Tag: Microsoft

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Microsoft Doubles Quarterly Surface Sales, Moves 9.3 Million Lumias

Microsoft CEO Satya NadellaDuring their earnings call, Microsoft had some good news for their hardware divisions.

Redmond managed to more than double their revenue on the Surface line up of tablets, reaching $908 million over last quarter’s $400 million. Lumias also had their best quarter yet moving 9.3 million phones, built largely on the popularity of low cost handsets. In all the Devices and Consumer Hardware division revenue grew 47% over last quarter to $10.96 billion.

However, following restructuring costs and Nokia’s hardware integration, Microsoft’s stock is down $0.11 a share.

While it’s not earth shaking news, it is positive growth, and any positive traction in this market means we’ll be seeing more competition moving forward. Fingers crossed this means we’ll see new Microsoft Branded Lumia phones sooner rather than later.

Microsoft Earnings Report

microsoft earnings

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Verizon to Retire Lumia Icon Eight Months After Release?

nokia lumia icon rear panel long term review somegadgetguyA frustrating development for Windows Phone fans on Big Red. It looks like VZW is pulling the plug on the Lumia Icon only eight months after the phone was launched.

Internationally known as the Lumia 930, Verizon was the exclusive carrier to offer it here in the United States. While the rest of the world has officially been updated with Windows Phone 8.1 and Nokia’s Cyan software, the Icon has languished under Verizon’s ultra-strict and very slow upgrade approval process. Galaxy Nexus owners likely understand the frustration of watching the rest of the software world pass you by.

Now with word from @VZWSupport on Twitter, that the Icon is retired, it seems even less likely that there will be an official 8.1 update for the Icon. I also doubt that we’ll see a 930 variant arrive on any of the other carrier with AT&T focusing on launching their HTC One W8 and the Lumia 830 mid-ranger. As it pertains to Windows Phone, T-Mobile largely seems content at the entry level with the Lumia 635.

Very frustrating indeed as the Lumia Icon/930 is a solid flagship phone, but all smartphones are only as good as their support, and this move removes one of the precious few options for a WP flagship here in the States…

(via WPCentral)

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Will Nokia End HERE Maps Support for Windows Phone?

wp_ss_20140925_0001When Microsoft acquired Nokia’s hardware division, they did not get all of Nokia’s assets. One team to remain under the Nokia badge was the HERE mapping division, and it’s quickly become a favorite of Windows Phone users, bringing terrific turn-by-turn directions and downloadable maps to Microsoft’s ecosystem.

Reported today by The Next Web, a Nokia Executive Sean Fernback was quoted in regards to future HERE development:

“today we still maintain the [HERE] Windows Phone apps, it has our brand on it so we need to look after it, although we’re not particularly investing in them at the moment, that could still change. With the Nokia X program, we were authorized to continue to work on it until about now really, but that work is about to cease. I think there have been a number of different programmes that have continued through the year onto different platforms, but now it’s just going to focus on the two – Android and iOS.”

We’ve known that HERE Maps would be making a transition to Android, specifically on Samsung devices, and it would make sense that the team would be turning more resources to the newer (and larger) platforms. HERE Maps is not leaving Windows Phone, but for fans of Microsoft’s OS (and ostensibly Nokia’s hardware) a reduction in support could be a worrying proposition. There are already precious few outlets developing for the WP platform.

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Review: Lumia 635 – Two Weeks with Nokia’s Inexpensive Fantastic

Playing with phones like the 635, it further reinforces my belief that the flagship phone market is maturing and plateauing. The exciting growth for manufacturers will be at the entry level. This little Lumia shows us how far we can stretch a dollar with few compromises. Let’s take a look!

Shop the Lumia 635 on AT&T!
Shop the Lumia 635 on T-Mobile!

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CTIA 2014 First Look – Nokia Lumia 830, Lumia 730, and Green Lumia 1520

After being announced at IFA, Nokia dropped a pair of new mid-ranger Windows Phones. Let’s take a quick look at the Lumia 730 and Lumia 830. Plus I finally got to see the Hulk green Lumia 1520 in the flesh!

Review: Nokia Lumia 635 – An incredible bang for buck!

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Pro Tips: How I would fix the cameras on Nokia Smartphones (Post Cyan Update)

The cameras found on Nokia flagship phones are certainly formidable, but no gadget is perfect, and there’s ALWAYS room for improvement.

Here’s how I (and others who have commented on this blog) would tinker with Nokia’s camera software.

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Verizon Shows Off HTC One M8 for Windows in Teaser Video

The phone is real. The phone looks good. The name is still kinda dumb.

Sorry Big Red, I just can’t bring myself to call this “The HTC One M8 for Windows”. I mean “HTC One M8” is already clunky enough, but “For Windows”? FOR Windows??? It makes the phone sound like an accessory FOR a Windows PC. Even “With Windows” sounds better. From here on out I will now be referring to HTC phones as the M8 and W8. No more “One” this and “For” that.

That said, the W8 looks like a great crossover to the Microsoft side of the fence. HTC’s build quality is second to none, and the changes made to the Windows Phone OS (allowing manufacturers to more easily swap over Android hardware) appear to be working.

Plus, many of the apps developed by HTC already have that modern minimalist look, which should help them blend in with Live Tiles. Blinkfeed for example already looks like a Metro app.

Lastly, it’s just nice to see another company giving Nokia a little competition in this space as we wait to see if Microsoft and Samsung will ever settle their licensing squabbling.

We’re you considering switching to a Windows Phone? Does an HTC W8 sweeten the deal for you? Drop us a comment! And catch Verizon’s teaser vid below.

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Windows Phone 8.1 Pushing to AT&T Lumia 1020 Smartphones

Still the best camera on any smartphone to date, and if you’re on Big Blue you’ll probably find a nice little surprise in your system settings. The official WP8.1 + Nokia Cyan update should be ready for you to download and install!

Following the 1520, 925, and 520 this update offers up all the fun goodies we’ve been playing with like Cortana, the new Word Flow Keyboard, and new homescreen customization options for Live Tiles. You can see our in depth review of WP8.1 below, with AT&T’s full press release below that.

Continue reading “Windows Phone 8.1 Pushing to AT&T Lumia 1020 Smartphones”

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