In love with the Surface pen? You're not the only one. Microsoft
confirmed on its Surface blog this morning that it acquired the
pen-sensing technology that helps power the Surface Pro 3 from the
company that created it, Israeli tech outfit N-trig. If you're the type
who pays attention to Israeli business newspapers, this whole thing
might not come as a shock - Calcalist reported earlier this year that Microsoft was eyeing N-trig for a full-on acquisition
that would see the company's 190 employees folded into the Microsoft
mothership at some point. That's not the case anymore, though: We've
been able to confirm the folks in Redmond just bought the technology,
and not the whole company.
So, aside from a little M&A
intrigue to spice up your Friday morning, what does this mean for you?
Well, the Surface Pen is one of those bits of the Surface experience
that seems totally extraneous at first, and then more-or-less lovely
after you've gotten to play with it. It's far from perfect -- N-trig's
pen ditched its predecessor's ability to erase stuff by flipping the
thing around -- but the purchase signals Microsoft's commitment to
making pen input something that could feasibly replace the traditional
thumb-punching and finger-poking touchscreens have attuned us too. It
shouldn't be long before we see some of N-trig's tech in action, either
Windows 10's launch is just over the horizon at this point and we
already know that some new Windows smartphones will play nice with pen
inputs thanks to a feature called DirectInk.
That we'll be able to write on a broad swath of new devices soon was
never a question, though there is one loose end we haven't been able to
tie up: What's going to happen to the rest of N-trig?
Since Patch Tuesday this past week, Microsoft has been receiving reports of severe system errors caused mby one or more of the updates. In response, the company has pulled
several updates from download channels and offered advice on how to
remove them. In one case, it recommends that users uninstall the update.
Updated on August 16: A Microsoft spokesperson tells
ZDNet "[w]e are aware of some issues related to the recent updates and
we are working on a fix."
Edward Langley at the Naked PowerShell Blog has written a series of PowerShell scripts to determine if any of the relevant updates are installed on a system.
The most severe case appears to be MS14-045 (Vulnerabilities
in Kernel-Mode Drivers Could Allow Elevation of Privilege). The
security advisory recommends that users uninstall that update.
Microsoft reports problems with three other updates and has pulled
them from download and provided uninstallation instructions, but has not
specifically recommended that users uninstall. Two of these are
non-security updates released on Tuesday. The third is a re-release
("Revision: 7.0") on Thursday, August 14 of an older update rollup for
Windows RT 8.1, Windows 8.1, and Windows Server 2012 R2; only metadata
was supposed to change in the new version and users who had previously
installed it did not need to reinstall.
A Knowledge Base article written for these problems (KB2982791) includes uninstallation instructions and lists three known issues. We list #3 first because it is the most severe:
Known issue 3:Microsoft is investigating behavior
in which systems may crash with a 0x50 Stop error message (bugcheck)
after any of the following updates are installed:
2982791 MS14-045: Description of the security update for kernel-mode drivers: August 12, 2014
2970228 Update to support the new currency symbol for the Russian ruble in Windows
2975719 August 2014 update rollup for Windows RT 8.1, Windows 8.1, and Windows Server 2012 R2
2975331 August 2014 update rollup for Windows RT, Windows 8, and Windows Server 2012
This condition may be persistent and may prevent the system from starting correctly.
Known issue 1: After you install this security
update, fonts that are installed in a location other than the default
fonts directory (%windir%\fonts\) cannot be changed when they are loaded
into any active session. Attempts to change, replace, or delete these
fonts will be blocked, and a "File in use" message will be presented.
Known issue 2: Microsoft is investigating behavior
in which fonts do not render correctly after any of the updates listed
above for known issue 3 are installed.
The uninstallation instructions are long and involved and are detailed in the Knowledge Base articles linked to above.
For all intents and purposes, the job cuts announced this past week by Microsoft should not have caught anyone by surprise. It is one of the first things to happen following a major merger.
The
announcements do not say outright, “…and with this merger, we will cut
X-number of jobs,” rather, the language is more nuanced, if not less
obvious, “…and with the efficiencies to be gained in this deal.”
It
stands to ask though if the cuts are being made in the right places,
however. Of the 18,000-ish jobs to be cut over the next year or so, a
full two-thirds of these “efficiencies” (or synergies, harmonization,
cost-savings – pick a nom de guerre for layoffs) will impact people who
were part of Nokia Devices and Services, which as we all know, was acquired by Microsoft.
