Outlook for Android comes out of preview
Microsoft has dropped the "preview" tag from its free Outlook for Android app, following a host of recent updates and improvements.
The interface has received a colorful revamp, and been redesigned to better follow Android design principles. The app now supports IMAP accounts, as well as Office 365, Exchange, Outlook.com, iCloud, Gmail and Yahoo! Mail.
Microsoft releases new Windows 10 for phones preview to more Lumias, includes Project Spartan and new Outlook Mail
As promised two weeks ago, Microsoft is today releasing the Windows 10 for phones preview build across a larger set of Lumia phones. In a blog post, the company announces that it is seeding out the Build 10051 of the Windows 10 Technical Preview for phones to the Fast ring today. In addition to bringing support for more smartphones, the new build also brings along a number of new features, including Project Spartan, new Outlook Mail and Calendar apps, and more.
First up, let’s talk about the new features. Project Spartan -- the new browser from the Redmond-based company which recently made its way to the Windows 10 technical preview for desktops -- is now making its debut on Windows Phone handsets. “It uses our new rendering engine to give greater interoperability with the modern mobile web, and includes early versions of Reading View and Reading List”, says Gabe Aul, Windows Insider Guru, Microsoft. Project Spartan will not replace Internet Explorer 11 on your phone as the default browser but will exist side-by-side with it.
Gmail for Android gets unified inbox, Google Drive now lets you manage photos
Late last year, Google introduced support for multiple email providers in Gmail for Android, welcoming users of Outlook.com, Yahoo Mail and other such services to manage all their accounts using its app. There are plenty of folks who are not just Gmail or Google Apps users, after all. However, the app wasn't properly designed to handle all the extra accounts that users would set up.
The problem? Users had to switch between accounts every time they received new emails or wanted to reply to a message. Now, Google is finally correcting this by giving Gmail for Android a much-needed unified inbox.
Want to sign up for Sling TV? Your Gmail address may not work
It's March Madness, which is an awful time of the year for those of us who no longer subscribe to cable or satellite -- at least not for TV. The brackets are getting smaller and big games are pending, including my own team's matchup later tonight. Enter Sling TV to save the day. The service provides live TV and ample amounts of sports for any fanatic. That's why today I opted into the free seven day trial, or at least tried to.
Things didn't go smoothly, though it should, in theory, be an easy process. There was a major stumbling block and it came right in step one. I entered my Gmail address and was told I couldn't use it. A second try resulted in the same outcome. I clicked Contact, found that online chat with customer service was closed, but the phone variety was good to go.
Freedom! Apple cut my Windows Phone chains
When I first pondered leaving Windows Phone behind, I imagined it would be for an Android flagship. It made sense. Android is, after all, much more permissive, has way more apps, and is available in a larger variety of smartphone flavors. And Google is committed to improving the operating system, launching at least one major update a year. Also, I use a Google Nexus 7 as my every day tablet; an Android smartphone would be a perfect fit. But things change.
Apple finally came up with bigger iPhones last year, and the prospect of ditching Windows Phone for a new iPhone suddenly became irresistible. It didn't hurt that iOS 8 dropped some of the annoying restrictions of its predecessors. Ultimately, I ended up with an iPhone 6 Plus. And, after two years of Windows Phones, using Apple's phablet as my daily driver can only be described as liberating.
Yahoo Mail brings enhancements to its search functionality
While much is made about Gmail from Google and Outlook.com and Hotmail from Microsoft (now pretty much combined), Yahoo Mail quietly flies along getting little attention, but huge numbers of customers. Many people likely have accounts without even knowing it -- if you register for a Yahoo service you get an email address, and the company has several popular arms, such as Flickr. Now it is looking to improve its email offering.
First off, there is now an easier folder search. Customers can select any of their folders from a list and then type a word or phrase to zero in on the targeted email. A dropdown menu on the right allows for the folder selection.
Tempus Fugit -- Microsoft cloud storage service OneDrive celebrates its first birthday
Yes, today Microsoft's cloud storage service OneDrive turns one year old, well sort of. Really it has been around since 2007 when it began life as Windows Live Folders, then switching its name to SkyDrive the following year. That was when things began to take off and it has grown ever since, evolving into OneDrive a year ago and adding both features and storage.
Microsoft has been pushing this hard, offering numerous options for free storage, another one announced just earlier today. "We’ve been working hard to make OneDrive the one place for all of your files — including photos, videos, and documents — available across the devices you use every day for work and life", says Microsoft's Omar Shahine.
