Microsoft Making a Reputable Successor to the Surface

When it came out back in 2013, the Surface Pro 2 was a huge improvement from the original Surface RT. It also came with options. You could either get the Surface Pro 2 or just the Surface RT which gave consumers the choice between Windows 8.1 or Windows RT. Right now, it is still the latest addition to the line of Windows RT tablets.

What is Microsoft Planning?

Because of it's success with two different versions, it was odd that when they announced the Surface Pro 3, there was no mention of a regular Surface 3. They did plan to launch a Surface mini, but that got canceled right before they were about to officially announce it. Now, there really isn't any chance for a Surface 3 at all.

Reports say that Microsoft is getting ready to put out a new tablet that is supposed to be the big brother to the Surface 2 pretty soon, but it isn't going to be an RT device. It is going to have a fanless design and have either an Intel ATOM or an Intel Core M based processor. It will run the full version of Windows, which is a first for a non-pro tablet from the company.

With BUILD coming up, it is expected than Microsoft will announce the tablet around that time and probably launch it soon after. It will obviously come loaded with Windows 8.1 but will be upgradable to Windows 10 whenever it comes out. This comes as a bit of a pleasant surprise considering that Microsoft said none of the non-pro devices would be upgradeable to Windows 10. It does make sense because it will be launching so close to the time of the new operating system, but I don't think anyone was really expecting it.

What Does This Mean for Apple?

The new tablet is said to be a low-end tablet that will be a direct successor to the Surface 2, which has since been discontinued. In addition to that, it is also said that this new tablet will complete more directly against Apple's iPad. Apple has long since been the leader when it comes to tablets, probably because Apple was the first company to come out with a tablet, essentially setting the industry standard for the technology.

Big Fixes Coming!

The one thing that this tablet is doing right is that it is fixing arguably the biggest problem with previous Surface tablets, the fact that they didn't run Windows. This new tablet will run the full version of Microsoft's latest operating system, Windows 10. This means that it will be able to run any Windows software that runs on Windows 7, Windows 8 and Windows 10 according to reports from WinBeta.

The lack of software with the Surface 2 and Surface RT was a huge problem for these devices. In fact, the problem was so sever that Microsoft ended up writing down over $900 million in unsold inventory thanks to poor sales of the original Surface RT. In turn, Microsoft stopped selling the low end tablets and stating that existing Surface Pro 2 tablets would not be upgradeable to Windows 10.

What Does This Mean for the Future?

Microsoft unveiled last month a version of Windows that was designed for the tiny $35 Raspberry Pi PC. This version of Windows 10 could, hypothetically, be used to run on other small devices, giving Windows a new foothold in the Internet of Things (IoT) market. The IoT market is, essentially, the market where everyday things are given sensors, chips and apps, allowing them to join the internet.

This is important because Microsoft has promised that Windows 10 will work like a single operating system across multiple devices. What this means is that no matter what you are using Windows 10 on, whether it be a desktop, laptop, tablet or smartphone, it will run and feel the same on each device. As Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella puts it, this is a major part of the company's strategy to make everyone "love Windows 10".

Check out the sources here and here

Will Windows Phones Be Successful in 2012?

Recently, there has been a lot of talk concerning the lack of success of Windows phones; however, according to Greg Sullivan, senior product manager for Windows Phone 7, things are not over for Windows phones. Sullivan said that 2012 should prove to be a great year for the phone line.

At CES the HTC Titan II and the Nokia Lumia 900 were debuted featuring Microsoft’s platform. It seems that Sullivan feels that these are just two of the many great Windows phones that will help get Microsoft’s numbers back on track.

"We're seeing great hardware from all our partners. AT&T is clearly very excited and is putting a lot behind the platform. It's not just a piece of software that got thrown over the transom to succeed or fail," Sullivan said.

Although Windows Phone seems to be having some success with AT&T, that does not mean that the other major U.S. carriers are just as excited about it. Earlier at CES, executives at Sprint were expressing their concerns about the sales numbers for Windows phones.

"We have a Windows device in our lineup, but honestly, it hasn't done well enough for us to jump back into the fire. We told Microsoft: You guys have to go build the enthusiasm for the product. We'll train our reps on why it's great...[but] the number-one reason the product was returned was the user experience," said VP of Sprint’s product realization David Owen.

Lois Fagan, director of product development for Sprint, also commented, "We want to participate in the market, but we can't build that brand by ourself. We're cautiously optimistic, but [Windows Phone] just hasn't taken off."

Sullivan responded to these remarks saying, “That's something that our Sprint team and the folks back in Redmond can work on. We're working closely with carriers to help show how Windows Phone can meet their needs across an array of slots."

Sullivan also made sure to back the statements that Nokia CEO Stephen Elop had made concerning the false rumors about Microsoft buying Nokia’s smartphone business.

"It would make it more difficult for us to have as thriving a third-party hardware ecosystem if we were directly competing with them," he said. "I think that's a challenge Google is going to face with the Motorola mobile acquisition."

Sullivan believes that there is plenty of time for Microsoft to catch up with other phone operating systems.

"This is like the PC market in the early to mid-80s. If you were going to declare a victor then, what would it have been? CP/M? Apple II? I think declaring the smartphone space locked up and done is like declaring CP/M the victor in the early '80s."