That accounts for a little more than half of the employees who did a
veritable #maketheswitch (from Nokia to Microsoft, see what we did
there?).
It is times like this, it could be said, where it helps
to perhaps not attract attention to oneself while the final tally is
being run up of who to keep, and who to let go. Sadly, the trawler will
scoop up a lot of former Nokia positions no matter what people do. The
Microsoft employees have a different perspective. Movement attracts
the watching eye you see, and so if some folks remain very, very still…
The Week In Review is our series meant to recap all the major
announcements of the week, which you might have missed. Week 28 of 2014
wasn't as busy as the past few weeks, but it still brought us some cool
hardware and brought news of several major software updates.
The long rumored affordable flavor of the LG G3 flagship was made official this week. It is called LG G3 Beat
in the Asian markets and LG G3 S for the EU and CIS regions. The LG G3
Beat packs a 5" IPS HD display, runs on Snapdragon 400 chipset and
features an 8MP camera with laser-assisted auto-focus.
The design and software package remain identical with the LG G3,
while dual-SIM version will become available too. The LG G3 Beat is
already selling in South Korea, while it will hit the shelves soon in Europe at €349.
The owners of Windows Phone 8-based Nokia Lumia smartphones around
the world got a nice present to kick off their summer. The entire WP8
Lumia range, including the carrier-exclusive models, are now getting the Lumia Cyan update with the latest Windows Phone 8.1 OS.
It brings a plethora of new features and services, and everyone will be
happy to upgrade. The rollout is gradual, but hopefully everyone will
be running on Windows Phone 8.1 soon enough.
The Nokia X lineup wasn't as lucky though. Microsoft has decided to pull the plug on the project
and will lay off 18,000 workers throughout the next six months. It will
continue to support and sell the Nokia X and X2 and they will receive
more updates in the future, although we are doubtful many will be keen
on getting them now.
This week gave us a glimpse over the upcoming Huawei's Emotion 3.0 UI. It looks a lot like the iOS 7, but there is no word on its device availability yet.
Huawei Emotion UI 3.0
MediaTek has finally unveiled its anticipated MT6795 chipset
with octa-core 64-bit processor and LTE support. It supports 2K
displays, 120Hz screens, 1080p @480fps video recording and playback,
among others.
Apple iPhone 6 was in the news pretty much every day, as expected. First Amazon Japan confirmed its dimensions and availability. Then we heard news Apple is experiencing issues with the bigger 5.5" model and might not release it this year. The iPhone 6 is also tipped to come with an improved TouchID sensor, and while we knew already about the sapphire display, it may not be spread over all iPhone models. Finally, the case maker Spigen spilled the beans on the iPhone 6 design via a case listing.
Meanwhile Apple announced a partnership with IBM, which will target the enterprise market. You can learn more about the subject in our news.
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Microsoft Corp
intends to wind down Xbox Entertainment Studios, a source familiar with
its plans said, becoming the first major tech company to give up on
making original shows in a battle for the living room couch.
The production outfit's impending closure is part of a sweeping restructuring announced by the software giant on Thursday, which includes the largest single round of layoffs in the company's near-four-decade history.
The
studio, set up in 2012 under then-Chief Executive Officer Steve
Ballmer, said in April it had committed to several projects including
"Humans," a drama co-produced with UK broadcaster Channel 4, and "Halo,"
a digital feature based on the best-selling Xbox game.
Hollywood
director and producer Ridley Scott is making "Halo" and it will survive
the cutback, according to the source familiar with Microsoft's plans who
was not authorized to speak on the record.
Microsoft was among several tech companies that raced to add original TV-like content after the release in February 2013 of Netflix
Inc's "House of Cards," a political thriller that built buzz for
streaming video and earned the first Emmy nominations for a show
delivered exclusively online.
Many are soldiering on, vying to
dominate living rooms as video-streaming becomes an increasingly popular
option for household entertainment.
Amazon.com Inc
is preparing to release a second season of the John Goodman comedy
"Alpha House" and two other original series this year for Prime Instant
Video.
Hulu is adding to its original productions, which already
include supernatural comedy "Deadbeat" and upcoming reality satire "The
Hotwives of Orlando."
