Showing posts with label microsoft. Show all posts
Showing posts with label microsoft. Show all posts
Saturday, May 18, 2013
Microsoft Surface Pricing
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| Microsoft Surface |
The Microsoft Surface Tablet is now available in the Philippines. Microsoft hopes it can take aways some of the market from Apples iPad which makes up a little more than over half of the tablets sold.
The 32 GB version of the Microsoft Surface is priced at Php29,999, which is a bit more than the expected Php28,990 price of the Apple iPad 4 32 GB WiFi when it gets here. Given that the Microsoft Surface comes with MS Office Home & Student (Word, Excel, Powerpoint and One Note), it price priced to match the price of the Apple iPad 4 32 GB WiFi.
People who would choose a Microsoft Surface over an iPad would mainly do so because of MS Office or the keyboard, for office type software. Getting the Touch Keyboard Cover with a 32 GB Microsoft Surface brings the price up to Php33,999. If you really plan to do a fair bit of typing with the Microsoft Surface, than the Type Keyboard Cover is the better choice. This would bring the price up to Php 36,998.
The 64 GB version of the Microsoft Surface is also available, but only together with a bundled for a total price of Php37,999.
The pricing is competitive, but it will not be an iPad killer.
First, you can buy an iPad 2 for as low as Php18,990 or in a few weeks get an iPad 4 16 GB WiFi model for Php23,990. Microsoft has no Surface models available to compete at this price points.
Second, even those who want a 32 GB or 64 GB tablet, the iPad is a better choice, unless you really want the keyboard or MS Office. The iPad has more apps.
Me, I would be in the marker for a ultraportable laptop like device. If I bought a Microsoft Surface, I would get the 32 GB model with a Type Keyboard Cover. That would cost me all of Php36,998. Now the question is, for Php36,998 is there anything else I would like better?
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| Asus Transformer Pad TF300T |
There is the Android powered Asus Transformer Pad TF300T 32 GB with a Mobile Keyboard Dock for Php24,990. The Microsoft Surface Keyboard Cover is so thin it feels like you are not carrying a keyboard around. The Asus Transformer Pad which looked innovative last year, looks cumbersome and bulky with the sleek ingenious surface design. But still that is all of 12K cheaper.
Another option would be to get a Asus VivoBok x202e. This starts as low as Php20,990 and combines a touchscreen and Windows 8.
In sum, the Microsoft Surface is priced reasonably and has no direct competition for those who want a tablet with a keyboard. I just would not expect to see to many of these things at the local Starbucks.
Saturday, May 11, 2013
Microsoft Acquires Skype for 8 5 Billion
After rumors Microsoft has acquired the VoIP giant Skype for $8.5 billion in cash.The company has pledged to continue supporting and developing Skype clients on non-Microsoft platforms as well.Skype will become a new business division within Microsoft, and its current chief executive Tony Bates will assume the title of president of the Microsoft Skype Division, reporting directly to Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer.
Hope Microsoft and Skype together will enable more people to connect in more waysbringing innovative technology to friends, families and colleagues everywhere.
Via@ Mashable
Thursday, May 9, 2013
Microsoft executive hints that a new version of the Microsoft Surface is coming soon
Microsoft executive Julie Larson-Green, Corporate VP for Windows, appeared at the Wired Business Conference on Tuesday and hinted that a new Microsoft Surface device will be introduced by the Redmond based firm within weeks. At the same time, the executive followed up on Mondays post on the companys blog that confirmed the existence of the Windows Blue update.
Green told those at the conference that a preview of the Windows Blue update will be released next month. She also said to expect hands-on testing of Windows 8.1 powered small screened devices to begin in June. The Microsoft executive stated that updates for Windows 8 will be available at various times during the year, and will improve things like device performance and battery life.