Short-throw projectors only require half the projection distance of traditional projectors. The projector can be placed just a foot or so from the screen. This is nice because it keeps the projector and screen near each other instead of having a long throw projector that people can accidentally block.

Why is the Windows Phone OS a Flop?

Microsoft’s Windows Phone OS was hyped up quite a bit, but honestly, it simply hasn’t really been all that popular. It has fantastic reviews and is available on all four of the major U.S. carriers, so what is the problem? According to Gartner, a company that offers global technology research, Microsoft’s phones were only able to haul in 1.5 percent of the market in the third quarter.

Tech analysts have been thrown off guard by the Windows phones. They seem like great phones, but consumers simply don’t seem interested in them. It just does not make sense that reliable, feature-packed phones, produced by a successful, leading company, aren’t selling. Well, Charlie Kindel, an employee at Microsoft for 21 years and the Windows Phone’s chief developer has offered his opinion as to why the phones are not a slam-dunk success.

Kindel posted a blog post that stated that he believed that the phones and the Windows OS have been unsuccessful because he believes that Microsoft has worked to alienate itself from both phone manufacturers and wireless carriers. He feels that with both its required hardware specs and tight upgrade policy, Microsoft is severing relationships by limiting the freedom of both carriers and manufacturers. “This is why, despite being a superior PRODUCT to Android, Windows Phone has not sold as well,” Kindel wrote.

“Google has been wildly successful with Android (at least in terms of units) because Android was built to reduce friction between all sides of the market. It ‘bows down’ to the device manufactures AND the carriers. It enabled device manufactures to do what they do best (build lots of devices). It enabled carriers to do what they do best (market lots of devices). It enabled users tons of choice,” he wrote.

“WP (Windows Phone) raises its middle finger at both the device manufacturers and mobile carriers. WP says ‘here’s the hardware spec you shalt use’ (to the device manufacturers). And it says ‘Here’s how it will be updated’ (to the carriers).”

"Thus both of those sides of the market are reluctant. Especially the carriers, but also the device manufacturers. Remember that end users just do what they are told (by advertising and RSPs [salespeople]). Carriers own the marketing money and spend billions a year," Kindel wrote.

Right now, carriers and manufacturers are still willing to make and sell Windows phones; however, it may be due to the fact that they are afraid of becoming too attached to Google or Apple, not necessarily because they enjoy producing Windows devices.

Some of Kindel’s readers did not share his views and felt that he wasn’t necessarily considering the role of software developers and apps.

"Android and iOS are 'safe' because that's where the apps are. Anything else? Not safe. Every conversation, every ad, and every Techcrunch post, er, Verge post, will remind them of where the apps are," blogger Robert Scoble said.

"I agree with you that the relatively weak app ecosystem in WP7 also plays an important part. I do not believe it is the most important reason," Kindel responded.

Microsoft has been saying recently that it is making a major push with Nokia; however, there have been some very mixed reviews about the Nokia 800 Windows phone in the six countries that is has debuted in so far.

"Analysts said there was nothing particularly wrong with the sleek-looking handsets, other than a software glitch on some models affecting battery life, but consumers were just not biting," a Reuters report said.

Kindel said, “The question in my mind is whether Microsoft’s continued investment in WP and close partnership with device manufacturers such as Nokia will eventually enable a breakthrough here. I know that MS can be very persistent & patient; it’s been so in the past. We will see. In the meantime, Android devices will continue to sell like hotcakes and fragmentation will continue to get worse and worse.”

Sources: cek.log - Windows Phone is Superior; Why Hasn’t it Taken Off? and PCMag - Former Microsoft Exec Scopes Windows Phone's Failure

A Copier Rental is a quick way to mass produce important documents for potential customers at an event or conference. Renting office equipment is simple and easy and it can also save you loads of time and money. Rentacomputer.com has been offering copier rentals to more than 1000 cities worldwide for over 20 years.

Problems Arrive with the First Windows Phone 7 Update

The very first Windows Phone software update is circulating the airwaves right now, and everybody is eagerly awaiting all the details on what it offers, how it works, how smooth it is or if it is a big waste of time. While this update has been highly anticipated since it was first mentioned, it has not, unfortunately, gone smoothly for everybody.

Thanks to recent reports about the new software update to the phone, there seem to be at least three distinct failure modes with two of them being fairly easy to fix. According to company estimates, about 10% of users attempting to update their software encountered a problem. Of those 10%, however, nearly half failed the update because they had a poor connection to the internet or lacked enough disk space.

Apparently, the update makes a backup of the phone's contents in case something awful happens. Everybody else probably falls under the issue affecting "a small number" of Samsung devices, an issue the company is working furiously to fix. In the meantime, the update has been turned off for those devices.

In lay terms, when you get the prompt to install your update, Microsoft will send you a nice message that recommends that you have the necessary hard drive space on your PC as well as a strong connection to the internet. Around 90% of users were successful in installing the update which is excellent news considering this is the very first update for the device.

Source: Engadget - Microsoft details Windows Phone 7 update problem, 'small number' of Samsungs affected

SMBnow.com is news of, for and by SMBs!
SMBnow.com... The Small & Medium Business Magazine!