Yahoo and Sony Corp also remain in the game
and pitched advertisers in the spring on longer-form shows. Yahoo
recently picked up canceled NBC comedy "Community" for another season.
And Sony features Jerry Seinfeld in "Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee"
on its Crackle digital network.
Email is just about as old as networked computing itself. But 40
years later, the same basic technology still very much a part of our
online lives—and for good reason: It’s pretty darn useful. But email
also one of the most infuriating technologies we have, and one of these
days, we’re going to finally produce something that can make it
obsolete.
Some of tech’s best minds are hard at work on doing just that. But in
the meantime, we need more tools that can at least make email work a
bit better—email apps like Accompli and Dropbox’s Mailbox, or email analysis tools like Mailstrom and Sanebox that seek to better organize your messaging life.
The problem is that building these kinds of applications is much
harder than it should be. Our email technologies are just too old and
too limited. “A lot of that is because the underlying technology hasn’t
kept pace,” says ex-Dropbox engineer Michael Grinich. “Working with
email is super confusing and complicated for most developers.”
Christine Spang and Michael Grinich. Kavya Joshi
That’s why Grinich and fellow MIT alum Christine Spang built Inbox,
a software creation designed to make it much easier for developers to
build email-centric applications, whether they be new email clients or
something else entirely. This might include, say, an application that
spots an airline reservation in your messages and automatically adds it
to your online calendar. But the possibilities are limitless. By making
it easier to actually work with existing email technologies, they aim to
start an enormous new wave of applications, hoping that one of them
could someday solve the email problem once and for all.
By making it easier to actually work with existing email
technologies, they aim to start an enormous new wave of applications,
hoping that one of them could someday solve the email problem once and
for all.
One of the big reasons that email is so hard to work with is that one
of the most important protocols—IMAP, short for Internet Message Access
Protocol—can be implemented in many different ways. This means that if
you’re a developer trying to build a client that works with two
different email services, those services might be radically different
from each other, even if both ostensibly use the same standard. If you
want to build an email client, or any other application that directly
interfaces with an email server, you’ve got to be ready to support every
single different variation. To make matters worse, there are multiple
different ways to format emails and encode text. That means developers
who want to build email applications end up spending much of their time
building the most basic underlying code, and much less time actually
building the new features they want to enable.
Yes, we could fix the problem by creating a new standard for email.
But actually getting the world to adopt yet another new standard is
always a difficult task. “What developers need today isn’t a new
committee or a standards body,” Grinich says. “Developers need code. And
that’s what Inbox provides.” Inbox is a kind of like a universal
translator for email protocols and formats. It sits between your app and
an email server—or group of email servers—and translates the commands
that pass between them. At least that’s the plan. So far, the open
source version only works with Gmail and Yahoo Mail, but the team will
eventually handle other providers as well.
To make money, the company will offer an online version of its
tool—now available as a developer preview—that can plug into Microsoft’s
Exchange email server. But since the service’s underlying code is open
source and available on GitHub,
developers can also choose to host their own version of the Inbox on
their own computer servers. That also provides a nice hedge, in case
Inbox is ever acquired or shut down, though Grinich insists that won’t
happen any time soon. It also means that—unlike something like Google’s
new Gmail API, another tool that seeks to extend the scope of email—any
developer can contribute new code to Inbox, and extend its capabilities
even further.
Based on what we Microsoft watchers have heard (and seen), Microsoft was planning to roll out the ARM-based Surface Mini on May 20 as part of its latest Surface tablet launch. (Instead, the company launched a larger screen Intel-based Surface Pro 3 device.) Sources have said that CEO Satya Nadella, and possibly other Microsoft managers, decided at a relatively late hour against rolling out the Surface Mini.
Primarily because the touch-first "Gemini" apps for Windows 8.x were not yet ready. Without those apps, the Surface Mini wouldn't be all that compelling or differentiated, even though a touch-first/Windows Store version of OneNote is already available for the platform.
Has that situation changed since April/May?
Microsoft's Office team is still working on the touch-first version of Word, Excel, PowerPoint (and possibly Outlook) for Windows 8.x. But that suite is not yet available, not even as a public beta.
The rumored release date for touch-first Office for Windows is supposedly now some time around spring 2015.
