Category: Microsoft

Rumor: HTC to unveil Windows Phone 8 devices in late September

In less than four weeks Nokia is going to hold their annual “Nokia World” event where it’s widely expected that the Finnish handset maker will unveil devices running Microsoft’s Windows Phone 8 operating system. According to a report from the Chinese website WPDang, HTC is also going to show off some Windows Phone 8 hardware, though obviously not at Nokia’s event. They say HTC will hold two events, one in New York, the other in London, during the third week of September. At said events they’re going to show off between one and three Windows Phone 8 devices. Continue reading “Rumor: HTC to unveil Windows Phone 8 devices in late September”

List of Windows Phone 8 Bluetooth profiles revealed

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.

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Microsoft renames Windows Phone Marketplace to Windows Phone Store

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.

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Microsoft and Sharp enter licensing deal to use exFAT file system in Android devices

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.


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Micromax Superfone Infinity A80 with 2500 mAh battery now available in India for Rs. 8,490

Micromax Superfone Infinity A80, its new phone in the Superfone series with a whopping 2500 mAh battery is now available from online retailer nCarry. This is their first phone in the Superfone series with the Marathon battery. It is a Dual-SIM phone that has 3.75-inch TFT Touch Screen display and is powered by 800 MHz Processor. It has 5MP camera with flash and a 0.3 MP front facing camera. It runs on Android 2.3 (Gingerbread). Continue reading “Micromax Superfone Infinity A80 with 2500 mAh battery now available in India for Rs. 8,490”

Windows Phone app store crosses 100,000 apps

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.

Video : Microsoft demos new Windows Phone 8 start screen

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.

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Current Windows Phone devices to get WP 7.8 update with new 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”

Microsoft announces Windows Phone 8, Details 8 major features

Microsoft just unveiled the latest version of its mobile operating system. Called Windows Phone 8, it brings sweeping changes to the OS leaving current users out of the party for the most part. We’ll be detailing the features coming to existing phones in a separate post but for now lets take a look at the features to be a part of the next gen OS.

Do note that this is not a complete list and Microsoft is still holding back some cards for closer to the launch.  Continue reading “Microsoft announces Windows Phone 8, Details 8 major features”

Comparison : Microsoft Surface Windows RT vs Surface Windows 8 Pro

Microsoft today announced its first series of self manufactured tablets under the name of Surface. They bring in unique hardware features like an inbuilt kickstand and a high end Magnesium casing. Two separate models will be available at launch. While one will run on Windows RT, the other is a full blown Intel tablet running on Windows 8 Pro.

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Microsoft Surface Tablet Video

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”

Microsoft announces 10.6″ Surface Tablet

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.

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Microsoft launches Photosynth panorama app for Windows Phone

Microsoft has launched the Photosynth app for Windows Phone devices. The Photosynth app lets you capture and share interactive panoramas in a full sphere, 360 degrees horizontally and vertically. It uses core stitching and blending algorithms developed by Microsoft Research. The app was launched for iPhone last April. Continue reading “Microsoft launches Photosynth panorama app for Windows Phone”

Facebook for Windows Phone gets updated to version 2.5

The Facebook app for Windows Phone has been under scrutiny due to the lack of several features compared to the iOS and Android counterparts. With the latest version 2.5 update , the app aims to bring it up to feature parity with the other platforms. The update brings many long requested features like threaded messaging and group messaging.

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Rumor : Office for iPad and Android to debut in November

After the purported leak of an iPad version of Office in February , rumors have existed that the extremely popular software might be making an appearance on tablets soon. Speaking to a source ,  BGR reports that long awaited app might be making its debut on both the iPad and Android tablets sometime in November.

Continue reading “Rumor : Office for iPad and Android to debut in November”