoft has also decided that it’s the time to issue an apology for all its users, as many have turned to the company’s support forums to express their frustration regarding the outage.

“We want to apologize to everyone who was affected by the outage, and we appreciate the patience you have shown us as we worked through the issues,” it said.

Microsoft admits it has learnt from the incident and has made two changes to the networks.

August 19, 2013
Halo: Spartan Assault Is Now Available For All Windows Phone 8 Users

Microsoft has released Halo: Spartan Assault for all Windows Phone 8 owners in the US. The company made the title available for Windows 8 and Windows Phone 8 devices worldwide back in July, but there was a catch in the US, where Verizon took over the initial distribution rights to leave AT&T and T-Mobile customers facing a wait.

Halo: Spartan Assault

Halo: Spartan Assault is a big deal for Microsoft as it is the first time that its renowned Halo franchise has been released for mobile devices. The company and its partners like Nokia will hope that the game provides another factor to persuade consumers to purchase a Windows Phone 8-powered device.

[youtube id=”BxsYQtltOco#at=30″ width=”100%” height=”300px”]

Halo: Spartan Assault game is priced at $6.99 and requires 1GB of RAM for installation. It’s been well received, to date, and includes 25 new missions for Halo enthusiasts to get their teeth into, although the most dedicated fans outside of the US have probably already done so.

We will have to wait and see if and when this game will make its way to India. Also, we will have to see if this step by Microsoft will help them to increase sales for Windows Phones. Recently Windows store reached more than 1,00,00 apps, which means Nokia and Microsoft are working hard for making Windows Phones considered in the ‘Best Sellers’ list.

[via]

August 19, 2013
Confirmed : Windows 8.1 Will Launch On October 17th, Free For Existing Users

Microsoft has just made Windows 8.1 release date official, and it is right on schedule for the operating system’s one-year anniversary.

Windows 8.1, a free upgrade to existing users, will be available on October 17th digitally, and for purchase in stores on October 18th.

As we reported yesterday, preview of the first major update to operating system has been available since June, and Microsoft is said to be now testing near-final versions of new OS.

Windows 8.1 includes a number of concessions for desktop users, as well as new features for the modern interface. Users will be able to boot straight to the desktop, disable modern-style “hot corners” and access key desktop functions by right-clicking on the newly-restored Start button. The modern interface includes major improvements to built-in apps, the ability to use three apps side-by-side, overhauled Bing search and more. The net effect is that it’s easier to stay on the desktop if you want, but not unthinkable to switch to the modern UI.

We already know that the upgraded operating system Windows 8.1 will run Internet Explorer 11, the new version of the web browser which Microsoft have claimed is “fast, fluid and perfect for touch,” providing “the best web experience across the full range of Windows devices and screen sizes”.

Windows 8.1 will also allow users to circumvent the ‘Live tile’ interface built for touch screens and go directly to the desktop mode. And there will be direct support for 3D printers – signalling a hope that the new technology will become mainstream in the near future.

A number of tutorials and explanatory menus will be added to the operating system, Microsoft said, to help users adjust to the updates.

August 14, 2013
Report : Windows 8.1 Will Launch In October

The latest version of Microsoft Windows, Windows 8.1, will not be available to the public until October, according to reports.

A preview of the first major update to operating system has been available since June, and Microsoft is said to be now testing near-final versions of new OS.

Windows 8.1 includes a number of concessions for desktop users, as well as new features for the modern interface. Users will be able to boot straight to the desktop, disable modern-style “hot corners” and access key desktop functions by right-clicking on the newly-restored Start button. The modern interface includes major improvements to built-in apps, the ability to use three apps side-by-side, overhauled Bing search and more. The net effect is that it’s easier to stay on the desktop if you want, but not unthinkable to switch to the modern UI.

We already know that the upgraded operating system Windows 8.1 will run Internet Explorer 11, the new version of the web browser which Microsoft have claimed is “fast, fluid and perfect for touch,” providing “the best web experience across the full range of Windows devices and screen sizes”.

Windows 8.1 will also allow users to circumvent the ‘Live tile’ interface built for touch screens and go directly to the desktop mode. And there will be direct support for 3D printers – signalling a hope that the new technology will become mainstream in the near future.

A number of tutorials and explanatory menus will be added to the operating system, Microsoft said, to help users adjust to the updates.

[Via]

August 13, 2013