My sources say that Microsoft has not tabled completely the idea of releasing a seven- or eight-inch Surface Mini tablet running Windows. But that Surface Mini tablet isn't likely to debut until some time in 2015 at the earliest, I hear.
I am definitely intrigued by the possibilities of a mini Surface with a pen. But I'm hearing I'll have to wait until next year to find out if such a device really will replace my paper notebook and ink pen....
Microsoft officials are not commenting on the latest Surface Mini rumors (@evleaks or mine). The closest thing to a comment I guess we will get is Microsoft Corporate Communications chief Frank Shaw's tweet today that said"Was there a 'crazy rumor day' declaration that I missed?"
What
is it about being a rich corporation? After the private jets and the
gleaming headquarters comes the new programming language. Now Apple has
followed in the path of Microsoft (C#), Sun (Java), and Google (Dart,
Go) to offer us Swift, a language with a C-like syntax and inferred
typing designed to make it easier for the average coder to start
building new software for the Mac and new apps for the iPhone.
While
it's never possible to overestimate the amount of hubris at Apple,
Swift is more than a vanity project to dictate how the world speaks a
computer version of the King's English, if you will. Apple's software
stack has been stuck with Objective-C since NeXT invaded the company,
and many neophytes find it a pain to untangle the pointers, the files
(both .m and .h), and the punctuation-rich syntax.
Apple
tried to update the language with a "modern syntax" in 1997, but the
masses refused to budge from the so-called classic syntax. Other
projects -- like adding Java bindings for the Cocoa libraries -- never
really stuck. Today, learning Objective-C is one of the biggest hurdles
to getting people to code for the Apple platforms.
The good news:
Swift will be a great gift for anyone longing to avoid the hackerish
brambles of Objective-C. Programmers who learned Java for AP Computer
Science, JavaScript to build Web pages, and Ruby to build websites will
find plenty that's familiar to them. Many of the rough spots such as the
multiple files and inheritance are smoothed over, and the punctuation
symbols are less dominant. There are also plenty of automated features,
including inferred typing and automatic reference counting that help the
compiler snag many of the programmer's potential bugs.
Why Swift? Some may wonder why Apple didn't embrace one of the many languages already on the market. JavaScript would be a good option
as the Web eats the world, but it doesn't offer all of the low-level
access to bytes that system programmers need to deliver the slick
interfaces that define the Apple experience. In any case, JavaScript
programmers are already using frameworks like PhoneGap/Cordova.
Other languages like Python or Ruby are well integrated with the Unix
back end, but they lack deep integration with the system software. The
best answer may be that Apple has made a huge investment in the Cocoa
layer, and Swift is the best way to preserve it while offering modern
conveniences.
The basic structure for a Swift program looks much
like Java. The code is broken into classes filled with fields and
methods. The most jarring difference is that the methods start with a
keyword (func) and the return value comes after the method
name, not before it. The classes can be aligned in a hierarchy with
plenty of inheritance for object-oriented code, and the properties can
be read with a dot syntax.
The Surface Pro 3: Microsoft finally figured out the optimal physical design.
Brooke Crothers/CNET The Surface Pro 3 is a vast improvement over the Pro 1 and 2 -- and that alone is huge.
Microsoft
nailed the physical design -- I knew that the first time I used a Pro 3
two weeks ago. And now that I have one (as of Friday), I can tell you
why. What follows are my initial impressions. A longer-term evaluation
will come later.
Note that I used both the Surface Pro and Surface Pro 2 extensively (one was sold, the other traded in). So, for the most part, this brief review (CNET's in-depth review is here) will contrast the Pro 3 with prior generations.
Display -- bigger is (much) better:
A12-inch display combined with a 3:2 aspect ratio makes -- at the risk
of sounding redundant -- a big difference. The previous 10.6-inch Pros
with their 16:9 aspect ratio made it hard to be productive. And I've
come to believe that bigger tablets
-- with roomier displays -- are definitely better than smaller ones.
Need a small tablet? Then get a large phone or a phablet.
To wit, I prefer the larger iPad Air
to the iPad Mini Retina, the larger Nexus 10 to the Nexus 7, and I
would take Samsung's 12.2-inch Galaxy Tab Pro over the smaller Galaxy
tablets. (And I now favor 14- and 13-inch laptops over the 11.6-inch
MacBook Air, which I used for a long time.)
