Tag: windows 10

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Lenovo Intros Thinkpad X1 YOGA with OLED Screen

Lenovo has been a longtime champion of multi-mode computing for Windows portables, and their Yoga line is their most visible product demonstrating a mix of laptop and tablet features.

Unveiling a new Thinkpad at CES, the X1 Yoga builds on their history of ultra-thin laptops, while adding their signature 360 degree screen hinge, and featuring the first OLED display in a convertible computer. I’ve been a long time fan of OLED displays on phones, as you get intense contrast, inky blacks, and vibrant colors. Happily at this 13″ screen size, the X1 Yoga will be arriving with a Quad HD screen, a resolution of 2560 x 1440.

Expect business grade build quality, powered by an Intel Core (up to i7 vPro) with options for up to 16GB of RAM and 1TB of storage when it’s released later this year.

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Lenovo Announces New Multi-Mode Thinkpad Mobile Workstations: P40 Yoga and P50

The Thinkpad name has a reputation for business grade computing solutions. Tough build quality and solid tech guts. Lenovo took the wraps off of their newest mobile solutions at the Autodesk University Conference in Vegas, announcing a new Yoga and the Thinkpad P50.

Thinkpad P40 Yoga

Lenovo ThinkPad P40 Yoga_8 Onscreen

There are a couple different lines of Yoga between tablets and consumer laptops, but the Thinkpad variant looks like it’ll be a flexible beast with Milspec build ruggedness for travelers and a locking keyboard for when the Yoga is in tablet mode. Continue reading “Lenovo Announces New Multi-Mode Thinkpad Mobile Workstations: P40 Yoga and P50”

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Microsoft Unveils New Surface Pro 4, Lumia Phones, and Surface Book Multi-Mode Laptop in NYC

Sitting second row for Microsoft’s unveiling of their new hardware line up, the WiFi is already slaughtered, and cell phone networks are melting down. It’s frustrating being detached from the wider social media world, but the buzz surrounding this event makes sense. Microsoft has never put together such a complete line up of products and services to show off before.

Chatting with others around me, everyone seems to be here for a different product category. Lumia fans, Surface fans, XBox Fans, Band fans, Microsoft has a lot riding on bringing these various teams together. Not just internally, as their company wide reorganization seems to be working, and we’ve recently seen a bit more product synergy between departments which used to feud. We’re looking at a company now trying to bring their diverse customer base together. Taking individuals who might turn to Microsoft for a single service or solution, and exposing them to a more comprehensive ecosystem.

They’ve made a lot of progress recently in re-establishing their reputation as a services company, providing apps on every platform. That doesn’t unseat the need for Microsoft and partners to find opportunities to continue pressuring the hardware market. While Windows is the dominate force in PC sales, they represent a much smaller slice of the mobile market. The timing on this event actually works in their favor, as tablet sales for Android and iOS are starting to cool off, Windows slates are in a good spot for consumers to replace both laptops and tablets with a single purchase. To continue moving towards one unified operating system environment, Windows needs to blur the lines between phones and tablets, as much as they did between tablets and PC’s.

One of the first major announcements to follow that theme came from Facebook, building out a new suite of universal apps for the entire Windows 10 platform. Continue reading “Microsoft Unveils New Surface Pro 4, Lumia Phones, and Surface Book Multi-Mode Laptop in NYC”

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SomeGadgetGuy in NYC! Let’s Talk New Microsoft Hardware!

I’ve been blasting it all over social media. While I’m trying to keep my expectations in check, I’m really looking forward to Microsoft’s announcements tomorrow, where the company is expected to take the wraps off of a new Surface Pro, and where we fans of Windows powered phones will finally get some new flagship devices.

lumia 950 leaked photo

Specs have already leaked for the forthcoming Lumia 950 and 950XL, and from a hardware perspective they look like they’ll be competitive handsets with some novel new tech features.

Most interesting to me, will be how this Lumia team has refined the camera experience. It was the old Nokia devices group that ushered in an era of crazy high quality optics and larger sensors on our phones. Nokia was years ahead of the curve there, but manufacturers like LG and Samsung have largely caught up to older devices like the Lumia 1520 and 930 (which I’ve brought along to help cover this event).

lumia 1520 and 930

For my money, the camera battle between the Lumia 950 and the LG V10 is shaping up to be the most brutal as LG is working on improving their audio, and providing manual controls for shooting video, both areas where older Windows Phones still compete really well.

