Jun 21, 2012 | Uncategorized
Microsoft has announced a ton of mobile information over this week including the great new tablet called the surface. Which so far by all accounts looks amazing. Well Microsoft did not want you to forget that they are still in the phone business. They showed off the new Windows phone 8 and it also had some impressive features to it. The first thing is that the phone will support dual and quad core processors. This is something that some phones have a problem with even though they have the same type of technology. So the software of Windows 8 will be able to utilize the power of all the cores. There will also be a wallet hub, better Skype integration and of course they have made the phone easier for developers to develop on it. The development part is a big deal because not only will developers be able to make games for the phone but they can also develop for the PC windows 8 platform for even more integration. So that is just a small taste of what the Microsoft has in store for the Windows Phone 8.
Jun 20, 2012 | Uncategorized
As I spoke about on Monday there was speculation on what Microsoft had planned for later in the day. Well it looks like the initial reports are true to form and Microsoft has confirmed the Surface tablet. But this is not just a tablet but it is said to be a full on PC. There will be two different types of surfaces to choose from:
Windows RT is the lightweight option, both physically and spec-wise.
? 676g
? 9.33 mm thick
? 10.6″ ClearType HD DIsplay
? 31.5 Wh battery
? microSD, USB 2.0, Micro HD Video
? Office Home & Student 2013 RT, Touch Cover, Type Cover
? 32 GB, 64 GB
Windows 8 Pro, is the obvious pro option, and is touted as a “full PC.” It comes with a heftier weight (and, we can assume, a heftier pricetag too):
? 903 g
? 13.5 mm thick
? 10.6″ ClearType Full HD Display
? 42 Wh battery
? microSDXC, USB 3.0, Mini DisplayPort Video,
? Touch Cover, Type Cover, Pen with Palm Block
? 64 GB, 128 GB
Microsoft Surface comes with a sturdy, integrated kickstand and a SmartCover-esque cover that features a fully functioning keyboard with a trackpad. It connects with a “single magnetic click” that’ll make it easy to swap out (or just take off, if you’d rather). “I can touch type on this as fast as I can type on any keyboard,” said Microsoft’s Michael Angiulo. Touch Cover comes in five colors - black, red, blue, and pink.
Surface also comes with two cameras, called “LifeCams.” The rear-facing camera is angled so when positioned on a kickstand, it can still record meetings with ease. The only thing we still don?t know is pricing. Since Microsoft says this is a computer tablet and not just a tablet we have to think these will be around $800-$1000 but that could truly price them out if they are looking to be direct completion with Apple and the iPads.
Jun 19, 2012 | Uncategorized
If you are a Verizon Fios customer it looks like you will have some changes coming down the pipeline for you high speed internet service. What this new set of internet speeds will do is double the speeds that Verizon has already had except for the entry level which will stay at the 15/5 speeds. These speeds can even be acquired without a bundle but bundling will still be available. Now the price ranges from $65 to $175 a month except for the massive 300MB down/ 65MB up speeds which will only be on its own for $210 a month. Luckily if you have the pleasure of already owning the service you will get the upgrade without paying an upgrade fee to get the new service but may have to pay an extra $10 to $15 a month depending on any changes you may make with your bundle. What would you do with all of that upload and download speeds?
Jun 18, 2012 | Uncategorized
Over the weekend speculation has run a muck about what Microsoft will be announcing today. Even on this blog I spoke about the chance of Microsoft getting into the tablet hardware game to truly face off with the giant that is Apple. Well it looks like it is partly true. Microsoft seems to be working with the makers of the Nook tablet Barnes & Nobles. The most noted speculation is the fact they will be announcing a tablet that will be the first non xbox360 hardware to stream Xbox Live. With announcement of SmartGlass at E3 there is no surprise Microsoft would work with a tablet company to incorporate Xbox Live. Even though Microsoft said smart glass uses you current tablet and smartphone. Right now we don’t even know the place the event will take place. All we know at the moment is that it will take place 3:30pm PST. The place will be announced around 10am PST. So today all shall be revealed. What do you think it will be?
Jun 17, 2012 | Uncategorized
Carat is a nice new app from some fine people over at UC Berkeley?s electrical engineering and computer science departments. This isn?t just an app killer thought, it tells you how much battery life can be saved by shutting down apps and can give you personalized battery life saving recommendations.
Carat breaks down recommendations into two categories, bugs and hogs. These are just labels and aren?t meant to say anything on the bugs or hogs is anything to be scared of because usually they are not. The bugs are usually apps that sap much more power from you than everyone else because they may be malfunctioning so Carat will tell you to restart or redownload them. An example that was given is an app that would not use a lot of power but was trying to activate the GPS on the phone over and over again. Hogs are apps that are just made to use tons of power or are just running in the background doing nothing special for you such as a streaming music player that is off but still running.
Here are just a few things that have been learned by using the Carat app:
? In an initial test with just 100 users, it found 35 apps with energy bugs proving how badly users and developers need Carat?s data.
? Carat has since found thousands of instances of these energy bugs on devices in the wild
? Skype, Yelp, and Pandora are some of the most popular energy hogs. They?re not necessarily inefficient, they just require more power than most apps and might be the best to temporarily kill off.
Jun 16, 2012 | Uncategorized
From what I have been reading Microsoft is getting into the area of hardware with tablets. Yes they are looking to go head to head with the iPad. They are set to show off a tablet by next week that will be their own branded product. There is even talks that June 18 there will be a meeting held around 3:30 in which a major announcement will be made and the speculation is the branded tablet. The rumors are this tablet will run on Windows RT which is a version of Windows 8 but will run on the ARM microprocessors. With the power and the brand power of the XBOX 360 Microsoft feels confident they can make a strong tablet that will run just as well as Apple?s iPad. The real question now is can they dethrone Apple as they did when they got into the gaming console market and removed Sony from the top of the hill?
