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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Waterproof Galaxy S 4 Active, Snapdragon 800 Up Next, ASUS Fonepad Unboxing & More – Pocketnow Dailyby Jaime Rivera | April 26, 2013 7:00 PMRead OnWatch today's Pocketnow Daily as we talk about the ASUS Fonepad and our coverage of the device. Then we go through Windows Phone and some revealing stats from a recent poll in the United States. Google is next as we cover the news regarding the Play Store's new app update policies. We later talk about Qualcomm's plans to begin deploying the Snapdragon 800 processor and what this means for the mobile industry. We end today's show talking about Samsung's plans to bring us the Galaxy S 4 Active, a ruggedized version of their new flagship. All this and more after the break. Stories: - ASUS ...
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by Stephen Schenck | April 25, 2013 8:03 PMRead OnWindows Phone has yet to become a very popular platform. While it has its passionate supporters, and is host to some pretty nice hardware, it just doesn't have the numbers to back it up. If we look at the the most recent figures, Microsoft only has about 4% of the US market. What makes that so interesting is that polling data suggests that far more users have the platform in mind when making their smartphone purchasing decisions, but ultimately choose something else. Indeed, something like 23% of shoppers surveyed report giving consideration to Windows Phone for their next phone purchase. ...
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by Stephen Schenck | April 25, 2013 7:16 PMRead OnIntel's had a rocky start making inroads back into the smartphone game after taking a leave of absence for several years, following its run as a Windows Mobile chip heavyweight. We've seen a handful of Androids running Intel chips, but there's yet to be a really compelling model. Could Intel's Android success lie elsewhere? We're now wondering what super-cheap Intel-based Android notebooks could mean for the market, after hearing the company's Executive Vice President and Chief Product Officer tease just such devices. Dadi Perlmutter has told CNET that we could see Android notebooks with ...
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by Stephen Schenck | April 24, 2013 3:35 PMRead OnWindows 8 and Windows 8 RT tablets are still newcomers to the scene, and so far it's felt like they've been struggling to find their place. After all, the wildly fluctuating prices we've seen are hardly representative of a firmly established product that's going to keep pulling in predictable sales figures; we don't see anything like this with iPads, for instance. Are we being too hard on the nascent platform, though? Could it really be off to a better start than it's seemed? We're definitely reconsidering things in light of some new market figures, showing Windows tablets getting a pretty ...
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by Stephen Schenck | April 18, 2013 7:59 PMRead OnFor the longest time, we've been wondering when Microsoft might start addressing the big blank space in the middle of its mobile device lineup, for models larger than Windows Phone handsets, yet smaller than current Windows 8 and RT tablets. After all, that's a huge deal for Android and - more recently - iOS, so Microsoft seems to be missing out. We've heard rumors that Microsoft itself could be creating a seven-inch Surface, and while we wait to learn if there's any truth there, the company has confirmed that its OEM partners, at least, will be releasing their own smaller tablets. This ...
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by Stephen Schenck | April 16, 2013 1:18 PMRead OnWe're no strangers to seeing smartphone fanboys talk a little trash about the other platforms, whether you're an Android devotee bashing iOS for being too closed, or an Apple fan making fun of the lack of apps on Windows Phone. Things start getting a little more interesting, however, when the people making these attacks are smartphone execs themselves; today we get to hear some of the latest smack, with Microsoft's VP of Windows Phone, Terry Myerson, digging in to Android in particular. Myerson pulls no punches, calling Android "a mess" and warning of the threat Google's control over the ...
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by Anton D. Nagy | April 15, 2013 7:21 AMRead OnWith the latest rumor, according to which Microsoft might be working on its own smartwatch, the number of companies allegedly interested in this particular piece of wearable tech becomes even larger (with names like Apple, Samsung, and even LG purportedly preparing their own Pebble-competitor). "Executives at suppliers" have it on good authority that the Redmond-based company is working on designs for a touch-enabled watch device. Same people claim that Microsoft has asked suppliers earlier this year to ship components for a potential watch-style device; one said executive even claimed ...