How to get 100GB of free OneDrive storage worldwide
You can easily increase the amount of storage that's available with your OneDrive for free. Bonus space can be unlocked by referring the service to your friends and enabling the auto camera upload feature in the mobile apps. The most that you can get though is 20 GB. Those of us who have been using the service from the early days also get a loyalty bonus of 10 GB. But maybe that's still not enough.
As you may know, Microsoft has recently started to give Bing Rewards users the option to unlock a further 100 GB of free OneDrive storage. The catch? Only folks using the service in US have been welcome. However, now you can get the same treatment worldwide. Here's how.
Microsoft kills yet another standout Windows Phone feature
Some of the features that have made Windows Phone special, differentiating it from its rivals, are slowly being stripped away. The latest victim is Rooms, which Microsoft has announced it will no longer be supporting starting next month. What a shame.
The software giant says that, as a result, users of Windows Phone 8 and Windows Phone 8.1 will be unable to chat with their Room contacts, create new rooms, add or remove members, or change permissions. And, if they upgrade to Windows 10 Technical Preview, their beloved rooms will be gone forever.
Microsoft launches Outlook for iOS and Android
Microsoft has unveiled its official Outlook app for iOS, a free email client based on the Accompli app it acquired at the end of last year.
An Android version is also available, although only as a preview.
Microsoft shows off Office for Windows 10 and reveals Office 2016 plans
Microsoft told us a lot about Windows 10 yesterday (it's free!), as well as the future direction of some other interesting projects such as HoloLens and the Spartan browser. We did get a brief glimpse at the touch-friendly versions of Office apps for Windows 10, but today Microsoft also reveals more about the next desktop release -- Office 2016.
In keeping with Microsoft's latest vision, the focus with Office moving forward is "mobile-first, cloud-first". We'll be able to try out Office for Windows 10 very soon as the universal apps are due for release for Windows 10 Technical Preview very soon, and the final version will be pre-installed -- for free -- on phones and small tablets. Some of this we knew yesterday, but talk of Office 2016 is new!
BetaNews 2014 -- the top news stories, editorials and guides from the past year
It’s that time of the year again when news sites and search engines look back at the stories and events that shaped the year. The top stories on BetaNews are obviously going to be different -- mostly -- from the top stories on other sites because we focus on technology. So in other words don’t expect Kim Kardashian "breaking" the internet to appear anywhere in our list. Although that’s not to say she won’t make an appearance somewhere…
Because BetaNews offers a mix of content, we’ve put together three top 10 lists -- News, Opinion/Editorial, and Guides. With news, it's not necessarily the biggest stories of year that make the list, but rather the content that was viewed the most. All three lists are presented, as ever, in reverse order.
Microsoft acquires mobile email firm Acompli -- this time it's for real
As first revealed on BetaNews just before Thanksgiving, a rogue Microsoft blog post seemed to let slip that the company was on the verge of acquiring Acompli. Now it's official. Both Microsoft and Acompli have confirmed that the acquisition is going ahead and the "innovative mobile email apps for iOS and Android" are now in the hands of Microsoft. Seen by many as the mobile app that Outlook.com deserves, Acompli fits neatly into Microsoft's plan to expand further into mobile realms.
Corporate Vice President of Outlook and Office 365, Rajesh Jha says "it's essential to give people fantastic email experiences wherever they go". The existing Acompli app is destined to become integrated into the work already carried out by the Outlook team. While iOS and Android are both mentioned, no reference is made to Windows Phone.
Skype for Web beta brings voice and video chats to your browser without plugins
Installed apps are becoming a thing of the past. Microsoft is just one of a raft of technology companies gradually moving to the cloud and the latest display of this is a new beta version of Skype for Web. The messaging tool has been designed to be used in a web browser without the need for plugins, extensions or other software. At least that is the aim. During the beta stages you'll still have to install a small plugin.
Work being carried out by the Internet Explorer developers should bring plugin-free Real-Time Communications (RTC) to browsers in the near future, and Skype for Web will be able to take advantage of this. The beta is not being made available to everyone straight away, so you'll need to check your account to see if you can try it out.
Microsoft launches lockscreen apps for Android, Windows Phone
Microsoft app launches are usually predictable. Most are offerings which aim to get us hooked on the software giant's most-prominent products, like Office, OneDrive, Outlook.com and Xbox. But, every once in a while, Microsoft does something out of the ordinary, like it wants to tell the world that, much like startups, it too is capable of intriguing and exciting things.
After launching a lovely keyboard for Android Wear, Microsoft just released a whole bunch of apps for Android, iOS and Windows Phone, made by an in-house team of "hackers, makers, artists, tinkerers, musicians, inventors" called Microsoft Garage. The most interesting offerings are Torque, which my colleague Brian Fagioli just covered, and two lockscreen apps, for Android and Windows Phone.
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