Bye-bye, brick analogies: Weight
distribution is really important but rarely covered in reviews. The old
Pro compressed 2 pounds into a chassis built around a 10.6-inch
display. The Pro 3 spreads less weight (1.76 pounds) over a
wider/longer but thinner 12-inch-class chassis. Gone are the brick
analogies.
Bigger, better keyboard and touchpad: I'm typing now on the Pro 3's Type Cover
keyboard and it comes a lot closer to the 13-inch MacBook Pro Retina's
keyboard (which I also use) than the Pro 2's. This also fits into the
bigger-is-better theme: with a larger chassis, you get a more spacious
keyboard.
Ditto on the touchpad. It's not only larger but has
mechanical feedback (it clicks). Let me be blunt, the Pro 2's seemed
like a conspiracy to combine the worst aspects of a touchpad. Not only
was it too small, but because Microsoft matched it perfectly with the
surrounding fabric, it also vanished into the keyboard. I spent way too
much time just trying to find the damn thing.
Prettier too: I've had Surface 2 envy for a while. In other words, I liked the design of the Windows RT-based Surface 2
with its metallic-looking silver backside and slimmer profile but was
reluctant to buy a device that ran the unpopular RT operating system.
The Pro 3 matches the Surface 2's aesthetics -- and is just as thin,
runs Windows 8.1, and uses a speedy Intel Haswell processor, to boot.
MacBook Air as a yardstick:
I think Microsoft should probably tone down the ad campaign that
compares the Pro 3 to the MacBook Air. Too many people are wedded to
their Airs for reasons that the Pro 3 cannot improve on.
I
think, rather, it could be a better iPad Air. I use the Air a lot for
work when I'm on the road and my gut tells me that the Pro 3 could
replace it for the heavier lifting. There are some tasks that that Air
just can't handle (and, believe me, I've tried). And in this respect,
Microsoft may be ahead of Apple. Rumor has it that Apple is working on
a 12- or 13-inch class "iPad Pro"
and/or possibly a hybrid version (detachable keyboard?) of the MacBook
Air. Unless Apple comes up with some mind-blowing design, Redmond is
the trendsetter, not Cupertino.
In closing, let me say that though
first impressions count, they're not definitive. I will do a long-term
review after I've gotten to know the Pro 3's strengths and weaknesses
better.
It's thin! It's longer and wider but thinner and lighter. That makes a big difference.
Brooke Crothers/CNET
device at
the right time for the right job and I don't see Surface being right for
me at any time.
Today, we review LG's latest handset, gain insight into how
significantly the Kinect affects the Xbox One's performance, go hands-on
with Google's secretive 3D-mapping tablet and learned about the Samsung
Galaxy Tab 4 Nook. Read on for Engadget's news highlights from the last
24 hours.
The G3 may only look like it's made of metal, but we're not
holding any grudges. LG's 5.5-inch handset has 10-hour battery life and
top-shelf specs, not to mention the nicest display on the market.
Assuming it's not too pricey, the G3 could be one of the best Android
phones available.
Despite the fact that the One's Kinect has its own onboard processor, it apparently does weigh
the console down to some degree. Thanks to the June update, however,
developers can access "up to 10 percent additional GPU performance by
re-allocating a few resources.
Remember Google's sensor-loaded, 3D-mapping smartphone called Project
Tango? Well, today we went hands-on with its new tablet counterpart. And
yes, the slate is also replete with sensors and high-spec cameras.
We knew that Barnes & Noble was working with someone else to
develop future Nook devices, we just didn't know who. But today, the
company announced that it partnered with none other than Samsung to
develop the 7-inch Galaxy Tab 4 Nook, which will launch in August.
It's no secret that Barnes & Noble has been trying to save money
by offloading its tablet development efforts to someone else, but more
than a few people expected that "someone" to be Microsoft. Not quite.
The bookseller revealed today that its (first) tablet partner is none
other than Samsung, and that the 7-inch Galaxy Tab 4 Nook they've been
working on will launch in August. The impression that BN's statement
gives is that these aren't just existing Galaxy Tabs that ship with the
Nook app preinstalled, but we're digging further to see what exactly
sets this thing apart from the rest of Samsung's wares. For what it's
worth, BN hasn't completely given up on selling its own Nook
devices -- the existing Nook with GlowLight will still be on offer,
though we have to wonder how that might change if this mashup with
Samsung takes off.