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by Adam Z. Lein | April 15, 2013 5:45 AMRead OnOver the weekend, the Westchester, one of New York's trendy suburban malls, had a two-day fashion event as part of the "Simon Fashion NOW" mall tour designed to show off many of the stylish products available in its stores. Of course, you would expect to see new outfits from the likes of LOFT, J. Jill, Victoria's Secret, White House | Black Market, Gap, Anne Taylor, Tommy Hillfiger, Eileen Fisher, Juicy Couture, Bebe, Banana Republic, Cache, Hugo Boss, and other clothing stores that have shops in this particular mall. They were all there with their own little fashion shows, but there's ...
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by Jaime Rivera | April 11, 2013 7:00 PMRead OnWatch today's Pocketnow Daily as we talk about the Nexus 10 Cover finally arriving at the Google Play store. Later it's Nokia talk as we go through their software updates and also the leaked video of the Lumia 920 getting tap to wake in the near future. Microsoft follows as we talk about a possible Surface 7-inch tablet. The LG Optimus G Pro is next as it's rumored for an AT&T launch soon and we've also got news of the software Value Pack reaching current customers with some major enhancements. We end today's show talking about the Samsung Galaxy Mega 6.3 and Galaxy Mega 5.8. All this ...
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by Anton D. Nagy | April 11, 2013 8:22 AMRead OnThe seven-inch-ish form factor quickly became the standard for tablet portability after seeing the ten-inch slates dominate the market previously. All major players have at least a smaller member of their tablet family and according to The Wall Street Journal Microsoft will have one too. The seven-inch Surface might go into production later this year, together with other Surface slates from the refreshed line-up, according to "sources". Same people "familiar with Microsoft's plans" states that the Redmond-based company didn't have any plans for a seven-inch tablet last year but after ...
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by Stephen Schenck | April 10, 2013 3:13 PMRead OnMicrosoft Office has been threatening to expand to new mobile platforms for what seems like forever. Images purporting to show Office on the iPad arrived well over a year ago, and since then rumors have suggested that a release for iOS and even Android could be not too far off. Most recently, we heard the iOS Office mentioned in conjunction with rumors about a Windows RT version of Outlook - specifically, that iOS Office would arrive following the Outlook RT release. With the latter apparently ready to go, we were hoping that we'd see Office arrive sometime this year. A new roadmap now ...
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by Jaime Rivera | April 9, 2013 7:00 PMRead OnWatch today's Pocketnow Daily as we talk about the launch of the Samsung Galaxy Note 8.0 along with our full review. Then we talk about Windows Phone 8 and its possible adoption of 1080p displays in the future. Nokia is next as there are rumors of another flagship device coming to AT&T. Google takes the news afterwards, first as we talk about the new Google Play Store debuting and we even tell you how to get it now. We then talk about Google's surprising yank of at least 60,000 apps from the store due to bad quality. We end today's show talking about Europe's recent accusations against ...
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by Stephen Schenck | April 9, 2013 4:29 PMRead OnRemember the huge can of worms Microsoft opened in the '90s when it bundled Internet Explorer along with its Windows operating systems? Antitrust regulators jumped all over the pairing, arguing that Microsoft was giving its own browser an unfair advantage over the competition. Eventually, the US DOJ reached a settlement with Microsoft, but not after the company spent a small fortune on the litigation. Over a decade later, the tides have seriously turned, and now it's Microsoft leading the antitrust rallying cry, joining a group of companies in a complaint against Google's bundling of apps ...
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by Stephen Schenck | April 9, 2013 3:31 PMRead OnWith the threat of hackers, malware, and all that nasty stuff that goes along with being online as real as ever, more and more companies have been offering their users the option to employ two-factor authentication. That is, beyond the password you know, you also have to be in possession of something – in this case, your smartphone – in order to authenticate yourself. Google's been doing this for a while now, and Apple just got started earlier this year. Following a pattern Windows Phone fans are all too familiar with, now that those two have adopted a new technology, it's Microsoft's ...
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by Stephen Schenck | April 9, 2013 1:08 PMRead OnWe've had a couple opportunities to discuss the rumors of upcoming General Distribution Release updates for Windows Phone 8. The next, GDR2, should be just around the corner, and could be featured on upcoming models like the rumored HTC Tiara. GDR3 would be even farther out, and the big Windows Blue release would ultimately arrive after that. As we wait for official word on these updates, some new rumors are attempting to identify a few of the tweaks arriving with GDR3 in particular, including new resolution support. According to sources, GDR3 will be ready by the end-of-year holiday ...