Tag Archives: Microsoft

Bing for Android Update Utilizes HTML5 [Video]

Posted by on November 4, 2011 No comments

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Video: Bing for Mobile Goes HTML5

While I’m not a huge fan of Bing, I felt the need to check it out after Microsoft spent some time highlighting the changes they’ve made to the experience. Their Android and iOS applications have been overhauled to make extensive use of HTML5 for several reasons.

Their aim is to create a unified experience for both platforms (and presumably more in the future, including their own Windows Phone 7) so that no matter which device you happen to be using the “Bing experience” will always remain the same.

HTML5 also gives them the ability to update their application and servers without the user needing to head to the Android market. We imagine the only time they’d need to issue an update is for a security patch, a bug fix or a new feature or two that ties into the OS.

The technology, HTML5, is great, but in this day and age I still prefer a native application. After using the new version of Bing, I could tell it wasn’t quite as “snappy” or “fluid” as some apps are when their UI elements are not being rendered in webview.

Even then, Bing’s new app was still friendly to touch and it’s exciting to see how HTML5 will help their service evolve in the near future. Find the application in the Android market here and check out the video highlighting all the new changes above or over at Microsoft’s site.

Nokia CEO Stephen Elop Mentions Tablet Opportunities in Recent Interview

Posted by on November 3, 2011 1 comment

During an interview with Bloomberg this week, Nokia CEO Stephen Elop mentioned tablets among the future plans of the Finnish company he runs. We remind you that Elop is a former Microsoft executive and it wouldn’t surprise me if Nokia decided in the future to also launch a Windows 8 tablet.

Keep in mind that Elop only mentioned “a tablet opportunity coming” and didn’t say that Nokia is making a device of this kind. He also didn’t deny it, but was keen on remind everyone that the company hasn’t announced plans to create a slate. Considering Windows 8′s debut is a long way to go, why rush the process and tease everyone like this? Keeping in mind the recent Windows Phone unveiling of the Lumia 800 and Lumia 710 handsets, Nokia and Microsoft showed that they can work together, although product differentiation from other makers seems non existing at this moment…

Nokia also has to be cautious right now, so they won’t make the same mistake they did with the Booklet 3G netbook, that failed miserably. The problem here is that iOS and Android are pretty much ruling the tablet segment and Microsoft is predicted to only get about 10% of this market with Win 8 in the following years. Is a Nokia tablet worth the risk?


Productivity and Interfaces of the 2030s Detailed in Microsoft Office Concept Clip (Video)

Posted by on October 29, 2011 1 comment

The Microsoft Office section at MS drew up a very nice clip that shows us how we could work in 20 years from now… Everything becomes a touchscreen, especially if it’s made of glass… since it can host the interface of all the computers that will be all over the world by then.

We can see cloud solutions in actions, tablets and phones syncing, 3D projections on PCs and laptops and much, much more. All coffee tables will provide experiences similar to the one of Microsoft Surface, while sharing via social network will be easier than ever. 3D graphics and cooperation modes with the 3D faces of your co workers in other countries are all available now.

You’ll even interact with holograms and interact with the cloud data floating around you. Everything will be tagged, QR coded and whatnot… This world sounds scary, a bit like Minority Report, but Microsoft shows us the gentle face of evolution here. I’d hate to see the bad one…


VIDEO: Microsoft’s vision of the future

Posted by on October 27, 2011 6 comments

Incredible ideas for tomorrow and beyond
VIDEO: Microsoft's vision of the future. Phones, Tablets, Videos, Microsoft 0

If you liked Corning's A Day Made of Glass video, then you're going to love this vision of the future from Microsoft Office.

Using ideas based on real technologies, Microsoft Office's president Kurt DelBene explains:

"Some of the capabilities, such as speech recognition, real time collaboration and data visualisation already exist today. Others are not yet available in specific products, but represent active research and development happening at Microsoft and other companies.

"Watch this video to see how we see technology moving from a passive tool to a more active assistant, helping us get things done, and strengthening our interactions with one another.

"Information can be interacted with and manipulated using touch and voice commands to create beautiful and useful documents. Better decisions can be made faster with information that is contextually relevant to where you are and what you are doing."

We particularly love the 3D, bezel-less smartphones (although we're not too sure about the Health app), the augmented reality taxi windows and the see-through fridge.

Mind blowing stuff, we're sure you'll agree.

Read

Tags: Phones Tablets Videos Microsoft

VIDEO: Microsoft's vision of the future originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Thu, 27 Oct 2011 16:44:34 +0100

Steve Jobs and Co Made the iPad to Spite Microsoft

Posted by on October 27, 2011 No comments

The iPad is considered the tablet that made this device segment trendy, but it appears that the reason behind its creation is rather… puerile. It appears that one loud mouth Microsoft employee praising a Windows tablet over dinner made Steve Jobs angry and he decided to show MS what a real tablet is.

