On the eve of their big London announcement, Nokia might have a problem. Once, far and away the favorite to take Microsoft on a ride of profit and swing dancing, Nokia has failed to take advantage of it's position as Fresh Prince of Windows Phone to gain any significant market share.  Windows Phone still finds itself an uber-distant third in the smartphone marketplace and while Nokia has done an admirable job making quality hardware, it hasn't quite gotten the job done in the flying off the shelves department. Now Microsoft might have to take the reins and ride this horse to the finish ...

If you've been following our Microsoft Surface Pro coverage, you're already well aware of one of the otherwise impressive tablet's major shortcomings: despite having a pressure-sensitive stylus, the API Microsoft decided to support isn't compatible with software like Photoshop – exactly the sort of programs many users probably thought would be most useful on a device like this. Luckily, it looks like the needed drivers could be just about to arrive. We've been waiting for these for months – we heard back in early February that they could be here "soon," but clearly that didn't come to ...

Any respectable company wants to grow its user-base. Companies can't stay stagnant, they have to grow, or they will be eaten up by their competition. Microsoft isn't going to be eaten up any time soon, but their smartphone platform isn't growing -- at least not compared to their competition. It shouldn't come as a surprise for anyone who has been following the news: Windows Phone is still a distant third in the smartphone race. What's a mega-corporation like Microsoft to do in this situation? Try to steal Android users, of course! Android and iOS dominate the market, and Microsoft knows ...

Most new-device launches go the same way: usually the press gets review units before they’re widely available, and we get to use them for a few days -or a week if we’re lucky- as we work on our review. Then press day arrives. The embargo on media coverage lifts, and everyone posts their reviews and videos at the same time. It’s a huge frenzy, commenters go nuts, and it’s a giant explosion of frantic opinion-sharing activity. For about … a day. And then it all goes away. Sure, there’s followup coverage as people find bugs and hidden features, but after that initial blast, not ...

At Pocketnow, we have a responsibility to try the new, the fresh, and the weird - and that latter swamp is exactly the one Managing Editor Anton D. Nagy waded into with his recent review of the ASUS Fonepad - the tablet with an earpiece. Or the phone with a tablet screen. Whatever you want to call it, we've covered it - and Tony has some thoughts about using a seven-inch smartphone in this edition of one of your favorite tech podcasts. After we clear the giant-phone convo, we've got more to say. Lots more. And, doubtless to the relief of thousands, very little of it involves Samsung's ...

Like so many other Windows Phone apps, the implementation of YouTube available to users of the platform left a lot to be desired. Instead of a Google-crafted joint like you'd see on Android, this Microsoft-developed version was, at best, a pale imitation of proper YouTube, pointing you to the web-based site. While this remains a Microsoft project, today a new release of the app arrives that goes a long way towards bringing Windows Phone an up-to-date YouTube experience. The updated app adds a new playlist look, allows for background playback of videos when you just want to listen to their ...

Bill Gates was talking tablets this morning as he took to CNBC to discuss Microsoft's Surface models, as well as the tablet landscape in general. Of course, that inevitably led to discussion of the Apple iPad. Gates found a number reasons to be critical of Apple's tablet offerings, mentioning the lack of Microsoft Office, for one. Well, that may be out of Apple's hands for now, but another one of his comments has us wondering if Gates can hear himself speak, singling-out the iPad for a disappointing typing experience due to the lack of an official hardware keyboard option. Now, Surface, of ...

Many people today consider the Microsoft Surface line-up as the perfect tablets. Particularly in the case of the Surface Pro, which we've found to be a very powerful computer, this might be right. On a positive note, you get a tablet with no compromises, but on the negative note, both the Surface Pro and Surface RT have proven to be terrible in sales amounting to no more than 1.5 Million units combined. That could change though as Microsoft is already preparing their Second Surface attempt. Digitimes now reports that Microsoft is already working on getting their second-generation Surface ...