You can view some of the Wired Business Conference live via streaming video, in the box below.
source: WiredBusinessConference via MicrosoftNews, WMPoweruser
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Green told those at the conference that a preview of the Windows Blue update will be released next month. She also said to expect hands-on testing of Windows 8.1 powered small screened devices to begin in June. The Microsoft executive stated that updates for Windows 8 will be available at various times during the year, and will improve things like device performance and battery life.
You can view some of the Wired Business Conference live via streaming video, in the box below.
source: WiredBusinessConference via MicrosoftNews, WMPoweruser
Share: Discuss0 Tweet
View the Original article
Tuesday, May 7, 2013
Microsoft Launches Best Windows 8
Looking for Microsoft launches Windows 8 developer advertisement. Windows 8 is an operative systems for private computers, laptops, netbooks, tablet PCs. One of the outstanding shift windows has seen is Faster boot indication which is nearly 8 sec.
Saturday, May 4, 2013
Microsoft outsmarted Windows Phone OS rings in the new
The oft-renamed Windows mobile phone platform has never matched the glitz of the iPhone or BlackBerry. But is that about to change?
Among smartphone users, Windows Phone – the handset operating system formerly known as Windows Mobile – tends to not to provoke excitement. This is a space dominated by flashy handsets such as the iPhone, now in its third incarnation – with its OS X operating system also at 3.0 after just two years – and by buzz about new operating systems such as Googles Android and the Palm Pres WebOS.
Worse, Microsoft has had to play catchup to Apple, Google, Palm and even RIM, introducing an "app store" for Windows Phone after its rivals had done so – and after insisting that nobody was making much money from Apples iPhone App Store. In January 2007, its chief executive, Steve Ballmer, dismissed the iPhone as "the most expensive phone in the world, and it doesnt appeal to business customers because it doesnt have a keyboard, which makes it not a very good email machine". In fiscal 2008/9, the iPhone sold 20.4m units – compared with an estimated 18m Windows Phone licences. (Microsoft has not given numbers for the year, but has not said they were any higher than 2007-08.)
Call for more style
In short, Windows Phone has an image problem – which has not been altered by rebranding it.
Besides the endless name changes (from PocketPC to Windows Mobile to Phone), the Windows phone platform has been regarded as a dull tool for corporations instead of a strong player in the consumer market, and its user interface has never been much to write home about. Third-party vendors have gone so far as to build their own front ends to hide its perceived ugliness, though offerings such as HTCs Touch-Flo havent always been an entirely good thing, placing a further burden on the phones CPU.
Yet Windows Phone is the determined tortoise of the smartphone world, having been around since 1996. Microsoft hopes that its next version – snappily named 6.5 – will end its reputation as a plodding also-ran and spur it to catch up with flashier hares such as the iPhone and HTC Hero.
But is it enough? Roberta Cozza, principal analyst with Gartner, says no. "Its too little, too late. WinMo has been struggling in the consumer market. 6.5 is a small improvement in the look and feel, but its not comparable with efforts from other vendors."
The irony is that what had seemed like a sure thing – aiming a mobile form of Windows squarely at the business users who had it on their desktops – has turned out to be a mistake.
At its core, the OS offers enterprise solutions such as Office apps and support for Exchange, Microsofts email and collaboration application. This has made it popular with corporate IT departments; consumers, however, have been less impressed. And the BlackBerry was already there to grab market share.
All this is changing, says James McCarthy, Microsofts business manager for mobile communications. The next release, probably in September, "pays real attention to the consumer". Certainly, the new look places it much more firmly in the arena with the iPhone and LG Viewty.
The whole interface has had a makeover, aimed at making it much more intuitive and finger-friendly. Until now, using Windows Mobile has tended to require a stylus – fiddly, easy to break and to lose – because the screens on the devices have been small and packed with information.
A lot of care has been taken with the home screen. Theres no need to drill down to an application: if it tells you you have an email, you can launch it right away.
Microsoft will also launch a series of related products, from an app store to MyPhone, an online backup service that already works well in beta.
