Archive for June, 2012

Microsoft announce Windows Phone 8 along with a bunch of great features

An event was held today with only people with invites from Microsoft being able to attend. A total of eight brand new features were announced for the platform which are aimed at finally competing with the likes of Android and iOS.

For many the most important feature announced today was multi-core support! This feature will support the same brands of processor that we are used to seeing, but in the newer devices we will be seeing more powerful versions of these processors from Qualcomm and ARM.

The start screen is another feature that has been completely redesigned to give you more choice, but also to allow you to cram more on the screen at once and just like all of the features announced this will come to all ‘new devices’. The only huge downside is the fact that windows phone 8 is incompatible with all current Windows Phone 7 devices! This is going to be disappointing for those who have bought a Windows Phone on a two year contract as you will be stuck on either 7.5 Mango or Tango.

The reason for this incompatibility issue is due to the support for much higher resolution screens, the resolutions that will be supported with Windows Phone 8 are: 1280 x 768, 1280 x 720 and also it will support the current 800 x 480 display resolution used.

Spotify updates its iOS app bringing streaming to non-premium users.

The music streaming giant have announced that ‘in the next few days’ an update will roll out for iOS devices. The update will bring with it a feature that was introduced last year just for the desktop application, Radio. The key thing here though is that the feature will be available to both the premium users and the free users!
Users will be able to generate ‘Radio stations’ using artists, albums, songs and spotty playlists, one other thing that also remains is the feature that Spotify loves so much, this is of course the social functionality which means that songs and the radio stations will appear in your friends’ Facebook timelines. Also with this feature comes the ability to create a playlist based on what your friends listen to.
The radio feature according to the company themselves will be coming to all major platforms in due course but for now iPad, iPhone and iPod users can expect the update in a few days.

You can see the full press release below:

Microsoft announce the ‘Surface’ tablet – with two variations

Over in Americaland Microsoft have unveiled the ‘Surface’ tablet which as expected many will say may rival the Apple iPad.

Let’s get straight down to the facts and what we know about the device or should I say devices as there are two variants.

• Software takes center stage: Surface sports a full-sized USB port and a 16:9 aspect ratio – the industry standard for HD. It has edges angled at 22 degrees, a natural position for the PC at rest or in active use, letting the hardware fade into the background and the software stand out.

• VaporMg: The casing of Surface is created using a unique approach called VaporMg (pronounced Vapor-Mag), a combination of material selection and process to mold metal and deposit particles that creates a finish akin to a luxury watch. Starting with magnesium, parts can be molded as thin as .65 mm, thinner than the typical credit card, to create a product that is thin, light and rigid/strong.