Founded in 1974 by Paul Allen and Bill gates, Microsoft is among the largest computer technology companies in the world. Microsoft's first major operating system was DOS (Disk Operating System). They released Windows 1.0 in 1984. In 2000, Bill Gates retired and Steve Ballmer became Microsoft's new CEO. Microsoft has since created such products as Bing, Office, Windows Live, Internet Explorer and their latest mobile smartphone OS, Windows Phone 7. Read our Microsoft coverage for the latest Windows Phone 7 news, reviews and videos:
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by Stephen Schenck | May 9, 2013 7:22 PMRead OnA couple days back we saw Microsoft release a serious overhaul to the Windows Phone YouTube app, bringing a lot of new functionality to an app that was previously a bit of a disappointment. While early reaction from users has been positive, will these good times be short-lived? It's since come to light that Microsoft's new app violates a number of YouTube's terms of service, potentially setting the stage for Google taking steps to disable the app's access to its content. The most glaring violations are the ability of the app to let the user download content to their phones, and that the ...
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by Joe Levi | May 9, 2013 10:59 AM
Read OnAny 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 ...
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by Stephen Schenck | May 9, 2013 10:57 AMRead OnMicrosoft made some bold, risky choices when introducing its first Surface tablets. Both the Windows RT and Windows 8 Pro Surface models did things sort of differently from competitors like the iPad or any number of Android tablets. For one, Microsoft chose to position these two as premium devices, and avoided the bottom-scratching battle for budget tablet sales taking place in the $200-$400 range. It also gambled on not going with a unified platform for its mobile apps, making its tablets incompatible with apps already developed for Windows Phone. I'll get back to the app situation in a ...
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by Michael Fisher | May 9, 2013 7:01 AMRead OnMost 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 ...
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by Anton D. Nagy | May 9, 2013 3:01 AMRead OnChances are photo and video backup for Windows Phone 8 wasn't available for you if you've lived outside of the U.S., and other officially supported countries. That has, as of now, changed, thanks to Microsoft and the company's announcement to flip the switch on the feature around the world. The ability to back up full-sized photos and videos is being rolled out worldwide but it might take a little time until you're able to use the feature. However, when it reaches you, you can enable it by going to SkyDrive within the Settings of Photos. There you will have the option to upload good and ...
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by Michael Fisher | May 8, 2013 1:35 PMRead OnAt 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 ...
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by Jaime Rivera | May 7, 2013 7:00 PMRead OnWatch today's Pocketnow Daily as we talk about Microsoft's new YouTube app for Windows Phone 8, and why this isn't necessarily good. Then we move to the Nokia Lumia 929 and its official landing page, aside from talking about the fact that Nokia shareholders aren't happy with Stephen Elop's performance, and we know why. Acer is next as the company has dismissed building Windows RT products, and we also know why that is. The Samsung Galaxy S 4 Zoom rumors continue as this poses to be the next Galaxy Camera. We end today's show talking about the Google Playground rumors, and why we think this ...
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by Stephen Schenck | May 7, 2013 1:07 PMRead OnLike 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 ...
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by Anton D. Nagy | May 7, 2013 2:35 AMRead OnApparently, Acer dismisses Windows RT. After previously being a heavy critic of Windows 8, company president Jim Wong -- who once believed that consumers were confused about Microsoft's Windows 8 operating system -- stated that "there's no value doing the current version of RT". While at an Acer event in New York, president Wong acknowledged that "the plan for an RT tablet is ongoing". However, Acer would rather wait for the next iteration of Microsoft's Windows RT platform, due to be released later this year. The company will then decide whether to adopt it or not. Furthermore, there ...
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by Stephen Schenck | May 6, 2013 4:14 PMRead OnBill 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 ...
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by Jaime Rivera | May 2, 2013 7:00 PMRead OnWatch today's Pocketnow Daily as we talk about Apple's release of iOS 6.1.4 and why nobody is excited about it. Then we go through HTC's Q1 results, which prove to be extremely bad for the company. Microsoft is next as we've got credible reports that a second-generation Surface tablet will be smaller and launched in June. Nokia is next as a new patent points to smartphone cameras with adjustable aperture. We end today's show talking about a Google Smartwatch patent that brings a touch-sensitive wristband. It's still hard to tell if any of these patents will ever happen, but we can't deny a ...
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by Jaime Rivera | May 2, 2013 4:06 AMRead OnMany 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 ...
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by Jaime Rivera | May 1, 2013 7:00 PMRead OnWatch today's Pocketnow Daily as we talk about AT&T's plans for the LG Optimus G Pro along with the Korean launch of the Optimus GK. Then we go over some Motorola XT1055 leaks and tell you why they matter and why they don't. Sony is next as their Honami device proves to be more than just a mid-tiered phone. Later we cover Microsoft's new "Switch to Windows Phone" Android app, and what this is trying to tell the market. We end today's show talking about the leaked photos of the HTC M4 and what this means for the OEM. All this and more after the break. Stories: - LG Optimus G Pro Review ...
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by Stephen Schenck | May 1, 2013 5:23 PMRead OnOne of the hardest parts of attracting users to a particular smartphone platform is convincing them to abandon the ecosystem with which they've already invested considerable time and money. After all, your OS might be great, but if that means having to start from square one with apps, movies, and music, it just might not seem worth the while. In order to help convince Android users that they should think about jumping ship for Windows Phone, Microsoft has released a new tool to find replacement apps, but is it really all it's cracked up to be? Switch to Windows Phone scans your Android ...
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by Michael Fisher | May 1, 2013 1:16 PMRead On
Not all of us have read The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, so not all of us were exactly qualified to make the lame joke that kicks off this week's podcast. But we made it, and we stand behind it. Because as hundreds of fifth-rate "manufacturers" well know, sometimes you just have to fake it. But we're not talking about secondhand knockoff products in this episode of the Weekly. Rather, we get serious about octa-core comparisons, the till-recently-mythical HTC M4, the insanely cheap new Lumia out of Finland, and just how tired we are or aren't of the Samsung Galaxy S 4. In between, we ...