Microsoft announced Sunday evening that it was going to be launching its new streaming music service, Xbox Music, in the coming weeks. The move will pit Microsoft directly against Spotify, RDIO, and even iTunes.
Xbox Music will debut on — what else — the Xbox, and then roll out to Windows 8 and Windows Phone 8 devices as they become available later this month. Microsoft says it's also working on iOS and Android clients...
As Microsoft gears up to launch Windows 8 later this month, arguably the most important software release in Redmond's history, first television commercials have surfaced, revealing how the company will communicate the benefits of its first touch-focused operating system to the general public.
Windows 8 has a new tile-based interface consistent with the Metro design language, can run both legacy apps and those optimized for the touch interface, includes a digital store akin to the Mac App Store, features a unified kernel and scales up from the tiniest to the biggest screens and much more.
True to its form, Microsoft plans to offer Windows 8 in a bunch of flavors, including ARM and x86-based tablet versions, Windows Phone 8 for smartphones and standard desktop and server versions. Three more ads are right below the fold...
Samsung took the stage today at the annual IFA show in Berlin, Germany to unveil a slew of new devices. The keynote was the first in a long line of scheduled product announcements leading up to Apple's September 12 iPhone event.
Among the new gadgets Samsung debuted this morning was the long-rumored Galaxy Note II. The device follows up a fairly successful Galaxy Note, which had the internals of a smartphone and the form factor of a mini tablet.
And now, it's even bigger...
In a surprising reversal of its position on competition related to the Surface tablet, Microsoft admits in an annual report its tablet competes with PC makers after all, going as far to note that the Surface might even hurt Windows 8 sales. Redmond has been criticized a lot for entering the hardware game to compete with vendors who make various Windows devices.
PC makers are unable to compete with Microsoft on level ground because their already thin margins are stretched even thinner as they must pay license fees to Microsoft to use Windows 8 on tablets, an added cost that makes their gadgets more expensive...
A certain theme entitled Metroon has garnered all types of publicity from outlets that normally don't cover jailbreak apps, tweaks, or themes. Perhaps that has a little to do with the fact that it's one of the first Windows 8 styled themes to appear on the iPhone?
At any rate, we've decided to take Metroon for a spin. What we found was a solid DreamBoard theme that will set you back $1.50 on Cydia's ModMyi repo. But is it deserving of the hype?
Microsoft's boss Steve Ballmer just announced during his keynote talk at the Worldwide Partner Conference that Redmond has acquired touchscreen technology company Perceptive Pixel for an undisclosed sum. The company already makes a monstrous 82-inch multitouch surface that runs Windows 8.
We also know Steve Ballmer has an 80-inch Windows 8 tablet of sorts hung on the wall of his office. This acquisition of a hardware vendor that makes Gargantuan multitouch displays is another indication that Microsoft is now becoming a hardware vendor. But there's more to this acquisition than meets the eye...
When Microsoft out of the blue announced on Monday it was entering the tablet race with its own Surface-branded product, many industry watchers and, more importantly, Microsoft's hardware partners were taken aback and left scratching their head.
Just what the hell Redmond thinks it's doing, many OEMs now wonder. Aggressive pricing (think $199 or below) is seen as key to Surface's chance of success and OEMs can't exactly compete with Microsoft on level ground because their already thin margins are stretched even thinner as they pay license fees to Microsoft to use Windows on tablets.
But Microsoft may not be in it for the money or hardware sales, warns Acer founder Stan Shih who has commented that the Surface is just a ploy to drum up excitement and drive Windows 8 adoption...
We had a hunch that Microsoft's media event today would have something to do with a tablet, and it looks like we were right. The Windows-makers have just unveiled a new slate called the Microsoft Surface.
Described as a "tablet that's a great PC, and a PC that's a great tablet," the Surface looks to be much more than an iPad competitor. It has a 10.6-inch display, magnesium casing, and weighs in at just 1.5 pounds...
Microsoft summoned select members of the press for a media event tomorrow in Los Angeles.
The company is widely expected to respond to the iPad challenge by announcing its own tablet powered by the upcoming Windows 8 operating system.
We're wondering about your assessment of the situation: should Apple be worried or is it already too late for the Windows maker to make a substantial dent in the tablet space?
Seriously, Microsoft has plans to officially sell a whopping 80-inch tablet, their VP has confirmed. This beast of a 'tablet' is powered by Microsoft's upcoming Windows 8 operating system and is currently hung on the wall in CEO Steve Ballmer's office.
It's apparently become Ballmer's whiteboard, email and phone replacement and the company plans to market it for office use initially. No word on pricing or availability yet.
I'd sure love to have such a Minority Report-style display adorn my office walls. The closes thing to this outrageous display in the Apple world? That non-TV TV from Apple that Forrester dreamed up yesterday...