Apple CEO Tim Cook on stage at the Apple World Wide Developers Conference in San Francisco, Calif., June 2, 2014.
While Tim Cook's WWDC keynote on Monday failed to deliver any of the hardware some WWDC attendees had hoped for, it packed the event with a wealth of major software announcements.
In fact, CEO Tim Cook
and senior vice president of software engineering Craig Federighi had
so much software news to present that some of the details were either
delivered too quickly for attendees to process — or are only just
becoming apparent now that developers have their hands on the beta
versions.
We looked into the dozens of new features packed into both OS X Yosemite and iOS 8, and compiled a list of the more interesting tweaks that weren't prominently highlighted during yesterday's presentation.
Safari Desktop Option
In iOS 8, the browser
will give you an option to see the desktop version of a website instead
of the mobile version, a handy tool already found on the iOS version of
the Chrome browser.
Wi-Fi Calling
T-Mobile has confirmed
that the ability to make calls over Wi-Fi only — even if you don't have
a cell signal — will be enabled on devices running the iOS 8 update.
Camera App
In iOS 8, after you tap the screen
to set the focus in the Camera app, you'll also have the ability to
adjust exposure using a tiny slider right next to the onscreen focus
icon. The updated app also includes a self-timer option, allowing you to
put yourself in the photos you're taking, as well as a time lapse
option that delivers a high speed compliment to the existing Slo-Mo
option.
Photo App
In the sharing panel in
the Photo app you'll be able to rearrange or disable the app icons and
rearrange the activities icons (such as Copy, slideshow, Assign
Contact). Also, the Panorama photo option will also be available on the
iPad.
Siri
The updated version of Siri
will integrate Shazam music recognition, giving you the ability to hear
a piece of music and say "What song is this?" and get an accurate
answer. After Siri delivers the answer, you're also presented with a
"buy" button, allowing you to purchase the song on iTunes.
And in case you missed it, Siri will offer hands-free functionality —
all you need to do to bring the assistant up in iOS8 is to say "hey,
Siri."
Messages
In Messages you'll have the ability to set how long you want to save your messages: forever, 30 days or one year.
Accessibility
The update will give
users the ability to apply a greyscale effect to the entire phone in the
Accessibility panel. Currently, the closest equivalent is the "Reduce
White Point" option. Zooming has been enhanced by a magnifying glass
option — one that effectively gives you a resizable virtual loupe you'll
be able to move across the screen.
Battery Usage
The updated OS will be able to show
you your current battery usage by individual app. The amount of energy
being used by each app is represented in number percentages. Battery
hogs beware.
Virtual Currencies Welcome
Although Bitcoin isn't specifically mentioned, Apple's updated developer guidelines
indicate that it plans to offer support for virtual currencies: "Apps
may facilitate transmission of approved virtual currencies provided that
they do so in compliance with all state and federal laws for the
territories in which the app functions."
Location-Based App Suggestions
Several users have reported
that in iOS 8, when you have Location Services enabled, apps on your
phone will be suggested on the lock screen via a tiny translucent
version of the app logo. For example, if you're near a Starbucks the
company's app may show up on your lock screen as an option.
OS X Yosemite
Bing Takes Over Spotlight
The new version of
Spotlight offers web search suggestions from Bing as the default instead
of Google, yet another subtle slap at Google as Apple
continues to divest itself of the search giant's influence. Despite the
fact that Google results still showed up in the iOS 8 version of
Spotlight at WWDC, a Microsoft spokesperson toldSearchEngineland
that Bing will be "the default web search provider in the redesigned
Spotlight search feature for the next generation of iOS and OS X."
The new OS X Yosemite and iOS 8 has added Duck Duck Go, the upstart search engine touted for its privacy features, as an option for searching in Safari.
The Bad News
Unfortunately, the iOS 8 update won't be available to all: Owners of
the iPhone 4 or earlier won't be able to take advantage of the iOS 8
update. The new software is only available for iPhone 4s/5/5c/5s, the iPod touch 5th generation, and iPads going all the way back to iPad 2.
In a recent blog post, the Windows team provided some
details about download activity in the Windows Store, and the Windows
Phone Store as part of an effort to drive interest by developers to
build universal apps using Visual Studio.