Perhaps the most important thing for any smartphone is the ecosystem that grows up around it. Apples App Store for the iPhone registered 1.5bn downloads in its first year, and rivals quickly followed: RIM, which makes the BlackBerry, has its App World, Nokia its oddly named Ovi World, and theres the Android Market for handsets running Googles Android. "Its a battle of the ecosystems," says Cozza. "Microsoft needs to come up with a strategy around an application marketplace."
Microsoft had left the apps business to partners such as Handango, but now would argue that its doing precisely that. With its app store Windows Marketplace for Mobile (its rubbish at names), it understands that it must offer at least some apps when it launches 6.5. There will be 20,000 available, and McCarthy says "Were busy making sure that they work with the handsets – theres a ton of work going into that."
Consumer challenge
The key question is whether Microsoft can be a big player in the consumer space. The figures suggest it has some catching up to do. According to Gartner, Windows Mobile has a steady 10% or so of the OS market – competing against proprietary Sony Ericsson and Samsung systems, as well as Symbian, which runs on Nokia and some other phones, and the offerings on the BlackBerry, the iPhone, Android and Palm. Its share of the smartphone market has fallen as the iPhone has wormed its way into corporations, by licensing Microsoft Exchange so that it can handle ActiveSync push notifications and calendaring.
However, says US-based analyst Michael Gartenberg, "of course its not late to the party". He reckons that the new version of Windows Mobile will "have a lot of appeal to consumers" and that it "builds on a solid foundation". Gartenberg, vice-president of strategy and analysis at Interpret, argues that other smartphone manufacturers still cannot match Windows Mobile as a business offering.
With a Windows Mobile phone, he says, you can not only take pictures and keep up with Facebook and Twitter, you can also edit a Microsoft Word document or an Excel spreadsheet and then email it to your colleagues – which you cant (yet) do with an iPhone. Business people who need that are also consumers who want to keep up with their social networks, he notes, adding that Windows Mobile offers the best of both worlds.
Cozza concedes that Windows Mobile is "a strong platform for enterprise", but adds that for a smartphone to succeed, it needs to blur the dividing line between business and consumer users. RIM, with the BlackBerry, has done that smartly, she says.
But, counters Gartenberg, Windows Mobile already does that. What Microsoft needs to do now is to tell the story of its latest version of the system. "Theres a lot of negative perception about WinMo," he says, adding that theres everything to play for.
"Six platforms cant survive," he says. "The battle is hardly over yet. "Cozza is more cautious: "We will have to wait and see," she says.
Among smartphone users, Windows Phone – the handset operating system formerly known as Windows Mobile – tends to not to provoke excitement. This is a space dominated by flashy handsets such as the iPhone, now in its third incarnation – with its OS X operating system also at 3.0 after just two years – and by buzz about new operating systems such as Googles Android and the Palm Pres WebOS.
Worse, Microsoft has had to play catchup to Apple, Google, Palm and even RIM, introducing an "app store" for Windows Phone after its rivals had done so – and after insisting that nobody was making much money from Apples iPhone App Store. In January 2007, its chief executive, Steve Ballmer, dismissed the iPhone as "the most expensive phone in the world, and it doesnt appeal to business customers because it doesnt have a keyboard, which makes it not a very good email machine". In fiscal 2008/9, the iPhone sold 20.4m units – compared with an estimated 18m Windows Phone licences. (Microsoft has not given numbers for the year, but has not said they were any higher than 2007-08.)
Call for more style
In short, Windows Phone has an image problem – which has not been altered by rebranding it.
Besides the endless name changes (from PocketPC to Windows Mobile to Phone), the Windows phone platform has been regarded as a dull tool for corporations instead of a strong player in the consumer market, and its user interface has never been much to write home about. Third-party vendors have gone so far as to build their own front ends to hide its perceived ugliness, though offerings such as HTCs Touch-Flo havent always been an entirely good thing, placing a further burden on the phones CPU.
