Microsoft Surface 2 LTE Officially Announced for AT&T
***UPDATE***
Confirmed from NVIDIA PR, the Surface 2 will continue to use a Tegra 4 chipset paired with the NVIDIA i500 LTE modem.
***Original Article***
No big surprise that this guy is on the way, but Microsoft officially took the wraps off of the long rumored Surface 2 tablet with LTE. We now have pricing and availability info.
Headed for AT&T’s LTE network, the Surface 2 LTE is pretty much the same beast we’ve come to know over the last several months, only now you’ll have broadband data anywhere you have 4G reception. It’ll be available starting tomorrow, and will retail for $679. This $230 premium over the base model also includes twice the storage (64GB). What isn’t explicitly mentioned however, is if Microsoft will be sticking with the Tegra 4 chipset, or the more common Qualcomm 800 which is also utilized in the LTE enabled Nokia Lumia 2520.
Always exciting seeing a few more premium tablet offerings with LTE. Microsoft’s full press release is below.
Related:
Nokia Lumia 2520 vs Microsoft Surface 2
Continue reading “Microsoft Surface 2 LTE Officially Announced for AT&T”
Playstation 4 Price Rising to $449 in Canada Starting Today
In an odd response to “changing market conditions” Sony is bumping up the price of the PS4 console, Playstation Camera, and the Dualshock 4 controller.
Starting today, the PS4 will jump $50, from $399 to $449, the Dualshock and Camera now retail for $64.99, and games will also increase in price by about $10 over USA prices.
This move makes sense to a degree as the current exchange rate puts the Canadian dollar at around 90 American cents, which would bring the price difference pretty close to that rate adjustment, as $399 USA is about $443 Canadian at the time of this posting.
As a platform strategy however, the timing on this increase is tricky. Sony still enjoys a sales lead, but rival Microsoft has been chipping away at that, and currently has no plans to raise the price of the XBox One which remains at $499 in Canada. Sony’s bump here brings the stock PS4 (without a camera) to within $50 of the XBox which includes the Kinect camera and tracking system.
Consoles exist to move software however, and Microsoft is only adding a $5 premium to their games up north, largely eroding the cost advantage Sony enjoyed when you factor in a console, and additional controller, and actually buying a game to play on that new system.
NPD sales data for February showed Microsoft selling just over 90% of what Sony moved over the same time period, and we’re about to see the impact of Titanfall, which has all the buzz and momentum of being the first true “Next Gen” hit. It’s impossible to declare any kind of “winner” this early into the console life cycle, but thankfully the competition is about to get a lot more interesting.
Nokia Shows Off Lumia Icon Smartphone, coming to Verizon February 20th
It’s official! The next Lumia headed to VZW will be branded “Icon” instead of some string of numbers.
Icon looks to bridge some of the new high power internals found on Nokia’s 1520 phablet with a slightly more phone-like form factor. The 5″ OLED screen is 1080p, and it’s packing the Qualcomm 800 quad-core we’ve all come to know and love in our high end phones. 32GB of storage will be on board with 2GB of RAM to keep all your apps fed. Best of all, Icon retains internal wireless charging based on the Qi standard, so no futzing with sleds or cases.
For you A/V freaks, the 20MP shooter from the 1520 will make another appearance, as will the high fidelity quad microphone array which allows for incredible sound and solid noise reduction on your videos.
Bridging the boxy design of the Lumia 928 with a slimmer Aluminum build and curved glass, it’s an attractive piece. Not as curvy as the phones we’ve used on AT&T, but distinctive and modern.
The phone will drop on February 20th for $199.99 with a two year agreement. Purchasing before March 16 will also get you a free wireless charging dock.
More info on Nokia’s site, or see their teaser vid below!
Windows Phone 8.1: Better file management, Universal Apps, and New Notifcations
Windows Phone is growing up fast.
Details on the new SDK for Windows Phone 8.1 have leaked on Reddit, and Twitter user @AngelWZR has posted screen shots from the developer emulator showing all kinds of fun new features for Microsoft’s phone update.