Not surprisingly, games
are the number one category of apps downloaded from both venues, with
Windows grabbing nearly 40% of the download activity and Windows Phone
taking just shy of 35%.
For Windows Phone, productivity apps
manage a respectable 20%, followed by music, video, other entertainment
and social apps. While games rule the download categories as a whole
for Windows and Windows Phone, the highest levels of incremental
download activity change the landscape a little bit.
Social takes the top area for incremental downloads on Windows, and games
remain at the top for Windows Phone, but social and photos take a close
second, which may help developers identify opportunities with their own
programs.
When it comes to market opportunity, the United States
is the largest identifiable market, but for Windows Phone, the largest
market category is actually “other,” followed by the US, China, and
India. When it comes to language preferences, English is the dominant
language for Windows Phone users, and is about 25% for Windows, followed
by Mandarin.
As for where the money goes with all these apps,
the trend is pointing towards in-app purchases across the board, but
particularly in Windows Phone, outshining paid-app activity by nearly
two-to-one. The main in-app purchase category for Windows and Windows
Phone is what you might expect, games.
Finally, for Windows
Phone, the majority of all downloads, a full two-thirds, are going to
“low memory” devices, meaning 512MB of memory for Windows Phone 8 (256MB
for WP7). Because the activity is so strong on lower memory phones,
Microsoft recommends that apps be optimized for such devices and if that
is not possible, the company recommends actually creating a different
version of the app with lower memory requirements.
What does this
mean to you the user? Well it gives you a look at how developers may
be viewing the world of Windows and Windows Phone from an opportunity
perspective as they write and maintain their apps.
The state of apps with Windows and Windows Phone Fullscreen
The
Surface Pro has never been a bad idea. One device that's both your
laptop and your tablet! Sounds great! The problem was that it was just
never quite either; it was awkward on both counts. The new, bigger Surface Pro 3 though, might have actually found a way to walk the line.
The
first thing you'll notice picking up a Surface Pro 3 is that it doesn't
feel like a Surface Pro. It's not a black, pretty-but-chunky monolithic
slab. It feels more like a Surface 2, Surface Pro's RT-based,
pure-tablet younger brother. It's far more iPad Air than laptop, which
is seriously impressive for something with guts like this.
SExpandThe
typically wonderful Surface design is in full effect here. This sucker
is a pleasure to hold and behold. The angular edges still melt into your
palms, and this sucker is thin and light enough that it's easily
one-handable, though you might not want to try it for more than a few
minutes.
The new, improved fan that Microsoft touted during its
announcement no doubt makes this smaller form-factor possible, and it is
impressive; I couldn't tell if the fan was on or off when I was playing
around with it (albeit in a noisy, drafty press lounge). What we did
notice is that it got hot. Fast. And from little more than just zooming
around the desktop. It's not oppressive unless you grab the upper back,
but it's still a little concerning for a device you're supposed to spend
much of the time holding.
SExpandOf
the many things that are new about the Surface Pro 3, the screen size
feels the least remarkable. Yeah, it's bigger, but not in a way that's
immediately stunning or noticeable.
That's a good thing; the
screen sort of fades away into the background right away without
assaulting you with its largeness. I can't be exactly sure why, but I
think because it feels more laptop than tablet, and as far as laptops
go, 12 inches is reasonable, even smallish. Oh that screen looks
puuuuurty.
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change that is more noticeable from the get-go is the new hinge. Gone
are the lovely snap-snap-snaps of hinges gone by. Instead, the Surface
Pro 3 hinge clicks open with a snap that's a ghost of its predecessor's,
and then proceeds to offer total freedom; some thick (and pleasant!)
resistance lets you angle the stand anywhere you want between the min
and the max.
I'm
sad to see the clicks go, but the sacrifice is well worth it for the
extra options which make it better than ever to use on a lap. It's
immediately clear that the addition of a second-stage last time around
was a half-measure, and this is the full one. The freedom to pick
whatever angle you want finally makes the Surface Pro a device that fits
to your slouching style instead of one that expects you to fit it.
SExpandSpeaking
of increased "lapability" (ugh), the Type Cover's new trick to fold up
and mag-lock against the entire bottom bezel of the tablet really does
help add to a sense of stability. It's no laptop hinge for sure, but
it's closer.
