Microsoft has released preview version of its Remote Desktop app for the recently announced Windows Phone 8.1. The company had launched the Remote desktop app on Android and iOS in October last year. It allows users to control your PC from a Windows Phone device while on the go, but it requires Windows Phone 8.1 that is currently available only for developers.
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Microsoft India has partnered with HP and Pearson to launch a new tablet for college going students. Aiming at students from engineering and management streams, the tablet is powered by Windows 8.1 and dubbed as HP Omni 10.
The long drawn affair of Nokia’s sale to Microsoft will finally come to a close on 25th April. Having received the go ahead from all regulatory bodies, the company today announced that the transaction will finally be completed on 25th April when Nokia Oy will be rebranded as Microsoft Mobile Oyj. The acquisition is meant to help Microsoft have a stronger foothold in the mobile space and to help push adoption of Windows Phone running devices. As is evident, it is also a push towards using Microsoft services which was also seen on the Android based Nokia X. Continue reading “Nokia to complete it’s sale to Microsoft on 25th April”
Following the completion of Microsoft’s acquisition of Nokia, the Finnish company will be renamed as Microsoft Mobile Oy. Multiple sources have confirmed that the name change may be in effect as soon as end of April if the transaction completes within the estimated time frame. Continue reading “Nokia Oyj to be rebranded as Microsoft Mobile Oy”
Google Play Store allows developers to respond to the reviews and feedbacks of the users on their applications in the Play Store and soon, Microsoft will be doing the same. Microsoft had recently announced that it will let developers respond to user reviews and feedbacks.
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Just after rolling out the Windows Phone 8.1 Developer Preview, universal Windows apps, the key factor Microsoft aims to attract developers with, are already starting to show up on the store. Microsoft announced this new addition, along with several other enhancements to the developer side of things on Windows Phone, in a blog post today. Developers can now link their Windows Phone apps and Windows apps, as Microsoft has unified the Store front on both the platforms, with the same pricing and even streamlined in-app purchases. Apple has been allowing universal apps between the two form factors iOS is based on, but Microsoft is taking it to another level with support for all of its consumer platforms that occupy a wide range of form factors, from phones to tablets to desktops and even its Xbox gaming console on a TV.
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As promised, Microsoft has initiated the Developer Preview program today, for its latest and greatest mobile operating system, Windows Phone 8.1. Touting a new virtual assistant, tile backgrounds and a lot more, the update is now available for download as a part of the enthusiast program that officially started with the GDR3 update for Windows Phone 8. Microsoft had its grand reveal of the newest operating system at the Build developers conference, with them showing off all the new features in a lengthy keynote. The highlight was, of course, Cortana, the new virtual assistant that provides a combination of functionality from Apple’s Siri and Google’s own Voice and contextual assistant.
Continue reading “Windows Phone 8.1 Developer Preview Update is now live”
The acquisition of Nokia’s Device and Services division by Microsoft which was announced on 3rd September 2013 has been long due to the long winded regulatory approval process in major markets. Today, the company has announced that it has received said approval from the Ministry of Commerce of the People’s Republic of China. Continue reading “Nokia receives regulatory approval in China for transfer of Device & Services division to Microsoft”
Earlier this year, Apple introduced CarPlay as iOS for cars and now, Microsoft has demoed its concept for Windows in the car. At the BUILD conference which was held in San Francisco, Microsoft demoed the concept for its Windows in the car. Over years, Microsoft has been powering the entertainment systems in various cars from manufacturers like Ford, Kia, BMW, Fiat and Nissan. They have used their own UI so far and now, as a goal of unifying the Windows experience across platforms, Microsoft is bringing the “Metro” look to the car dashboard.
Microsoft had released Microsoft Office applications – Word, Excel and PowerPoint on the Apple app store just ahead of their Build conference and now, within just a week after launch, according to Microsoft, there have been 12 million downloads of its apps. That shows the immense popularity for Microsoft apps. The apps are free to download, but they are free only for viewing the files. In order to be able to edit files on the iPad, you should have subscription for Microsoft Office which will cost you $99 per annum.
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Itching to get your hands on the latest build of Windows Phone 8.1 and really don’t want to wait till your carrier pushes out the update? Microsoft has made it easy for you. Starting April 14th, you’ll be able to download the update as a preview release. Continue reading “Windows Phone 8.1 update to be available as developer preview starting April 14th”
Among the myriad of announcements Microsoft made at its Build 2014 keynote is one small but highly important detail. With the Windows Phone 8.1 operating system moving to a WinRT layer, all the Microsoft platforms now run on the same runtime, which includes all the devices like a PC, a tablet, a phone, and yes, even the Xbox One. Powered by a common runtime, developers will be able to target all these devices with a shared set of code that will work across all the platforms, like for example notifications, in-app security and so forth. This also means that users can buy an app from one store and use it on another, although the interface will change according to the form factor.
Continue reading “Universal apps are coming to Windows on Phones, PCs, Tablets and Xbox”
Cortana, once popular for being Master Chief’s personal assistant, is now truly digital, as it takes the form of Windows Phone’s own virtual assistant. Cortana is Microsoft’s take on Siri and Google Now, currently the two popular voice assistants for iOS and Android respectively. While Siri took a more personal approach to an assistant, Google took it another way with contextual search and ambient presence, while Cortana is trying to marry the both. Powered by Bing’s neural networks, Cortana literally takes advantage of all the data mined over the search engine’s life time. And not only that, it will learn you like Google Now on actions and like Siri on personal detail, which makes it a decent competitor to Google.
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nX9P6skzZNU
Read more about Windows Phone 8.1 here
Continue reading “This is Cortana, Microsoft’s take on Siri and Google Now”
One of the more interesting announcements out of the BUILD conference today was Microsoft’s announcement to make Windows free for a whole host of devices. Traditionally OEMs have paid up to $15 per handset sold as licensing fee for Windows Phone 8. This has proven to be a hindrance in the growth of the operating system especially in the lower segment. With cost sensitive players like Micromax getting on board the Windows Phone bandwagon, this move makes all the more sense. Continue reading “Microsoft to make Windows free for devices with screens under 9 inches”
Micromax, one of the top smartphone players in the Indian market, was rumoured to get into the Windows Phone game for a long time. We had expected the name to pop up when Microsoft announced new partners in India like Xolo, Lava and Karbonn, but it didn’t until now, when Microsoft revealed additional two partners, Micromax and Prestigio, at their Build 2014 keynote. Micromax now joins a big list of partners who are committed to bring Windows Phone 8.1 devices into the market. Bringing a seismic change of sorts to the ecosystem, the Windows Phone 8.1 update enables better hardware compatibility, with which a reference device from Qualcomm was developed. Adding on-screen button support and increased chipset compatibility has enabled players like Micromax to join the Windows Phone ecosystem.
Continue reading “Micromax joins the Windows Phone party, devices coming soon”