Highlights include fixes for my top two gripes! Windows Phone will now have separate volume controls for media and alerts. It’s can be a painful experience listening to music and then having an email alert go off on your headphones.
We’ll also see radically improved file management in WP8.1. As it stands now, WP8 handles files much like the iPhone does. You don’t really have access to one central app where you can see file location. Now, like on Windows 8 and RT, WP8.1 will allow the new OneDrive app to manage cloud storage and local storage. We’ll also see improved support for memory cards, support app installation on removable media.
We’ll also see significant improvements to other services like NFC, screen sharing on TV’s, and WP8.1 will allow for 3rd party messaging apps. Alongside improvements to the actual phone OS, Microsoft is pushing forward with universal app support, so new apps being developed can work on both Windows Phone and the Metro interface for Windows 8. We knew this synergy was coming with the future Threshold update, but it’s exciting seeing pieces falling into place now. Right now apps don’t travel between phone, tablet, and computer, and I don’t want to have to buy Halo multiple times to play it on all of my various screens.
Best of all, Microsoft has stated that all WP8 phones will be eligible for the 8.1 update. This is a great step forward for the platform, as even the most entry-level phones like the Lumia 520 should be able to benefit from some of these updates.
The actual 8.1 update is rumored to arrive in April, which means we could see much stronger competition from this third place platform later in the year. See some more screenshots of WP8.1 in action below!
It’s a Cloud Services World. We just pretend it’s about the hardware…
We all like to speculate about what’s coming down the pipe, what “THE FUTURE” will look like. One thing is becoming abundantly clear however, a good chunk of what’s coming is going to be delivered via networked, over the air, services. AKA The Cloud.
I know, shocking revelation. I’m sure none of you saw that coming, which is why it’s a good thing you read this blog, as I’m pretty terrific at delivering the obvious. All joking aside, we’re seeing some pretty exciting trends, and a few concerning ones.
Storage & File Delivery
This was essentially a proof of concept that basic data intensive services could work online. Putting larger files onto a server for easier delivery than email or “sneaker-net” style solutions. From YouSendIt to DropBox and everything else in between, we’ve flirted with the cloud primarily to sync and share information. It’s only been recently that data networks have gotten robust enough to offer…
Media Services
We’ve had Youtube for about nine years now. It’s made such a profound impact that it’s difficult to remember the internet without it. Of course, the push for HD video, and then competing services like Netflix and Hulu, really took hold over the last couple years. Online streaming radio is hot right now, and improved sharing and creation tools have lead to…
Collaborative Services
It’s not enough that we can upload a document. Multiple people can now work on it at the same time instead of emailing revisions back and forth. It’s not enough that I can vlog in front of a webcam, I can now broadcast to a live audience with multiple participants and have that automatically added to my Youtube channel.
So What Comes Next? Continue reading “It’s a Cloud Services World. We just pretend it’s about the hardware…”
Microsoft Offering Free Nokia Lumia 1020 or 1520 with iPhone 4 or Galaxy S2 Trade in!
Here’s the scoop.
Trade in an iPhone 4, 4S, or a Galaxy S2 in good working condition.
Sign up for a new two year agreement on AT&T.
Walk out with either a Lumia 1020 or Lumia 1520 for free.
But seriously, if you were shopping a new phone, and were considering a Windows Phone, you can pick between the best smartphone camera on the market, or one of the best phablets available. All you have to do is turn over a phone which was likely destined for a recycling center.
Full details on the Microsoft Offers page!
(via Baran Gercek, Analie Cruz)
Long Term Review: Samsung ATIV S Neo on AT&T – 2 Months with a Non-Nokia Windows Phone…
I’m a fan of Windows Phone, but I’ve primarily used Nokia devices.
My one other experience with a Samsung WP was decent enough, so I felt it was time to revisit them with the ATIV S Neo on AT&T. I really wanted to give the phone a fair shake, and see if I liked Windows Phone, or if I just liked Nokia hardware.
The grand experiment. It didn’t go so well…