Of course, this was mentioned in Walter Isaacson’s Steve Jobs biography, that appeared in stores recently and has been very discussed on the interwebs. British paper The Daily Mail says that it was a dinner that marked the debut of the iPad concept. There was a Microsoft employee praising a future tablet and revealing secret from the company, while repeating how great the product is. Finally, this became so annoying, that Jobs decided to turn his own vision of a tablet into reality.

For starters, Jobs criticized the use of a stylus in this contraption and decided to get rid of it. After the dinner and the bragging Microsoft employee, the Apple CEO went straight to the office the next day and gathered his team in order to create a killer tablet. The stylus and keyboard were dismissed right from the start and this is how the iPad was born, now reaching almost 40 million units sold since 2009…


Millennial: Android Doubles iOS Impressions

Posted by on October 25, 2011 6 comments

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While Millennial is far from the end all be all in OS market share, it’s always interesting to see how Android web usage grows over time and how its numbers stack up to more elaborate figures. They found that Android is now doubling iOS in impressions with 56% to 28%.

It’s in line with reports from major analytics firms, having Android steadily outpacing iOS along with other competition. RIM was third with 17% and, as expected, Microsoft and Symbian both had 1% each. We’re kind of disappointed they weren’t wrapped up into the “other” category.

As for devices, Millennial is a bit misleading here. They have the “Apple iPhone” leading the pack with roughly 12%, though they’re likely encompassing all iPhone devices into one. We suspect they did the same for the Optimus series and the Motorola DROID series.

From there, the breakdown would probably look a lot more even. Apple also led OEMs overall with 23% while Samsung, HTC, RIM, Motorola and LG trailed with 16%, 15%, 11%, 10% and 9%, respectively. You can find more visuals at the link ahead. [Millennial]

Compal Latest Android Manufacturer to Sign Licensing Deal with Microsoft

Posted by on October 24, 2011 No comments

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While Apple is bent on destroying Android and its partners through a series of systematic lawsuits, Microsoft has been taking a slightly different, more profitable approach. Concerning their own patents, Bill Gates’ crew has been busy working out licensing deals with various manufacturers. The latest to agree to a percentage with Microsoft is Compal, maker of tablets, ereaders and smartphones, according to a press release issued yesterday. The agreement also covers Google’s other OS, Chrome. The amount MS will be payed per device has not been disclosed, but as we have learned in the past the sums are adding up for the computer giant. Microsoft has also mentioned that they are now making money on more than 53% of all Android phones sold. [Microsoft]

Windows 8 Optimization for Tablets Detailed by Microsoft Team (Video)

Posted by on October 23, 2011 No comments

If you’ve had doubts about the use of Windows 8 in portrait mode on a tablet, especially with that split keyboard, Microsoft reassures us that the experience is actually nice. Full details are available in the video below, through a video demonstration.

Microsoft is aware of the issues it has and that’s why the video below popped up, showing the next generation operating system’s way of handling portrait and landscape operations. Windows 8 is basically all about landscape and you shouldn’t have much to do with it in portrait mode, but if that occasion arises, MS is ready to give you a proper experience.

The Windows 8 devs are working on creating a stable rotation mechanism, to avoid accidental rotations that happen when you make a light tilt of the device without meaning to change orientation. The solution is simple here: a hardware orientation lock. The same team is working on a variety of screen aspect ratios, like 4:3 and 16:9, for better experience and viewing on all of these.

More details are to be found in this clip, but I have to say that I’m not yet convinced:


Microsoft Said to be Bringing Native Hotmail App for Android

Posted by on October 3, 2011 No comments

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Microsoft made some major announcements pertaining to their Hotmail email service today. Most of it had to do with the addition of features to the web version, but they apparently mentioned that they’d be bringing a native Android app. The link Engadget referenced did not mention this and we couldn’t find the application in the Android market as of the time of this writing. We’ll be trying to get more word from Microsoft, but in the meantime we’re curious: who here still uses Hotmail? Don’t be shy – we won’t laugh at you. Maybe.

[Update]: It was in the Market all along, but under SEVEN’s name. They’re boasting this as the only official Hotmail app so we’re betting this is it. Go ahead and grab it here.

Microsoft Could Earn $444 Million on Android Licenses this Year

Posted by on September 29, 2011 1 comment

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The analysts at Goldman Sachs have crunched some numbers following the recent licensing deal between Microsoft and Samsung and projects the computer software giant will receive some $444 million in fees from Android manufacturers this fiscal year. The firm concluded that Microsoft receives a $3-$6 cut on every device sold by companies including HTC among others. It is unclear if Microsoft still stands to earn more on Android than they do through sales of their own Windows Phone 7 platform, but the $444 million they will take in amounts to mere chump change compared to expected revenues of $75 billion.

[via BusinessInsider]