Yet Windows Phone is the determined tortoise of the smartphone world, having been around since 1996. Microsoft hopes that its next version – snappily named 6.5 – will end its reputation as a plodding also-ran and spur it to catch up with flashier hares such as the iPhone and HTC Hero.
But is it enough? Roberta Cozza, principal analyst with Gartner, says no. "Its too little, too late. WinMo has been struggling in the consumer market. 6.5 is a small improvement in the look and feel, but its not comparable with efforts from other vendors."
The irony is that what had seemed like a sure thing – aiming a mobile form of Windows squarely at the business users who had it on their desktops – has turned out to be a mistake.
At its core, the OS offers enterprise solutions such as Office apps and support for Exchange, Microsofts email and collaboration application. This has made it popular with corporate IT departments; consumers, however, have been less impressed. And the BlackBerry was already there to grab market share.
All this is changing, says James McCarthy, Microsofts business manager for mobile communications. The next release, probably in September, "pays real attention to the consumer". Certainly, the new look places it much more firmly in the arena with the iPhone and LG Viewty.
The whole interface has had a makeover, aimed at making it much more intuitive and finger-friendly. Until now, using Windows Mobile has tended to require a stylus – fiddly, easy to break and to lose – because the screens on the devices have been small and packed with information.
A lot of care has been taken with the home screen. Theres no need to drill down to an application: if it tells you you have an email, you can launch it right away.
Microsoft will also launch a series of related products, from an app store to MyPhone, an online backup service that already works well in beta.
Perhaps the most important thing for any smartphone is the ecosystem that grows up around it. Apples App Store for the iPhone registered 1.5bn downloads in its first year, and rivals quickly followed: RIM, which makes the BlackBerry, has its App World, Nokia its oddly named Ovi World, and theres the Android Market for handsets running Googles Android. "Its a battle of the ecosystems," says Cozza. "Microsoft needs to come up with a strategy around an application marketplace."
Microsoft had left the apps business to partners such as Handango, but now would argue that its doing precisely that. With its app store Windows Marketplace for Mobile (its rubbish at names), it understands that it must offer at least some apps when it launches 6.5. There will be 20,000 available, and McCarthy says "Were busy making sure that they work with the handsets – theres a ton of work going into that."
Consumer challenge
The key question is whether Microsoft can be a big player in the consumer space. The figures suggest it has some catching up to do. According to Gartner, Windows Mobile has a steady 10% or so of the OS market – competing against proprietary Sony Ericsson and Samsung systems, as well as Symbian, which runs on Nokia and some other phones, and the offerings on the BlackBerry, the iPhone, Android and Palm. Its share of the smartphone market has fallen as the iPhone has wormed its way into corporations, by licensing Microsoft Exchange so that it can handle ActiveSync push notifications and calendaring.
However, says US-based analyst Michael Gartenberg, "of course its not late to the party". He reckons that the new version of Windows Mobile will "have a lot of appeal to consumers" and that it "builds on a solid foundation". Gartenberg, vice-president of strategy and analysis at Interpret, argues that other smartphone manufacturers still cannot match Windows Mobile as a business offering.
With a Windows Mobile phone, he says, you can not only take pictures and keep up with Facebook and Twitter, you can also edit a Microsoft Word document or an Excel spreadsheet and then email it to your colleagues – which you cant (yet) do with an iPhone. Business people who need that are also consumers who want to keep up with their social networks, he notes, adding that Windows Mobile offers the best of both worlds.
Cozza concedes that Windows Mobile is "a strong platform for enterprise", but adds that for a smartphone to succeed, it needs to blur the dividing line between business and consumer users. RIM, with the BlackBerry, has done that smartly, she says.
But, counters Gartenberg, Windows Mobile already does that. What Microsoft needs to do now is to tell the story of its latest version of the system. "Theres a lot of negative perception about WinMo," he says, adding that theres everything to play for.
"Six platforms cant survive," he says. "The battle is hardly over yet. "Cozza is more cautious: "We will have to wait and see," she says.
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