SExpandWhen
it comes to actually typing, the Type Cover seems just about as good as
what came before, which is to say that it's a totally workable
keyboard, but takes a little getting used to. The increased size though
will certainly help.
Having a stand on your knees still feels
weird and a little precarious, even if the wealth of angles help it to
be more stable. It's not that the Surface Pro 3 is perfect for a lap,
but more that its failings might be small enough to be forgivable this
time.
The stylus is a stylus. It feels pretty pen-like, and works
well and with little latency on the screen. There's no place to store
it in the tablet, but the Type Cover at least has a small loop for it
this time. You'll still lose it though; I already misplaced it once.
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told, the Surface Pro 3 feels like it's moved to more tablet-like by
getting thinner and lighter, and more laptop like by getting a bigger
screen and more lap-options courtesy of the new hinge. Only time will
tell if it can effectively fit into life as either one of those (or
both!) but one thing is for sure; the Surface Pro has never stood a
better chance.
Microsoft
unveiled its third-generation Surface Pro 3 device at an event in New
York City on Tuesday, with larger surface area than its previous model
and even lighter than a MacBook Air.
The launch of the 12-inch Surface Pro 3 comes less than a year after Microsoft unveiled the Surface Pro 2, which received positive reviews for being a powerful PC inside a tablet form factor but has struggled to gain traction in the market.
Microsoft debuted its Surface Pro 3 tablet with a 12-inch screen at an event in New York City on Tuesday.The
Surface Pro 3, which comes with a multi-position kickstand, aims to not
take on other tablets but the MacBook Air, with its eyes set on getting
business professionals on board with its new design.
The pre-sale starts Wednesday for $799 for an Intel Core i3 version. Devices with i5 and i7 processors will also be available.
The company announced the news at its "small" Surface event, but
didn't launch the Surface Mini rumored to debut at the presentation.
"This is the tablet that can replace your laptop," said Panos Panay,
corporate VP of Microsoft, said during the event. "We designed it in
thinness around every corner. This is faster than the Surface Pro 2
you've loved to date and is much thinner."
The Surface Pro 3 is 12 inches, up from 10.6 inches, to increase
productivity and weighs 1.76 pounds, without a keyboard. It measures in
at just 9.1mm and is the "thinnest Intel Core product ever made,"
Microsoft says. It comes with a 2160x1440 screen, microSD card reader
and a USB 3.0 port.
Microsoft Surface Pro 3 screen vs. the Surface Pro 2.It also comes with an updated trackpad: "We got no praise for our [last] trackpad. We heard you."
In addition to an improved hinge, users can now tilt the screen to an
angle of up to 150 degrees. The SP3 keyboard is different than before
too, capitalizing on how it sits in your lap and cuts down on shaking
that occurs when you type.
The device features a pen too, which during the on-stage demo seemed to work seamlessly when writing letters into a New York Times crossword puzzle. By clicking the pen, it impressively turned on a note-taking app too.
Meanwhile, Adobe's Michael Gough gave an early look of
Photoshop CC, which will be optimized for touch on the Surface Pro 3. It
also runs Microsoft Office.
The Surface Pro 3 comes with a fan that is said to be 30% more
efficient than other fans on the market. Also available is a new docking
station that can push video to 4k monitors.
Panay made it clear that the Surface Pro 3 aims to be both a tablet
and laptop — saying it has "lap-ability" — and get rid of the confusion
for consumers deciding which one to buy.
"[Tablets] are designed for you to sit back and watch movies,
browsing the web and snacking on apps," said Panay during the event.
"Laptops are designed to do something ... editing and making. Sometimes
they come out clunky or beautiful, but that is a design point and they
are made for that reason."
"It doesn't matter what store you walk into, the conflict exist," Panay said.
"It doesn't matter what store you walk into, the conflict
exist," Panay said."What am I supposed to buy? ... The response is 'what
is it you want to do?' ... You've been told you need a tablet, but you
know you need a laptop."
Panay noted that 96% of people who own an iPad also own a laptop, but
the Surface Pro 3 promises both functions. Panay put it on a scale
alongside a 13-inch MacBook Air, but showed you can get 6% more content
on the Surface Pro 3 than the Apple model.
"Today, we are taking this conflict away from people," he
said. "It would still have to be thin and light ... it would have to be
sexy, feel good ... all in one package ... and maybe a little bigger."
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Kavya Joshi