I’m also very curious to see how Microsoft will address mobile security. More Android devices are following behind the iPhone in offering up a smooth fingerprint scanning solution for unlocking phones and initiating mobile payments. The rumors on the 950 don’t show a fingerprint scanner on board, but instead the Lumia will be offering up an iris scanner. While other phones have flirted with using the front camera to unlock a device based on your face, we haven’t yet heard of anything as sophisticated as examining the iris of your eye. Whether this will be used solely for unlocking the device, or if we’ll see it utilized for some form of mobile payments will be closely examined.

And of course, I’m always going to be interested in seeing what Microsoft does with the Surface. As this division has become a billion dollar brand all by itself, the Pro 3 was a very well received product. Will the Pro 4 be a spec bump and minor refinement, or does Microsoft have something craftier up their sleeves?

I’ve only been on the ground here in NYC for about an hour, and we’ll be getting the official answer to all of those questions tomorrow morning! Now I’ve got to hunt down a good slice of pizza!

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Apple iPad Pro: Is it really a Surface Pro Killer?

Tech comparisons often fall into confirmation bias, telling people what they want to hear. Let’s get my personal bias out of the way right now. I’m a big fan of Microsoft’s current strategy of consolidating their operating systems under Windows 10, and making sure you can access all of their services no matter which phone, tablet, or computer you use.

Apple keynote wwdc 2015Screenshot (26)_resultApple made a lot of news yesterday announcing new iPhones, a new Apple TV, Apple Watch updates, and the iPad Pro. It seems pretty clear that Apple has the Surface Pro in their sites, as Microsoft is starting to build a little momentum with their “PC in a Tablet Shell” formula. There was a lot of talk from Apple over how their new tablets and phones were “desktop powerful” devices thanks to new mobile processors.

Pricing, form factor, accessories, even the apps showcased, Apple claims they have the solution for mobile productivity. How does their new iPad Pro compare to the older Surface Pro 3? Let’s take a look.

Continue reading “Apple iPad Pro: Is it really a Surface Pro Killer?”

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The Windows 10 Review – Should You Upgrade Your PC?

It’s time to review Windows 10! Microsoft’s newest OS had a very public run in its Preview BETA form, but now the official release is here! Let’s kick the tires and take it for a spin!

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Microsoft Laying off 7800 Employees, Streamlining Phone Portfolio

Rumors have been swirling that a Microsoft phone shakeup was in the works. Recently sparked by internal discussion of “touch choices” facing Microsoft, and how the CEO Satya Nadella might completely scrap the Windows Phone line of products to focus on moving Microsoft apps to iOS and Android.

For fans of Live Tiles, thankfully that doesn’t seem to be the case in light of a new employee memo from Nadella.

Microsoft will be moving forward with new phone hardware, but will be reducing the number of offerings. The Lumia line is kind of a mess leading up to the release of Windows 10. Currently consumers can pick from 400, 500, 600, 700, 800, 900, 1300, and 1500 series phones made within the last year. It’s a confusing collection with lots of product overlap.

In the near term, we will run a more effective phone portfolio, with better products and speed to market given the recently formed Windows and Devices Group. We plan to narrow our focus to three customer segments where we can make unique contributions and where we can differentiate through the combination of our hardware and software. We’ll bring business customers the best management, security and productivity experiences they need; value phone buyers the communications services they want; and Windows fans the flagship devices they’ll love.
-CEO Satya Nadella

This year we got an early glimpse at the future of this strategy with the entry level Lumia 640 and 640XL. Now it seems very likely we’ll see Microsoft whittle down this collection to six individual phones. Entry level, mid-range, and flagship. At each of those three tiers we’ll probably see a “normal” sized phone and a “phablet” with the XL designation.

Though industry layoffs are always  a sad story, fans of the platform can certainly benefit from more focus. You can read Nadella’s full email below.

Continue reading “Microsoft Laying off 7800 Employees, Streamlining Phone Portfolio”

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Microsoft: Windows 10 Available Starting July 29th

Here it comes folks!

Microsoft has officially announced that Windows 10 will be available for consumers starting July 29th. Cortana, a new browser called “Edge”, Continuum, new photo and Office apps will all be available for free for people on Windows 7 and Windows 8 PC’s.

We can also expect to see new hardware running Windows 10, and many have their fingers crossed for new Windows Phones to be launched at the same time.

You can read Microsoft’s full press release below.

Continue reading “Microsoft: Windows 10 Available Starting July 29th”

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