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File management sounds boring, but it’s a really big deal, giving us control over what pics, vids, and documents live on our phone and who we can share them with. It’s something Android users take for granted, and now Windows Phone owners have the same capabilities!
Best of all, for people using Nokia handsets, this Files app finally gives us access to the full resolution pictures on our phones to back up and share online!
At a press event in New York City today, CEO Satya Nadella discussed the company’s hardware strategy, emphasizing that Microsoft was not competing with their manufacturing partners, but using their hardware experiments to push the boundaries of their software and hardware integration.
Head of the Surface Team, Panos Panay took the stage with a couple quips regarding Microsoft’s press coverage in the past. Discussing the market, where 96% of tablet owners still own a laptop, Panay took the wraps off the Surface Pro 3. Featuring an even thinner design, 9.1mm almost 2 milimeters thinner than the Surface Pro 2, it’s the slimmest Core i7 product available. Microsoft estimates a 10% performance boost over the Pro 2.
The screen size has increased to a 12 inch diagonal with a new 3:2 aspect ratio and a proper 2K resolution of 2160×1440. All of this improvement without increasing weight, and Surface Pro 3 will come in at 800 grams. Yet we’ll likely see about a 10-20% improvement in battery life. Continue reading “Microsoft Shows Off New Surface Pro 3 Laptop/Tablet Hybrid PC”
Another sign that we might be getting close to the public release of Windows Phone 8.1, Microsoft has published a Help site for those curious about Cortana’s capabilities.
Divided into different sections, it’s a detailed overview of Cortana’s various features and what voice commands you can give her.
If you haven’t already updated your Windows Phone using the developer preview, you’ll be in for a treat soon. We have a full overview of WP8.1 below!
Before the Windows Phone 8.1 update goes live for all, it looks like Microsoft has a small update for folks running the Developer Preview.
There isn’t an official changelog, but Microsoft’s Windows Blog claims bug fixes and better battery life. A nice bit of polish as the phones I’ve run the Developer Preview on have all seen less run time since updating. Fingers crossed this handles background apps and multitasking slightly better as Battery Sense routinely tells me apps like Internet Explorer are running down battery. We can also hope this will clear up the issue some 1520 owners have complained about their devices not waking up quickly after the screen has been off for a while.
Following the update, we also saw some core apps had updates ready to go as well. Nokia Camera, XBox Music, Videos, and Games all had minor bug fixes rolling out.
If you’re rocking the Developer Preview, head to Settings and scroll down to Phone Update to get the latest and greatest. If you’re not running the Developer Preview, you can at least be sure that when the official update is released it will have been through quite a bit of trouble shooting.
They said it would never happen, but seeing as how even the release of Titanfall couldn’t help Microsoft close the gap on Sony PS4 sales, it would seem more drastic action was needed.
Announced via Youtube video today, Microsoft took the wraps off their plans to off consumers more pricing choices with an XBox One minus a Kinect smart camera. The reaction here has been mixed, as many early adopters were confident that there wouldn’t be a less expensive offering and ate the $100 difference between One and PS4. This also casts some doubt on what third party development there will be for the wunder-camera, if game devs don’t think every member of their audience will have one.
Does a $100 price drop (and lack of Kinect) change your mind about investing in the XBox ecosystem? Drop us a comment below!
Just a friendly reminder folks. This is the last week to use those terrific 3rd party Google Voice clients like MetroTalk on our Windows Phones.
Rumors are pointing towards merging Voice and Hangouts on Android handsets, but that’ll leave WP users out in the cold as there is no Hangouts app for people who happen to prefer Live Tiles.
Live it up. Send a few extra texts. Make a few more phone calls. In seven days the cord gets cut.
Nothing like waiting until the last minute right guys?
While Netflix had been a common talking point for illustrating the concept of Net Neutrality, pretty much any company doing business online should be interested in how bandwidth is regulated.
Now the big boys are starting to make a little noise. In a letter sent to the FCC yesterday, 150 companies including those listed in the title of this post, signed on in opposition to the FCC’s proposed “fast lane” rules. The proposed rules will allow carriers and ISP’s to negotiate separate deals with individual companies for consistent bandwidth.
The FCC will vote on the proposal in one week. If you’re interested in voicing your concerns to the FCC and your elected officials, we’ve put together a contact list here.
You can read the letter below.
Continue reading “Google, Microsoft, Amazon, Facebook and More Stand Against FCC Proposed Rules”
Posted to their Facebook page today, Microsoft will be giving away eight Windows Phones at each of their stores this May 3rd and 4th.
Details are a bit slim, but if you’re looking to score a free phone, it looks like you’ll be playing a game. We know it’s called the “Opportunity Rings, Answer It” game, but we don’t know how it’ll be played. We also don’t know what phones will be given away, and what carriers will be supported.
Still a free phone is a free phone, and if you live near a Microsoft store it might be worth the trek. A little additional info can be found on their Facebook event page. Good luck!